I'm planning on getting the dust off of my bike - quite literally - after about 20 years of inactivity. I figured that I would do complete tear down for cleaning, inspection, and adjustment and realized that I have no idea where my old bike box went..... and therein lies my initial problem....

A little background first. I worked in a shop through the 80's, then life happened in the early 90's and I put the bikes away cuz I had no time (or partners) to ride. I did all of my own work (as well as a lot of stuff for the folks I rode with) down to building the wheels (wish I never sold the Park Pro truing stand but ya do what ya gotta do). When I got out of it, my toolbox had what I needed to do just about any adjustment, install, or maintenance task on the current equipment (short of facing the tubes or tapping the BB). I will say that the box was a no frills, utilitarian collection of tools and I made due with some less than optimal solutions - always wanted a complete Park tool kit but never got around to buying it.

So, multi-part question:

1) Since I have been out of the game for quite a while, what's changed? Yeah, a bit open ended... At some point I will most likely upgrade to modern parts or add a new bike to the stable if I keep riding. I will be doing all of my own wrenching.... If I can't find the old box I'll need to start a new one. So what's the list of the minimum tools I'll want and what are the new "must have" tools.

2) Sources for (old\vintage) parts, tools, detailed instructions.... Anything out there available online like the old Park manual? I have about 20 years of dust on my memories of how to do stuff that I used to be able to do in my sleep so I might need to look at something to help me remember... Yeah, getting old sucks!

I'm looking for a truing stand. I assume that as a minimum I'll need cone wrenches, BB specific wrenches, chain breaker, Chain whips to loosen the cogs, various size allen wrenches, nipple wrenches, cable cutter, Grease (still have some green Phil Woods stuff), chain lube?

What do ya think?

Much of it depends on what sort of bikes you are working on. For instance, I've noticed a lot of multitools now come with a torx bit, but none of my bikes use them.

Bottom brackets and crankarm attachments seem to have gone proprietary over the last several decades. I actually had a harder time finding a wrench and pin spanner for a traditional BB on an older bike.

The only general purpose tools I can think of offhand that seems new is the fourth hand tool (cable stretcher).

Pricier than the old third hand tool that simply held the pads against the rim, but once I figured out how to use it, I loved it.

I would suggest on the more proprietary items, to just buy them as needed. Once you replace all the missing tools, your first set will turn up. That's what happened to me.

You can find just about any tool you need and their uses at https://www.parktool.com/ you can also find multiple how too's here , depending where you are, other brands like Cyclus, Var etc are available. For what's changed in the last 20 years, is many things, with out knowing what you have currently, for road bikes, headset size, BB standards, rear wheel OLD, discs brakes and caliper mounts to start with.

You don't say how old / what you bike is, but if it's from the late 80's / 90's, it could have many parts which although updated versions are now in use, the older versions still use the same tools currently available.

+1 on the 4th hand tool, especially if you work without a helper available. As advised above just buy tools as you need them. Get a good cable cutter; Park or Shimano are good, Felco is expensive but the best there is. A cheap digital caliper is very handy. A chain tool and some master links are bike bag essentials. A proper pedal wrench is also a must.

I stay away from multitools even for on-road use; a judicious selection of hex L-wrenches and open end wrenches is probably lighter and certainly more functional. Trying to mount a bottle cage, for example, with a multitool is misery.

Grease is still grease, although I recommend Tef-Gel for joints subject to dissimilar metal corrosion, like bottom brackets and pedal threads. Pull your pedals, seat post and quill stem, if you have one, and grease them to avoid them corroding stuck. You will doubtless want to replace your brake pads; after all of this time they are probably dried and hard. Kool Stop Salmon are often recommended. Best not to ask about chain lube as is tends to create a LOT of controversy.

Excellent suggestion. I bought one of those a couple of years back and it has been very handy. I always make sure to take it to swap meets.

Ball-end hex keys?

if your old bike had quality parts on it and they aren't broken, I'd stick with them and not try and convert it to the latest bazillion-gear fad.

personally, I don't like more than 9-speeds, I think the current trend to 10 and 11 speed cassettes is silly and insane, except maybe on tour-d-france racers. a 2x9 or 3x9 gives you way plenty of gears. quite likely, your old dusty bike just needs cleaning up, new cables, some grease (wheels, headset, bottom bracket, if not sealed cartridge type), and maybe a new chain. worse case, a new freewheel or cassette. the rest is probably in fine shape if it wasn't damaged when you parked it. ok, new tires. there's some awesome new tires available, like Vittoria Randonneur Hyper, Continental Gatorskin, etc.

re: manuals/howtos, two great sources are the how-to sections on the Park Tools webpile, and Sheldon Brown's webpile.

