foamerdave

HI all. Just bought a nice but a bit rusty Giant for the wife. It is in need of a new chain, rear gears, and cables.
I will say that I am well versed in turning a wrench and have a ton of coin wrapped up in tools for the auto world. So I have the basic plus some when it comes to hand tools.
What my question is what are the basic specialty tools that I should/will need to fix her bike Thanks Dave

RonH

chain tool


Cable cutter and perhaps housing cutter.

Cassette or freewheel remover


Lube

Spoke wrench to true wheels


Workstand, etc.

Little Darwin

A few additional tools will go a long way to get you what you need along with what you already have in the automotive space.

1) A chain tool

2) A cassette tool

3) A chain whip

If the rear gears are a freewheel instead of a cassette, there is a freewheel remover instead of a cassette tool, and no chain whip needed. The way to tell is to spin the cogs, and look at the splines in the middle. If they move, it is a cassette (which is newer/better) if it stays still, it is a freewheel.

Also, it would be good to have the appropriate sized spoke wrench to adjust spoke tension and true the wheels if needed, and cone wrenches to help in adjusting the wheel bearings etc when you repack the bearings. The cone wrenches are pretty much the same as typical open end wrenches, but thinner so that you can adjust the tension on the cones.

A bike shop would have all the tools you need, perhaps even in a kit.

Also, some locations (depending on where you are at) will have bicycle co-ops that will have any of the specialized tools you may need available to loan...

To be honest, unless you are going to work on bikes at least occasionally, some of the tools are probably not worth the expense. You can probably get the bike shop to remove and install the Casette for less than what it would cost you for the tools to do it yourself... but, you seem like a hands-on guy, so, there is that aspect as well.

bkaapcke

Try this. https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=4218

It's a good basic kit for a newbie. I've seen it as low as $35.00 at end of season sales. bk

Mondoman

This kit is similar to the Performance one; if one is much cheaper than the other, I'd go with that one. https://www.pricepoint.com/detail/145...--14-Tools.htm

Cadfael

All of the above... plus...


Crank Extractor

To remove the crank in order to lube the BB, to remove the cups and cones you can get away with a pipe wrench (for the lock ring... waits for cries of indignation), and a large adjustable wrench for the cups. But to remove the cranks it is best to have the correct tool. I also accept re-lubing the BB is not on your 'to do' list... but if other components are in need of lube, you can bet the BB is as well.

DMF 

Likewise the hubs.

Oh, and new brake pads. (Kool-Stop)