Park Tools IB3C - I-Beam Mini Fold-up Hex Wrench Multi Tools

Advantages: Cheap, Sturdy, Easy to Use
Disadvantages: None

...The Company Park Tools are an American company manufacturing bike tools for the home and professional mechanic. They claim to be the largest bike tool manufacturer in the world. From personal experience I have found that while Park Tools are more expensive, they tend to be of higher quality than their competitors. Despite being an American company, most of their tools are actually manufactured in the far east. Why would you want a Chain Checker? Chains are said to stretch with use. The chain doesn't actually stretch. What happens is that the pins and bushings are worn away by use, creating play. A worn chain under tension will elongate further than a new one. Once the chain has elongated by 1% or more it is considered worn. This level of wear is not visually obvious. Chain checkers provide an accurate... Read review

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Advantages: Strong, reliable, spring-loaded pliers, rust proof
Disadvantages: Scissors have small cut size

...'ll concentrate on the main features which I have used most: PLIERS: Without a doubt, the main 'tool' on the 800 is the strong stainless steel pliers which sit, when it is closed, completely within the handle housing. This makes it all nicely compact when you have it in it's case on your belt. When open, you can see straight away that the teeth on the pliers are up to the job - they are not going to sheer off the moment you try to tighten a nut on your mountain bike. The pliers incorporate small Tungsten carbide steel wire cutters and sheath stripper - I have use this many, many times. Also, the cutters are triangular, so can be rotated in the future to keep them effective. The best feature on the pliers is their spring-loading. They default to the open position so that you can easily use them with one hand. I can't describe how useful... Read review

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Advantages: Good variety of high quality tools in a compact and lightwieght package
Disadvantages: Tyre levers are average, no ring spanners for older bikes

...Why would you want one? Multi-tools have been around for almost ever - I have a turn of the century mutli-tool, complete with knives, a hook for doing up bootlaces, and amusingly a spike for removing stones from horses hooves. The Hexus has a similar design to the ubiquitous swiss army knife, although rather than blades it has allen keys, and screwdrivers. The Hexus is your get out of jail free card when you need to carry out an emergency trail/road side repair. What does it do? While it is possible to use this for general maintenance, I generally prefer to use proper tools for this purpose. MInd you, popped in a pocket, I find it handy for tweaking when test riding the bike after an overhaul. On modern bikes, you will come across 3 types of bolt/screw. 1) allen head - the vast majority of bolts. 2... Read review

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