Hi everyone,

Per an earlier post, I recently got my first old bike, a Raleigh Grand Prix. I think it's the perfect bike for someone like me to learn how to take an older bike apart and put it back together. Just ordered a Park PCS-10 bike stand and picked up ParkTool MT-1 Rescue Wrench, which has turned out to be perfect for tightening new brake pads and (I hope) adjusting the center-pull brakes.

What tools do you consider essential for a newbie to have in her Classic & Vintage toolbox? I have a feeling that this Raleigh won't be my last old bike...

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the madness Tru!

The basics include a bottom bracket tool. A chain whip for cassettes and freewheels, and a cassette/hub tool for most likely ShimaNo. Some cup wrenches and pedal wrenches and a headset wrench or two. Add a crank puller and you are all set for raining destruction down on poor unsuspecting bicycles.

It's too much fun.

A crescent wrench can work fine for removing bottom bracket lockrings. A hozan tool is a good investment too. I recommend buying a park crank puller. They work very good. You will also want to invest in a shop quality set of cone wrenchs. When you learn to adjust a few hubs you'll find loose ball to be a frustrating game but often rewarding.

Get the Shimano cartridge bottom bracket tool. You will have fun replacing old worn out loose ball bottom brackets with cartridges. I recommend using only japanese made bottom brackets. The newer ones from Singapore don't seem to have the same quality or longevity.

Start buying tools as you need them to make your own repairs. It adds up but buying invidual tools will determine how much you really need. I highly recommend the park metal tire irons. If you are removing an old tire these make life easy.

The tools I reach for most often:

-a Y-wrench with 8, 9, and 10mm heads
-a Y-wrench with the three most common hex heads (whatever those are!)
-a 15mm wrench for rear axle nuts and pedal removal/installation

Bike-specific tools I need for larger jobs:
-a chain breaker
-various freewheel tools for removing freewheels (unfortunately, there's no one standard though the SunTour two-prong will serve you well)
-a bench vise (particularly for wheel work)
-a set of cone wrenches and a small adjustable wrench for adjusting hub cones
-bottom bracket tools: lockring tool, pin spanner, fixed cup wrench
-crank puller
-headset wrench
-a hammer
-good wirecutters for snipping cable ends cleanly
-not as good wirecutters for cutting housing

That list is what I use on probably 95% of the bike work I need to do. The other 5% is made up of fairly esoteric tools that are great fun to have but not essential.

Neal

Nobody mentioned spoke wrench or tire levers yet? You can also pick up one of those multi-tools with numerous hex wrenches, spoke wrench, chain tool, tire levers, etc. You can even keep it in your saddle bag when you ride. You see them on sale at Nashbar sometimes for $3 to $12 or so.

+1 on the chain breaker. There was a time when I was breaking chains with a hammer and a punch, what a waste of time...

I love my third hand brake tool. I guess any clamp to hold the calipers together will work. Anything is better than trying to hold them by hand, pull cable tight, and tighten the nut all at once.

If you're really retro you use a toe strap, just like back in the day.

I second this motion, worth a $20 investment.
I used to use cable ties but a third hand makes everything so quick, especially with center-pulls.

I use a quick clamp:



Neal

You won't need a chainwhip for a freewheel, which the Grand Prix has.

Excellent choice of workstand. I have a model not listed, and I think it's the predecessor of the PCS-10.

Thanks, everyone! So funny you mention the third hand brake tool to help adjust the center pull brakes. My sweet husband helped me do just this earlier today. Even with four hands, he got out a clamp. It worked, but kept slipping. This might be the first thing I get!

Now, what are your favorite places to shop for tools? Local bike shop for emergencies, no doubt. But where do you suggest I go to begin my collection since I don't have anything I have to have ASAP? And favorite brands?

If I'm buying other bike stuff (tires, cables, etc.) I'll pick up tools here:

https://www.niagaracycle.com/index.php?cPath=132

It's most worth it when you can combine with other stuff to make the shipping worth it. Also, I end up waiting about a week for orders to make it to Michigan.

