Best "Intermediate" Tool Kit?
 

Both of the following tool kits look like solid values with excellent quality:

Nashbar Premium Tool Kit

http://www.amazon.com/BIKEHAND-Compl...ustomerReviews


The nashbar kit is a little less expensive this weekend but the bikehand has wrenches with coated handles which might prove handy.

They both look good to me. If there are any key differences, let me know.

What all do you actually need? A set of metric hex wrenches can be had quite cheaply at Home Depot, and that will handle about 80% of the adjustments you'll be making on a regular basis. I have a dedicated 15mm tool, some tire levers and a spoke key, but the rest of my tools aren't bike-specific.

Yours tool needs will vary by the age of your bikes. Older bikes need cone wrenches, headset wrenches, and bottom bracket wrenches.

Newer bikes use a lot of allen/hex wrenches.

Either way, you will also need tire levers, a chain breaker, chain whip, and cassette or freewheel removal tool.

I suggest that you buy better quality tools as you need them. Park Tool makes reasonably priced tools that come with a lifetime warranty.

The kits usually include lots of tools that you don't need, and are assembled with collections of tools for fairly recently made bikes. If you have older bikes, a lot of the tools will not work.

Years ago there used to be some very cheesy tools around. Nowadays, it seems virtually all are quite good. Chain-store brands like Performance and Nashbar are fine IMO, as are any general purpose tools (hex keys, sockets, Torx, etc.) at Lowes, Home Depot, TrueValue...

Since no one actually answered your question, I will. Without knowing the actual quality or warranty of either one, the Bikehand kit looks like the best deal. You can never have too many tools and that one has more stuff.

True, the bikehand certainly has more tools, so it may be a better value overall. Bikehand has a 1 year warranty: nashbar supposedly has a "forever" guarantee.

Depends on the era of bike you plan to work on and what you plan to do. Might be a lot of extra stuff in those kits you might never use like a threaded headset wrench, or all those cone wrenches. Don't have a truing stand and/or don't know what you're doing? Do you really need an asst. of spoke wrenches?

A contemporary road bike from the last couple years requires quite a few different tools, then bikes from the 90s or 80s, so if it was me wanting to put together a tool set from scratch I would first assess the bike(s) I wanted to work on and acquire tools on an as needed basis.

Starting with the basics - a good set of Allen Keys or multitool, appropriate sized torque wrench kit(s) and bits, chain tool, pedal wrench, bottom bracket wrench or tool(s) depending, cassette lockring tool, chain whip, good cable cutter, and tire levers. A work stand, perhaps?
You'll also need 'Normal' tools like phillips and flat screwdrivers, pliers, sandpaper, rubber mallet.
Consumables like grease, chain lube, t***** spray, loctite, carbon paste, degreaser cable crimps, headset spacers and electrical tape are all handy in a well rounded tool kit.

My 2c

I'm generally anti-toolkit. A toolkit is a good deal only if (1) you don't have any of the things in the kit already and (2) you need nearly everything in the kit. This is rarely true, which is why I favor buying your tools piecemeal.

But one of these just might be OK for you.

Well, you can buy them piecemeal and pay extra for shipping and have your bike down while you wait on it to ship since most don't buy a tool until they need it, buy them at insane prices at a local bike shop when you need something and hope they have it in stock or get it all on sale in one go. And someday the OP may become a cool guy and get into vintage bikes so he'll already have everything he needs.

Seems like this thread is a timely prime example for this:
http://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...ics-forum.html

I don't think a toolkit is a bad way to go if you are just getting started with your own bike maintenance. Just so you know you're not done buying tools. You may even have to replace some of the tools in the kit when you find out they are not heavy-duty enough.

Between those two I would get the nashbar kit because the tools appear to be slightly more substantial in the pictures. Wait for a 20% off sale, and it's an even better deal. You would have a hard time assembling a set like that for $120 buying individual tools. If you like the bikehand kit, you can get it at jenson for less right now.

I got this kit a few years ago on some deep discount closeout sale when it was branded as a nashbar kit. I think it's also a good kit to get started, and the hex bit sockets are really handy. Everything else is pretty light-duty but will work a few times if that's all you need.

Nice find on the bikehand/jenson kit! Hmm, nashbar is on sale for $120 and the jenson kit is only $110. Close call.

Kits are almost always a better deal than buying tools individually.
I have the Nashbar torque wrench and long handle hex sets, and they are EXCELLENT. No issues or complaints.
Nashbar's return policy is bullet-proof, and that set looks like plenty to get started.

S

This torque wrench? There goes my budget!

Nashbar - Welcome!

