Bike Tools
 

I need to disassemble my entire bike so that I can have the frame and forks painted. While I have a ton of auto tools, there are obviously a few things that I can't disassemble / reassemble without actual "bike" tools. Can you guys suggest the things I'd need that auto tools can't cover? I know the chain whip and cassette locking tools are a couple...

Also, would it just be better to just get a kit? I only have about $100 to spend though and it seems like the Spin Doctor Team 33 tool kit would have it all, or maybe the Spin Doctor Essential tool kit?

Any advice would help. Thanks!

Essential should do the trick, I have the Nashbar Essential Tool kit (rebranded from Spin Doctor or vice versa), if your bike is fairly modern (90s or newer?) and doesn't have Campagnolo parts, it should do the trick, except for pulling the threadless headset cups, for that you can search the forums for DIY methods (tap out with hammer and punch, make your own tool from scrap copper pipe, I was just looking at this last week, there's a great link that somebody else can find quicker than me), or take it to your LBS and ask them to do it for hopefully $5-10. Then when you reassemble, you can press the cups back on yourself with a DIY headset press made of a 1/2" bolt, nut, and a stack of bigass fender washers.

The one element of the Essential kit that I would upgrade would undoubtedly be the pedal wrench. But for disassembling your bike for painting, you could just leave your pedals on your cranks.

Part of it depends on the age of the bike. If you have a threaded steerer/headset, square taper cranks, and a cup/cone bottom bracket, each of those will need specific tools (30-34mm wrenches for the headset, crank puller for square taper, standard BB pin spanner, fixed cup wrench and lockring tool). Newer bikes (say 2000 and newer) will likely have threadless steerers and possibly non-taper cranks.
If the bike has a cartridge type bottom bracket, you'll need a removal tool for that.

You don't HAVE to remove the races in the head tube, but depending on the quality level you are shooting for, remove them if you are going with a higher quality paint job.

If your automotive tool set is metric, you'll have much of what you need - allen wrenches, sockets, open/box wrenches, wire cutters/bullnose pliers, etc.