I usually end up buying most bike tools at the LBS because I don't realize I need them until I'm "in the zone" and don't want to interrupt working. This usually comes in the form of freewheel tools. I have 6 of them and it seems like I'm always coming across different freewheels. For stuff that isn't bike specific you will probably be better off at a hardware store.

Amazon has a good number of things, but be careful. Sometimes they have it, and sometimes, they are merely a front for other vendors. The other vendors are fine, but the shipping may not be as fast, and the shipping costs can be high.

It seems that whenever I order something from Harris Cyclery, the shipping cost is always $8.50, which is normally a very good deal.

Park is a very good tool brand, and their prices are fair.

After checking out a half dozen different on line bike stores for the best prices, I ordered four different Park tools two weeks ago from LickBike.com. Oder was placed on a Friday afternoon and tools arrived on Monday. Great tool prices and shipping is reasonably priced and fast. They also called me on Tuesday to ask if I received my order. I need a couple more specific tools for my tool box and I most certainly will order from Lickbike.

One more tool I am considering buying is a crank cotter press from Bikesmith Design and Fabrication. My '76 Grand Prix, like your '73, has cottered cranks and this tool is reportedly a sweet way to remove the cotters. Better that the 2x4 and hammer method I used today to remove the cotters on a Raleigh Sports.

https://bikesmithdesign.com/CotterPress/index.html

How many times do you figure you'll use that cotter press?

I used a Park cotter press back when cotter pins were fairly common. It was nice, when it worked, but about 1/4 of the cotter pins wouldn't budge, and I had to resort to using a hammer and punch. The cottered crank is the design I curse the most on bicycles.

One thing you might want to attach to your bike stand is a tray that swings around so you can put tools and parts in it while working on bike.I made my own and it is a life saver especially with small parts and ball bearings.if you cant figure one out I could post a pic of what it looks like.no more crawling around the garage floor looking for small pieces.If you want a pic send me a message

I was about to ask this same question, so thanks fellow n00b! And also to gbalke for mentioning Lickton (LickBike.com, which is not too far from me, and I had no idea about. I was thinking of one of those tool kits, but I already have adjustable wrenches, metric sockets, metric allen key sets, etc. So I think my money will be better spent on the specifics: chain tool, etc. I am also wondering about standard shop expendables: brake cables, pads, inner tubes, grease (what kind?), bearings maybe (is there a standard size?)..what else?

I have not done a headset or BB yet but expect to in the near future. Assuming that's not a disaster there will be a second immediately after.

I see cambriabike.com has some good prices on tools.

The cambriabike.com link goes to some kind of generic search/ad page.

Here's the main entrance for Cambria Bicycle Outfitter:

https://www.cambriabike.com/default.asp

And here is the front page of the tool dept:

https://www.cambriabike.com/shopdispl...d%20Lubricants

<EDIT> Holy Cats! The price on the Shimano cable-cutters is GREAT! $44.95 - NICE!

[quote=noglider;9408512]How many times do you figure you'll use that cotter press?QUOTE]

Consider that my collection has 1 Robin Hood; 1968, 2 Grand Prix; 1974 & 1976, 2 Peogeuts; 1969 & 1971 and 4 Raleigh Sports all with cottered cranks. On top of that, I have been helping a local C&V member by wrenching on his collection, many of which also have cottered cranks. I worked on one of his Raleigh Sports just yesterday. So, I would say that I would use the cotter press quite often.

Her Grand Prix is old enough that it has cottered cranks. Hence a crank puller is not likely to be necessary, certainly not the extractor type used for cotterless. She might need a cotter pin press, which is a bigger investment.

I have one of these, but have entirely abandoned using it since getting my 4th-hand/cable puller tool. I actually found the clamps/3rd-hand tools very frustrating at times, as they'd pop off when putting too much pressure on things (eg. trying to loosen a frozen brake adjuster, etc.)

I'm actually a huge fan of my small 8/10 and 9/10 brake wrenches (I have one from Park and one from Pedros)--they make brake adjustments so much easier.

My favorite tool has got to be my long ELDI pedal wrench, however; it works wonderfully.

Oh, and all around, if you don't have room for a bench vise (I don't), a 12" adjustable wrench is a must.

I just got a full stand, and though it takes up space, it makes everything much easier.

Ordered one when I ordered the stand.