What do you consider to be must have bike tools?
I have been doing ok with common hand tools and my auto tools but have been increasingly been in positions where I wish I had a bike specific tool such as a cranks puller.

Uh bike tool ..... I must be getting senile
geez

On the advice of most folks around here, I buy the tools I need to do a specific job. If I'm doing a bottom bracket, I need a crank puller and one or another bottom bracket tool. Last winter, I greased a bunch of hubs, so I bought some cone wrenches and a grease gun. I'm getting sick of cutting cable with cheap cutters, so I think I'll get one of those Park tools for cutting cable.

If you're not messing with wheels, I think a crank tool and and chain tool are essential for vintage bikes. Most other tasks you can handle with a well stocked tool box. If you're working on your wheels, you need whatever freewheel tool you need and cone wrenches.

Good cable cutters really are extremely useful.

Must haves for working on most normal vintage bikes:

Headset wrenches. Crank pullers. Lockring tool and spanner for servicing bottom brackets. Cone wrenches. A good chain tool. A pedal wrench with a decent amount of leverage. Hex keys. Good cleaning products. Good grease.

cable cutters . . . don't bother with Parks . . .

https://www.ebikestop.com/shimano_tl_...ter-TL6025.php

A "Y" shaped wrench with 8MM, 9MM & 10MM socket ends. It is one super handy tool to have on hand when adjusting brakes, gears, etc. A multi-tool (screwdrivers, hex keys, etc.) is also pretty neat. Find myself reaching for mine more and more often. Anybody mention a set of tire levers? Spoke wrenches? Good HP floor pump? A couple of different types of oil cans?
A "third hand" for adjusting brakes? Keep an eye out for a good sale on bike tool sets from one of the mail order places. They often have great e-mail specials.

Darn, this is of no interest to me. I thought this thread was going to be about buke tools.

The great thing about bike mechanics is it takes so few tools. Cable cutter, chain tool, crank puller and a basic metric wrench set will get most jobs done. I like a Quick Stick for removing tires.

The one thing that I am really starting to need is a work stand. I have a crude work bench/vise/drawer set up that I balance my bikes on when I'm working on them. Things tend to fall over, crash to the ground. I need a stand bad.

ok! if you only wanted a limited set of crank pullers to work on the most common what would you have?

I was going to recommend a toilet, pan beside the bed, soft towels...and then I realized it was buke, not puke...

It made a huge difference, I would recommend one of the Ultimate/Feedback or Park stands.

I ended up with the Ultimate Pro Elite, and it makes working (hell, even cleaning) the bike a joy. When I'm done, I just fold it up, put it in the included tote, and put it in the closet.

we use kamasa,bacho,shimano and park tools in the shop .
the olderst and longest last best tools i have are park tools and bacho ..

"bother" with park tools , they last very long and take a beating

Cheers
T

Actually, I just meant their cutters, but I've only used them at the CO-OP, I have the Shimano's for personal use.

I love park tools, I should have specified that more clearly. However, the Shimano's hands-down beat the Parks in this case.

One of my most often used tools is a 8/9mm offset box wrench. Good for brake cable hanger bolts and dérailleur cable pinch bolts.

No matter what else I fool with, I always end up having to adjust brake/dérailleur cables.

Another vote for the Shimano cable-cutters over all others - with the possible exception of Felco, which I've never seen - just heard. And I, too, also like my large collection of Park Tools. I normally avoid Shimano. But in this one instance, the Shimano are worth it well above the Park.

A workstand makes a huge difference in what you are able to do, and a set of cone wrenches will do things a Craftsman tool set from Sears won't do. Beyond that, a big old fashioned flat jaw pipe wrench and a crescent wrench will help you muddle through. If you need them, crank pullers, a chain tool, and a cotter press will make your life a lot easier.

Fixed it for OP (thread title spelling, not the alleged senility )

--Juha, a Forum Mod

Aside from a stand, probably the biggest surpise for me was how much I use my Park CWP-6 (now cwp-7 ??) crank puller. It's a low cost and quite versatile alternative to the more specialized pullers. Great for home use.