Crank puller. I got a LIFU Cotterless Crank Extractor a few months a go and it's pretty slick. For bolt/nut removal its got both 14mm and 15mm, plus the hex type. Then on the other end it's built for square taper, then has a little magnetic attachment for Octalink I think. Good little tool.

Frame is early 90's Canondale (3.0 or 3.1 maybe?) with carbon fork, Downtube shift levers - Shimano Ultegra 600 (combined with a Shimano Sante front and Ultegra 600 rear derailer)... 8 Speed SIS. Wheels are Campagnolo Moskva 80 aero rims 36 hole with Ultegra 600 hubs, DT spokes (could be double butted, didn't look that close). The cranks are Dura-Ace and I'm pretty sure I put a Dura-Ace bottom bracket on it when I went from the Schwinn Prelude (or was it a paramount.... it was over 20 years ago and I get the names mixed up) to the Canondale. Don't know the model numbers but it's square taper. Chain was probably Shimano to go with the drive train - It and the wheels are almost no mileage. The Headset is Campognolo Chorus.... Stem is a Cinelli XA and the bars are Cinelli Champione DelMondo. Brakes are Shimano 105. Pedals are the all black Look (1st gen?). She's still in great shape, just dirty and dusty....

yeah, thats all good stuff, clean it up, repack the bearings, and leave it alone unless its broken. new cables. new brake pads.

Actually sitting here thinking about it.... The cables are pretty well "unused" as I had replaced them all when I upgraded to 8 speed with these rims.... I bet they don't have more than a couple hundred miles on them. Probably replace them just because..... cables and brake pads are cheap insurance...

I see that Cinelli still makes the cork ribbon bar tape..... has anyone come out with anything better? If not I'll just re-wrap with my old stand bye. A friend gave me some Fi'Zi:K bar tape... seems really hard and slick compared to the Cinelli.... anyone have any feedback on this stuff?

I think you should clean the bike off, take it to a shop and have it overhauled. It will cost about the same as buying a bunch of tools and if you decide you don't really want to ride anymore you won't be stuck with a bunch of tools and gear.

Where in So West Pa? there maybe a forum member willing to help you out with tools and assistance.

re: bar tape, when I rode drop bar bikes (long long ago and far far away), I always liked the black cloth sticky tape stuff that looked like what we used to call 'friction tape', but this stuff appears to have gone away, as when I went looking for tape for a road bike I fixed up for my son, the bike shops looked at me like an alien when I asked about it. I think it was french or italian. Also I discovered you wrap them the other way around now. We used to start in the middle and work down to the ends.

I ended up with some foam stuff that made a nice cushy wrap.



(hey, it was scrounge this vintage trek and fix it up, or let my kid take my 1975 Motobecane Grand Record with all its vintage campy bits to college).

Maybe it's my stubborn streak, but I've learned to be pretty much self sufficient in most things I do over the years and cannot see having a shop do something that I'm more than capable of (doing) unless I literally don't have the time, space, (or yes, the tools). I do have some local resources to help if needed, but the day is still young so to speak..... I just got a couple inches of snow and hockey season is still raging. I have time to search for my bike box and leisurely clean her up on the cold winter evenings....

Bianchigirl, not to sound like a sm@rt@$$ (I am one BTW) but I'll ask you, if you did all of your own wrench work for say 20 years would it not be second nature to want to continue to do so when reentering the sport with thew same equipment you left years ago? Would it not be a last resort to take your bike to a shop and pay for a tune up and overhaul?

Tools and Gear? Guys live for tools and gear! The only reason we don't have more tools and gear is because we have a lovely wife and kids to spend our extra money on....

From the tone of your original post it sounded like you had a dusty bike and that was it. I hadn't realized that at the birth of yoru first child you closed and locked the door to fully equipped bike shop.

good luck on finding the old tools. if not spending a few bucks to get on of the package groups of toolsis probably cheaper than buying one by one.

go to https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help for repair help

One thing that has changed is increased use/need for a torque wrench especially for carbon parts. (not me so much as I play on mostly old bikes, but it is creeping up for me)

Bianchigirl, I worked at a shop - I wanted to open one myself but didn't see how I could earn a living with it... (It was a side business and a passion for the owner of the shop where I worked. He was an old school Italian guy that I suspect knew a lot more than I ever gave him credit for). Along the way I bought tools as I needed\could afford them because I knew that I wouldn't have access to a shop forever. So when I got married I was pretty well equipped for an "individual". Like I said earlier, I sold my truing stand .... as well as a set of rollers and some other stuff.... Did that the first time I lost my job but I had been off the bike for 4 years at that point and figured that I could "always buy another one" if I ever needed it. Well, fifteen more years, three moves and four jobs later I'm actually wanting to ride again..... I have 20 years of cobwebs that need cleared out and I'm hoping that some of you that are ummm... "more up to date than I am" can help to refresh my memory and get caught up on the current technology.