If you're starting with zero tools whatsoever, that Nashbar kit doesn't look like a bad way to go. Otherwise, I subscribe to the John Muir school of acquiring tools as your need dictates and your bread allows.

The most likely issue while on a ride is a flat tire. So a spare tube and a way to inflate it (pump, CO2) are essential. Maybe a patch kit if you live in goathead territory. From there, you're talking about issues with drastically decreasing probabilities. With a modern bike, a couple of allen wrenches (cheap) and a spoke wrench (cheap) will take care of anything that wouldn't have you completely bailing out of the ride with a cell phone call.

Yes, that's the one.
A garage set, and a road set, are a completely different set of tools.
I'm assuming you're looking at the kits for home.

This is what I carry on a ride:

http://www.amazon.com/Crank-Brothers...hers+multitool

Amazon.com : Pedro Tire Lever Yellow One Pair : Bike Hand Tools : Sports & Outdoors

http://www.amazon.com/Blackburn-Airs...ckburn+airstik

Plus, a spare tube. That's it.
I dial my bike in at home, in the garage, and test it in the neighborhood.
Levers and tube are for a flat, everything else is already dialed.

S

Yeah, I have a couple of very inexpensive multi-tools. They've served me well for years and years. I also have a couple of home tool kits.

On the road, I've never had to perform a repair more extensive than a tube replacement or "quick" patch, as you've said. I did dent a wheel once, but it was rideable, and had it "fixed" by a coop shop as best they could. I never did have to replace that wheel, btw.

I'd like to have a more extensive kit for the new road bike. For bragging rights? In case I want to upgrade a crank and bottom bracket? Swap out a cassette? Replace a cable? Or, maybe all of the above. It's kinda ridiculous how useful a $6 multi-tool is, however.

I'm leaning towards the jenson kit as it's the least expensive of the two.

I'd get the Jensen kit. If I was a mechanic for a living I'd want a good warranty, but the only bike tool I recall ever breaking was a cassette lockring tool. It was my fault for stripping the teeth because I didn't secure it with the wheel skewer.

I took a look again at the sets and here are a couple more reasons why I think the Nashbar set is better.
* You will like having the big 8mm and 10mm hex wrenches for cranksets and pedals
* 18mm, 19mm, 13/14mm, 15/16mm, 13/15mm cone wrenches gives you a little more versatility. There are times when you may need 2x13 or 2x15.
* The three way hex and torx wrenches are very handy tools to have

I was out of town today and picked this up:

Spin Doctor Essential Tool Kit

I also bought a couple of jerseys to get the 20% off promotion. Seemed like a pretty good deal at $40. I'll test out some of the gear on my mountain bike in the next day or two.

edit: is there still a need to buy either of these two toolkits or should I just buy tools on a piecemeal basis?

Actually, that one looks pretty good.

I would say one tool-kit is enough. There will be too much overlap between the tools you just got and the ones in the other kits.

I'm personally against buying tool sets.

It's a great way to get a bunch of tools you'll never need while wasting the money you could be saving for the ones you do.

OP, why don't you tell us what bike you have and then we can list every tool you'll ever need to maintain your specific bike. From teardown to buildup.

I also say buy tools you need when you need them. If you have absolutely no tools of any kind this might be a good start. But allens and spanners and regular tools can easily be bought individually at Home Depot usually for a better price than bike specific ones. When It comes to specialized tools I have about 4 bottom bracket tools because of different standards on different bikes. Buying a kit will either leave you without some tools you need or with tools you may never need. And tools are actually one thing that I find I can get at my LBS for a reasonable price. You can get most Park, Pedros etc on ebay for great prices including the shipping but on average I have paid $1-3 more per tool at LBS than ebay prices and if I really need something immediately I'll pay that extra convenience fee.

lots of good advice given...each opinion is a good from the perspective of the individual who gave it...
lots of things to consider to give you an answer that fits your situation....some of the things needed for good advice for your situation are bits of information we do not have... like do you have any existing tools at all.... what type of work are you planning on doing to your bike yourself... what type of bike do you have... do you mind shopping at different stores and taking the time to find tools to save a bit of money...do you just want a tool collection or do you just want tools that you will actually need....in short, we don't really have enough information on you, your personality, your budget and what you want to do...I am not exactly a tool freak, but I have a different assortment (kit) for each type of work I plan on doing...so when it came to bicycles, I just ordered the park professional tool kit... now almost anything I may ever need is in one location...seperate from my motorcyle tools, and my truck tools...I keep a roll around in my motorcycle shed, keep a job box in the barn and now the park tools in my bicycle room.