I have some trouble with the main tube rotating on my Park PCS-10 stand even with the clamp and it's retainer bolts as tight as I dare (plastic parts wrapped around steel). I was thinking of drilling thru and putting in a pin at the most commonly used height.

Agree about the Park cable cutter. I was very disappointed in the performance given my expectation of clean and easy housing cuts, and no amount of adjusting seems to help. I almost always have to follow up with a dremel trim to clean up the damaged ends.

Otherwise, I am slowly collecting specialty tools (mostly Park) with few disappointments.

It depends a lot on the age of the bike.

If you have an old bike, you don't need much more than a dumbbell wrench:
In addition to which you probably want a chain tool, a spoke wrench, a screw driver, tire levers, and a pump.

A cone wrench or two can be very useful, and a 15mm open end wrench is needed for pedals.

If you're working on newer bikes, you need allen wrenches and a crank puller.

I have very limited space and don't even really have space for a fold up bike stand. This is a cheap
alternative and useful for most work. Does mean I have to work on the ground for BB stuff.

https://www.velo-orange.com/twolegstand.html

Others have these cheaper then Velo Orange, but I like VO.

My garage nook:
Cheap rack. I've used floor stands, a roller trainer, my car's trunk rack)
Crank puller (threaded)
Pedal wrench
BB foursome (plug, cartridge, straight-cut, slotted collar)
Chain tool (a good one)
cassette tool (and what you may need for freewheels)
Chain whip
Spoke wrench
Dremel tool with cutting discs
Needle-nose pliers, medium
Channel lock pliers - medium
Simple metric socket set (8mm smallest up to headset top nut size)
Small metric combo wrenches from 8mm to headset size)
Small hammer
Small rubber mallet
Assorted wooden dowels
Third hand brake caliper tool
Tire levers
Tire pump
2 good regular screwdrivers, one small enough for FD/RD adjusting, one larger for prying.
2 good phillips screwdrives, " "
A pair of scissors
Single edge razor blades
A good set, preferably two, of metric allen wrenches
Workmate or similar/bench with vise
Lighted Centurion sign.
Calendar
Carpet remnant to catch the parts I drop
And that's it, the entirety of my tool inventory.

I simply don't use much else. If I had my druthers....:
Headset remover and press
Assorted freewheel tools
2nd chain whip
Truing stand
Better rack
Large magnetic mat
Parts washer
Cone wrenches
Bench grinder with buffing pads.
Refrigerator
Sony SAVA-7 speakers.
Tim Allen's tool girls.

Bike tools are not expensive. If you have an LBS friendly towards you, or their wrench is, offer to buy his/her used tools when he/she decides to upgrade. They need them a lot, you don't, in most cases. That's how I get my bike-specific tools; LBS gets a new one, I offset that cost by buying the old one. Win/Win, and I've not paid more than $5-$8 for any tool yet.

A. Winthrop has gotten most of his from eBay, where there are amazing deals once in a while. If you post a WTB on CL, you'll generally get calls, but be ready to buy all of them, not specifics. Swap meets are great places to pick up tools and especially racks.

Thanks for the tip on the VO stand! I've been trying to decide on a stand and this looks like a great one to start with.

The most vital tool for me is a bike stand. That is ground zero. Also, i have recently discovered the beauty of a rolling tool chest. I have one similar to the photo. I keep all my tools, grease, oil, shop rags, and spare parts in it and there is nothing like setting up the stand out in the driveway and rolling the tool chest nearby and doing all my work outdoors. Well weather permitting that is. Even when I am in my garage/wroshop it's very convenient to move my tools where ever I want. Key to the rolling tool chest is that it have a nice work table on top.

I can't stand those things. They allow a bicycle to lean, at which point the stand will begin to "walk" - until both bike and stand flips over.

Nashbar's stands that prop up from the stays are halfway reliable, provided there isn't a strong wind.

-Kurt