On a positive note, I found some of my tools this evening... some basics and some specialty.... found mt BB wrenches\spanners, chain tool, crank pullers, chain whips, a couple spoke wrenches. HAVE NOT YET FOUND the cable cutter, allen wrenches, headset tools, pedal wrench, cone wrenches, other various wrenches, tire tools..... Looks like I need to put a shopping list together.....

Just wanted to give a thank you to everyone that replied. It's tough to have a passion start to reawaken and realize that not only did things change a bit while you were away, but you've seemingly forgotten half of what was just second nature to you. I appreciate any and all help you've given me and hope to pass it on when I get back in the groove.

And a quick update on the project... I've hung her up in the basement with some rope. It's really expedient, but obviously I don't have a work stand and this allows me to do what needs done. I started to clean her up last night. Got the heavy crud wiped off but will give her a detail clean and a waxing when I strip her down. Everything still looks to be in good shape and is reasonably adjusted - still. Tires were toast - as expected. They looked ok until I started to remove them... then they were crunching like a hand full of potato chips! Rims are still pretty true but I think I would like to check the spoke tension. Cleaned off the years of grime from the cork ribbon but it's definitely worn and tattered on the edges, it will be replaced. Brake hoods are gonna be tough - they were white and after some scrubbing are still light tan. I'll see about posting some pics. I didn't take one when I hung it up to show all the crud, but I do have one of it being neglected in the basement. I do have one after cleaning the crud and one with a new set of tires on it that a friend gave me....

If you're going to work on the bikes you learned on, nothing's changed. Toolkit can still follow all the old rules: try using whatcha got until you find a specific lack. Don't bother with buying Torx until you need them or need a set for car work. My pedals at least always surrender to an 8" or even 6" adjustable wrench - a pedal wrench is not necessary, though the integrated headset octal is still needed for full teardowns.

When I went back to wrenching on my own bikes after a 15+ year hiatus (all that life stuff!), I found my sense of how tight was distorted, and I was over tightening. Once I fractured a few seatpost binders and a Cinelli handlebar binder, I bought an inch-pound 3/8 drive torque wrench, a Craftsman clicker 25 to 240 inch-lb. I have a much older long half-inch drive which I use for BBs as well. I haven't checked calibration since I bought them, but I also have not broken anything since the purchase.

Another improvement was a set of long-handle L-shaped bent metric Allens. With a few of those and a few other pieces, I can do any roadside tuning or fitting adjustment without a multi-tool, with the good quality of a Craftsman or Park tool which will not destroy bolt heads. Those plus a small pliers, a small adjustable crescent, and a small screwdriver fitted to your derailleur screws sets you up for the road.

Clinchers still need a triplet of small tire irons, too.

Books: Zinn's Road Bike and Mountain bike books are excellent, and reminiscent of the still-useful Tom Cuthbertson books (Anybody's Bike Book). Modern tools and their uses are well=handled by the Park Blue book. Zinn's A Cycling Primer covers a lot of what he learned as a young professional racer 30 years ago, and reminded me of a lot that I'd forgotten since my high-school days.

I prefer books to the 'Net when I really just want to read valid info and not have to filter what I read, but I'm sure lots of folks have sites to link you to.

Get the stuff on your list. Don't buy anything else until you need it. There's a good chance you won't ever need anything else.

Awww Geeeezzz! I just went out and looked at the different Park Tool Kits.... I am now officially bumming 'cuz I realize what I had that is now missing.... My pile of tools was real similar to the Professional kit with other bits n pieces tossed in... Not all Park tools and I had some custom\ home made stuff.... but still. I never thought that I had that much $$$ wrapped up in tools....

Just adding a pic of the bike post cleanup.... Every board handle pics differently so I hope this give you guys the detail to appreciate this antique....

Looks good, just don't turn it around, don't think any oil stains would come out of that sofa.

That's ok Jim.... That's a cover to protect it from a couple kids, couple cats, a couple big dogs and the wife & I..... The only reason the stain would get noticed would be the unique pattern!