Mobile tool kit

Ray Winder

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Apr 13, 2017
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North Yorks
To throw a spanner in the works as it were :D...has anyone mentioned the nut on hub motors (assuming you are using a hub drive) is usually 18 mm?

I commute over 20 miles each day. I rarely carry any tools, not even a pump or repair kit. Modern puncture resistant tyres mean you almost never get a puncture and I keep the bike in a good state before I ride.

I wouldn't over think it, unless you are travelling long distance into the back of beyond.
Just bought a crank drive this year but yet to size up all the fittings on the bike.
My old carrera bike has a hub drive and it's tighten to 40nm so trying to shift that without the correct tools would potentially be a problem, also putting it back without tighten it up correctly could lead to disaster.
 

AndyBike

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Nov 8, 2020
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Now... You've got a torque wrench haven't you ...

o_O
 

matthewslack

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Nov 26, 2021
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In my youth, the standard motorbike toolkit joke was 'a big hammer and the bus fare home'.

On my longer trips I don't carry much, because the nearest bike shop / DIY store / Screwfix is never far away, and the nearest helpful person is always closer than you think.

I like separate Allen keys, and my latest set packs 1.5mm to 5mm very neatly in a little plastic holder - don't need any larger sizes - I do carry one normal smallish straight and pozi/Philips screwdriver - good enough for a range of sizes at lowish torque - and I do carry three special tools: Park Tools CT5 chain tool, always there, never yet needed, spoke key, and the special splined cassette tool, because (1) my cassette does loosen off despite 40Nm, and (2) I've changed my centerlock disc retainers to the early style that only works with qr axles, but uses the same tool which means I can access all spoke holes to change a spoke should I need to. I carry a couple of spokes these days, the best of my old ones kept from recent wheel rebuild.

I don't carry a vice or large adjustable spanner to use with the cassette tool - that's where the nearby helpful person comes in!
 
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guerney

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matthewslack

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That Fiat screwdriver might be of limited use...
 

soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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20240428_203534[1].jpg
:p
 

guerney

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That Fiat screwdriver might be of limited use...
The phillips screwdriver is useful, I've also used the small cutting blade and bottle opener often. The serrated part isn't long enough. I sometimes wonder if it's illegal to carry, because it has self-defence possibilities when completely open - doesn't lock opened out straight, but it doesn't have to. Locking blades are illegal. I make sure to remove it from my keyring before travelling by air, using an airplane.
 
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
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To throw a spanner in the works as it were :D...has anyone mentioned the nut on hub motors (assuming you are using a hub drive) is usually 18 mm?
Look at my opening answer in post 2, this fully covered by the below:

"The Torq and Quando motor spindle nuts are 18 mm, a size often not included in the average spanner set which commonly jumps from 17 to 19 mm. Separate spanners are expensive and even open ended spanners are often too long for a compact toolbag like the one mentioned above. A rummage in your existing toolbox can provide a solution if you have a spare 17 mm or 11/16" spanner, since chrome vanadium is easily filed and hacksawn. A millimetre filed out of the jaw of the former or just over half a millimetre from the latter will do the trick. Then you can saw off the unwanted end of the spanner with the usual high speed steel hacksaw blade and smooth it to provide a compact 18 mm spanner for your "on road" toolkit. Both the 18 mm spanners in the Torq and Quando toolkits illustrated above were made in this way from old unwanted items. and the 16 mm ring spanner for the Torq's rear wheel nuts is an old item cut in half. "
.
 

WheezyRider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 20, 2020
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Look at my opening answer in post 2, this fully covered by the below:

"The Torq and Quando motor spindle nuts are 18 mm, a size often not included in the average spanner set which commonly jumps from 17 to 19 mm. Separate spanners are expensive and even open ended spanners are often too long for a compact toolbag like the one mentioned above. A rummage in your existing toolbox can provide a solution if you have a spare 17 mm or 11/16" spanner, since chrome vanadium is easily filed and hacksawn. A millimetre filed out of the jaw of the former or just over half a millimetre from the latter will do the trick. Then you can saw off the unwanted end of the spanner with the usual high speed steel hacksaw blade and smooth it to provide a compact 18 mm spanner for your "on road" toolkit. Both the 18 mm spanners in the Torq and Quando toolkits illustrated above were made in this way from old unwanted items. and the 16 mm ring spanner for the Torq's rear wheel nuts is an old item cut in half. "
.
Ah, my bad I didn't click on the link in your post :) :

 
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soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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Look at my opening answer in post 2, this fully covered by the below:

"The Torq and Quando motor spindle nuts are 18 mm, a size often not included in the average spanner set which commonly jumps from 17 to 19 mm. Separate spanners are expensive and even open ended spanners are often too long for a compact toolbag like the one mentioned above. A rummage in your existing toolbox can provide a solution if you have a spare 17 mm or 11/16" spanner, since chrome vanadium is easily filed and hacksawn. A millimetre filed out of the jaw of the former or just over half a millimetre from the latter will do the trick. Then you can saw off the unwanted end of the spanner with the usual high speed steel hacksaw blade and smooth it to provide a compact 18 mm spanner for your "on road" toolkit. Both the 18 mm spanners in the Torq and Quando toolkits illustrated above were made in this way from old unwanted items. and the 16 mm ring spanner for the Torq's rear wheel nuts is an old item cut in half. "
.
you should come shopping with me round halfrauds ill nick everything you want up to 249 quid :p
 

WheezyRider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 20, 2020
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That Fiat screwdriver might be of limited use...
The question is whether it is a tool for making a Fiat car work (which might be useful if you own one) or it is a Fiat tool, a tool that instigates a command or act of will that creates something without or as if without further effort. :D
 
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StuartsProjects

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May 9, 2021
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To throw a spanner in the works as it were :D...has anyone mentioned the nut on hub motors (assuming you are using a hub drive) is usually 18 mm?
Why even mention it ?

Who is daft enough to have a 'toolkit' for a bike, that they have not checked does fit the nuts, bolts and screws used ?
 

WheezyRider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 20, 2020
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Why even mention it ?

Who is daft enough to have a 'toolkit' for a bike, that they have not checked does fit the nuts, bolts and screws used ?
Well, as @flecc said, 18 mm is a little unusual for most spanner sets. When I first got into e-bikes, I was surprised that 18 mm was used, I assumed it would be 19 mm. There are people who buy a set of tools, stick them in storage and never use them until they are in the middle of nowhere and have a problem, then find they don't have what they thought they needed. Better to say it now, rather than find out later.
 
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soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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20240428_215118[1].jpg

its to heavy :eek: