big chainring 

Campy T wrench and a 10mm wrench covers most things. And a Swiss Army knife.

repechage

Decades ago, in 1975 I went to the an Aircraft Surplus place and found plenty of allen key fasteners for Campagnolo components.
for the cable bands and front mechanism band clamp I went to 10-32 in Titanium no less with matching Nylok nuts. Not too hard to find 5 mm metric today in ti.
for the cable anchor bolts all mechanisms, 5mm socket head fasteners in Stainless steel. ( check the 'bay for them in titanium today, also work for waterbottle braze on bosses (most) , toe clip fastening bolts.
Look for AN washers, not SAE, the AN washers have better tolerance.

Some noticed, many did not.

Harder to find Stainless steel screws for top tube cable clips.

79pmooney

I have two of those Trixie wrenches that live permanently under my tool bags on my two good fix gears. They are perfect for stopping and flipping wheels. That spanner is first class for lockrings; in fact far better than the plate steel spanners for bell-shaped 12 tooth lockrings. The spanner also works really well for lifting the chain off the cog and hanging it on a chain peg for a fast, clean-hands flip. (I made an aluminum shop quality chainwhip that weighs 16 oz that I carry on the top tube for on-the-road cog changes. You can see the chainwhip in my avatar. The Trixie is also there.)

Re: C&V - that tool (and my chainwhip) allow me to ride as races were ridden over 100 years ago with C&V body and knees. (Mountains, fix gear and 3 cogs for those big days to reflect a '50s vintage body.)

Ben

ryansu

6.7 oz
Check out the Topeak Alien - its much like @20grit Park tool. It has almost all of what you need, and for a recreational cyclist I can't imagine its too heavy, then again there is always Uber.....

My old school circa 2000 Alien weighs a whopping 6.7 ozs

nlerner

A couple of weeks ago, I was halfway into a planned 100-mile ride when the fixing bolt on my American Classic seatpost came loose (they have a tendency to do that after many miles without a problem). In the interest of lighter weight, I had brought a somewhat minimal multitool rather than my usual Park kitchen sink model. Well, the correct Allen key was too short to reach the saddle bolt until I removed the bolt that controls tilt. That allowed me to tighten down the clamp, but it meant my saddle was too nose up for the rest of the ride. I survived but next time I’m bringing the kitchen sink (or maybe a single Allen key that fits that saddle clamp and is the right length).

tiger1964 

Looks like great advice. There's an airport not far away (College Park, MD, America's first) and I could go over and ask where they get hardware locally, so I can browse. There used to be a great bolt place near here; I'd take all of bolts for my Tiger there to be matched up in stainless of Grade 8, depending on use ("six of A, fourteen of B, eight of C" etc.), they'd match them all up for me. Gone now.

Thanks for the heads up on the 10-32 and 5mm sizes.

davester

Seriously? Perhaps if you stick to short distances and roads as smooth as a baby's butt. Do any amount of gravel riding and stuff will be shaken loose or out of adjustment, or will get bent requiring adjustments. I use my MT-1 pretty frequently, either for my own, or my fellow riders' bikes. I also carry tiny slip-joint pliers which weigh very little but have been worth their weight in gold numerous times (last time was when a friend's cassette lockring unscrewed...used the pliers as a crude pin wrench to put it back together). I have stopped carrying my chain tool, but I'm not sure that is a good idea since my last on the road mechanical problem was a snapped chain.

davester

Only if you break down where there's a cell signal, a significant issue where I ride.

lasauge 

I agree with Conspiritoramus on this one - the main reason I carry a multi-tool is so that I can help other people, usually other riders who neglected proper maintenance. I carry a Park MT-1 and have used it maybe three times in the past year, once as an improvised tire lever, and twice while visiting at a relative's house where we needed an allen key to disassemble furniture and they couldn't find any in the toolbox: "hold on, I've got one, let me go out to my bike."

conspiratemus1

Well, OK, gravel riding would be a new set of skills and "best practices" as regards tools so you're right, there. As for distances, I rode a solo unsupported century (actually 164 km) on 31 July with only my two Allen wrenches and two tubes instead of my usual one. There was a little bit of gravel but only on a road that I know is usually OK and there was more nice smooth new pavement in the unfamiliar parts than I had dared hope for. But our roads don't stay smooth for very long. Nothing came loose, nothing has come loose on that bike (Mariposa, to be posted under "M" soon) in like 20 years. The more bikes in company, the more likely that at least one will have a mechanical problem, also true. We do carry a bit more stuff on the tandem, which gets most of the kilometres nowadays. But it's not C&V.

tiger1964 

Hmm, something like this?

Ti bolts 5mm?

JaccoW

And there I am carrying this toolkit every time I go out.

The Knipex wrench plier is great for every single bolt between 0-27mm. Shame it isn't a bit bigger or else I could have adjusted my headset too.



EDIT: added a Parktool chain breaker in the meantime.
Still, my most used tool is the Swiss tool with the different bits.

tiger1964 

What -- no shop stand?

conspiratemus1

lol -- now that's closer to what we carry on the tandem , including the chain tool, plus quick links and a short length of spare chain and a green pin tool for adjusting eccentric tension, 5 gold rings and a partridge in a pear tree. (and getting back on topic, the tandem is pretty much "all-Allen-Key")

tiger1964 

Mine just arrived: according to my wife's kitchen scale, only 42 grams. I can live with that. This buys me time to decide if and how to "update" the various bolts.

smontanaro 

In addition to the MT-1, I will point out that most SunTour Superbe and Cyclone bits used Allen keys for the bulk of their fasteners by 1980, so you can have a c&v aesthetic without replacing a bunch of fasteners. My Griffon is nearly all Superbe. I think everything takes hex keys. The exceptions are the brake and crank fixing bolts, and the saddle clamp bolts (two-bolt NR).

jonwvara 

I don't find it difficult to carry 8 and 10mm wrenches on a tour. But I have thought about switching from old-school hex-head crank bolts to modern 8mm allen bolts, since it would eliminate the need to carry a 14mm socket wrench, for use in the event of a loose crankarm (not that I ever actually carry a 14mm socket). Maybe I'll actually get around to it someday.

jlaw

Always be prepared.



What's an extra 100#?

tmac100

FWIW, on my outback Australia self-supported tours I carried lots of tools and parts - including spoke wrenches and spokes (needed by the bike shop in Katherine, NT in August 2006). The Park chain "link breaker" tool was heavy, but a god-send, not just for me but for several tourers I met with a busted chain. Oh, chain links too.

Better to have and not need, than to need and be SOL 🤪

Salamandrine 

On a camping tour, it's a whole different thing. Bringing a basic tool kit including a chain breaker is only sensible. BITD I'd put together a mini kit with 4/5/6 allens, multiwrench for the hexheads, chain breaker, spoke wrench. Nowadays I have a little multitool. For the OP, I think the former old school approach is a lot more sensible than trying to swap out all the bolts.

I maintain however that a properly set up all campy Masi or equivalent should not require any tools for a normal ride. That's kind of what it's designed for. FWIW I rode my campy Masi for years and never needed tools on the road. This was for long distances and often over substantial gravel sections.

Darth Lefty 

Good for you guys who never need tools. I fuss with my bike fit all the time.

Reynolds 531 

I like the idea of allen heads under dustcaps. Ive nevr had anything new enough that didn't use a peanut butter wrench, so it never occurred to me. Ive had a lot of loose cranks on rides, and i hate carrying a big wrench.

As an aside, my new mtb is about half torx half allen, so I'm thinking of switching to all torx.