Hello Everyone,

Im leaving for a 4 month tour around South East Asia what are the essential tools and spares will i need. In particular do i need to bring a chain whip? and how crazy should I get about bringing real tools or compact multi tools?

The answer is that you have to let your bike be your guide, not mine. Look at the bike, they aren't very complicated. What areas are you competant to work on? What tools are required for every nut and bolt of the stuff you can do. Some of these require quite large tools, and at required torque specs small tools may be useless, for instance I can't get my pedals off for transport with a small wrench, but the very largest is not required. If you don't carry a pedal wrench and had the guy at the shop use an 18" wrench on it, carrying a 6" wrench is probably not going to work. It is all comon sense, just look at the bike. Then you have to decide whether you can carry all the tools that are required for all the stuff you are able to fix. Are some repairs less likely? You can also, longer term, choose components with repairs in mind. Like threadless headsets, or fancy stuff like Phil BBs.

in a tupperware box i have
chainbreaker,
multi tool,
swiss army knife,
puncture repair extra patches and extra tube glue.
spare chain links
various siz small spanners for racks nuts mostly.
spoke key .
spare reading glasses.
zip ties,
good quality tire leavers (steel with plastic cover)
oh yeah the smallest allan key for the jocky wheels
thats about it i think all fits neatly into a tupperwre box 4x2x2
hope this is of some help it rescued many a cyclists who just carry the bare minimum.

I use a chain whip at home, but they are heavy and rarely used. A chain whip is one tool that you can substitute a nylon strap but you will likely destroy the strap in the process. I usually carry a spare nylon strap or two to strap stuff onto my rack, thus I would not carry the whip but instead would sacrifice a nylon strap if I needed to replace a drive side spoke.

If you carry a spare chain, that and a handy stick can be Macguyver-ed into a chain whip.

This is a cool suggestion Ive been looking around the forum and found some good ideas for whip replacements buy binding up the chain with a vice grip. i know not ideal but can work in a pinch.

antokelly has a list very similar to mine. I would add a few items to the list, though; small roll of duct tape(good tire boot, pannier patch), chain lube, extra set brake/shift cables, extra tubes, extra tires, pre paid calling card.

There are a number of small lockring-removal tools that obviate the need for a chain whip. Here's one.

Ive been wondering about carrying a chain whip. I currently have a freewheel equipped wheel, but i wondered if any of you with cassette hubs carry chain whips.

Yes, many carry chain whips. Many others carry homemade, and lighter, chain whips. Many others carry devices such as the hypercracker, AKA Stein Mini Cassette Lockring tool, cited above. Many others carry FiberFix spokes. Many others improvise with the nylon strap. Many others carry nothing and accept the risk. It's all over the map.

I carry the hypercracker and FiberFix. I think tools such as a chain whip, pliers, vice grips, cable cutters, cone wrenches, etc. are all overkill for a tour, especially a tour in any first world country. I'm not saying you'd never need them, and I'm sure people can come up with stories where they were glad they had these tools, but they fall below my risk/reward/weight threshhold.

Here is my list

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...oc_id=6089&v=i

I made a light chain whip out of aluminium and chain.

And I carry a real screwdriver. The ones on the multitools are useless

No, I don't carry a chain whip. I did on one tour, and a cassette tool, and a small crescent wrench to turn the cassette tool. All that was heavy. I replaced it all with the Stein tool linked above. I used it on one tour - not for a broken spoke, but for a loose lock ring (I'd installed myself.) It really works!

I also carry a multitool with a chain tool, a spoke wrench, tire irons, a patch kit, some spare spokes, some zip ties, and a couple of miscellaneous bolts (for replacing a rack bolt, etc.) I have almost no screws on my bike so I don't bring a screwdriver. The only screws I can think of are the limiting screws on the derailleurs. (What am I missing?) I always have my Swiss Army knife. I use the blades for whatever (including slicing meat), the can opener to, well, open cans, and the screwdrivers are good enough for my uses on tour.

I removed the locking ring on the Falcon freehub yesterday. I had to use a screwdriver and hammer, which was a bad choice as it almost cut the ring at the notch as the ring was rusted. For the whip, I used a chain draped on a cog and the end was kept down on a rag covered floor with my heel. It worked. I am not able to remove the freehub though, with the correct tool. Need to clamp the free wheel remover to a post with a C clamp as i don't own a vice.