Tools for touring bikers, that was our requirement for our test. The most important Allen keys, a 25 mm Torx and a chain riveter should definitely be on board. With this standard equipment, you can carry out the most important emergency repairs off-road. While some manufacturers in the test really only concentrate on the essential equipment, others add a whole arsenal of more or less useful additional tools to their foldable toolboxes. While tyre levers, brake pad splitters or a knife make perfect sense, the usefulness of various spanners on a modern mountain bike must be questioned.
If the equipment fits the bill, the question naturally arises: can the pocket-sized tools be used properly? To find out, we worked our fingers to the bone in the BIKE workshop and ran through the most important jobs with each tool. Bits too short? No chance with inaccessible screws. An angular tool body? Presses uncomfortably into the palm of your hand even with little force. And if the lever on the chain riveter is too small, the rivet can only be squeezed out of the chain plates with clenched teeth.
The lab test shows how well you can work with the mini tools
Of course, we wanted to know exactly how much force you can actually apply with the minitools. We therefore clamped a torque spanner with a dial gauge in the vice and determined the maximum possible torque with the 6 mm Allen key of each mini tool. The differences are astonishing: while some candidates give up with a pained face at 10 Newton metres, some tools can be used to tighten screws with up to 25 Newton metres.
We also used a digital caliper gauge to determine the accuracy of fit of the tools. However, we were unable to detect any major deviations. The tolerances were mostly within reasonable limits. Only the spoke spanners showed some significant deviations.
Not all mini-tools still shine after the salt shower
Finally, the test candidates went for a swim. After a day in the salty spray mist, some of the models had already acquired a distinct patina. In the warm and humid climate of a sweaty jersey pocket, some of the tools would probably look exactly the same.
All functions of the mini tools at a glance
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Stefan Frey
Editor
