I cut (shortened) a 1 inch open end wrench for a lock ring remover. I'll be drilling holes to lighten it up. Some have modified their lock ring remover to imitate a hyper cracker. Instead of a chain whip, I have a short length of chain to wrap around the rear cog. A hyper cracker wouldn't work on the track ends.

I'm sure there will be more I can do. What have you done?

No...I can't say I've ever felt the need to lighten a bike tool. Of course, I have the luxury of simply gearing down if need be.

Why would you carry a chain whip on your bike?

I'm still building my tool kit. I don't have/carry a chain whip. Some carry a hyper cracker (or similar) or a chain whip and a lock ring remover to access drive side spokes that have broken, bent, etc. I need to invest in a Fiber fix emergency spoke and spare spokes.

I have a 29er, so I'll be off road at times. Make sure wheels (which were hand built) are properly tensioned before parting. In the event of a broken spoke, use the Fiber fix and replace spoke at camp.

I had a machine shop build me a custom headset press to bring on long treks. Lots of hollowed out sections.

Sweet. Now that's what I'm talking about.

I gave my brother-in-law a heavy Park Tool multi-tool and got individual hex keys. I also got a brand new Rescue tool (for free) and took out the pedal wrench/chain tool and spoke tool and replaced my heavy one.

A few, but more for space than weight. I've trimmed off the handle end of a crescent wrench(shifting spanner) to fit in the bag, and I created a headset wrench from a thin cone spanner by grinding out the jaws and cutting off the original handle halfway.

Much comes down to building a bike so you have as few tools as possible. Aheadsets have virtually remedied the need for headset wrenches; you can use a piece of cinch strap looped around the cassette as a chainwhip, and most decent pedals these days have a hex hole on the spindle for removing from or attaching to cranks. Even the external BBs these days and "spindle" seet-ups are relatively simple -- although removal might require a cut-down wrench.

One of the important things about using "lightweight" or cutdown tools is to ensure that things aren't overtorqued. There is a predisposition by many to yank down on things so tight, that it is almost impossible to undo them again (and in many cases is impossible). Pedals and cassette lock rings come to mind. Grease all threads, and apply only the required amount of torque. If you don't know by feel, acquire a torque wrench for home use and find out; many of the specced torque readings on bike components are very light.

I remember the loads on my first days of touring included a 10" crescent wrench and various other bits of paraphenalia. Now it's down to one multitool (Topeak Hexus) and maybe a crescent wrench, a decent spoke key, and not much else. On randonnees it's just the Hexus.

+1 to all of this, except I use a crank bros multi17 which works well for my bike. In fact, I can completely assemble my bike with that one tool (thanks to the 8mm stub), and to disassemble I only need to borrow a crank puller. This has been really nice for travelling. When touring I add a better spoke key, and a small (3 in.) adjustable wrench.

I cut down an 8mm allen wrench and only carry a one inch or so stub. I turn it with my 8mm box end ignition wrench. Works great, weighs very little.

I agree. Well put.

Sounds good.

No I've never messed with my bike tools to make them lighter on tour. I don't go overboard on what I bring and I don't obsess over my cargo weight. Which is not to say I carry a lot of weight....I'm on the lighter side of things without getting to the point of ultralight.

Nothing wrong with that Vik.

This is definitely something that comes with experience. I know personally, that the load I carried on my first tour was quite a lot, stowed in four panniers and handelbar bag of sorts, and a sleeping bag roll on the back rack. Now I can tour self-supported for weeks on end with two panniers, a moderately sized handlebar bag and a tent on top of the rear rack. Even on a fixed gear.

Experience also tells me that quite often it's not the weight that's important -- whether tools or other equipment -- but the volume of the package you are trying to create (or pare down).

Check out this chain whip. My 1st attempt in making a bike-specific tool. Works great! Why buy one and modify when you can make your own.

Weighs in at 93g:

I carry a chain whip and cluster socket when touring so I can replace spokes. I made my own chain whip out of an aluminium bar for lightness, and made a metal bar to fit the socket tool so I didn't need a large wrench.
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...oc_id=6089&v=i
I would rather carry a comprehensive tool kit than be stuck on the side of the road wishing I had of.
Make sure you don't overtighten the socket when fixing it at home. This happened to me when I got my wheel replaced on tour and the bike shop tightened the cluster socket so tight that I was not able to loosen it with my tools later when I needed to replace a spoke. I had to go to another bike shop to get them to loosen the cluster.

Cool tool. I wanna make one similar to that. I don't have the lock ring on too tight.

The chain whip can be done with an 6-8 inches chain and a couple feet of thin rope, packs well and I use the same setup in the basement shop. Can post a picture if any one has an interest. Light weight and an easy pack.

I wanna see.

Instead of bringing along a chain whip, why not just tie strap the cassette to the spokes?

Uh, what?

This thread needs more pictures! I am a very armature bicycle mechanic but I am learning. What I do not know very well is all the names for these tools. Pictures, pictures, pictures!

Or you can make your own emergency spoke with a dogleg bent in it and you only need a spoke wrench....leave all the other stuff at home.

I carry full-sized real tools. If I have to do work on the road, I don't want to do a bad job because my tools are bad. Of course, my bike and stuff weighed in at 96 pounds on my last tour. But I'm not gonna mess around when it comes to pedal wrenches or my stem. I've tried to work on both of those with multitools, and I can do a much better job with "real" tools.

Another consideration is how long the tour is. If it's a week-long tour or longer, full sized tools are probably more important than, say, on a weekend jaunt. I also find that when I have full-sized tools, I enjoy working on my bike more, and I'm more likely to check over the bike and catch things like a loose rack screw or loose pedal clip.

On the other hand, on my commute, which was about a half hour of riding over the course of the day, I carried a multitool and left it at that.

I agree with neilfein, I've never cut down any tools. If I'm just going somewhere for a day I just bring a leatherman, a small crescent wrench, and an allen wrench, all fit in my seat bag with a spare tube. On longer trips I just bring enough tools that I can completely strip down my bike and rebuild it should the need arise, I'm a bit paranoid. It really doesn't add up to much, 1-2 kilograms of tools. I'd much rather have full sized tools than suffer with less leverage to save a few grams.