37. Basic Bike Repair Tools
An overview of the tools needed to perform basic maintenance and minor repairs at home.
IMPORTANT: Nuts and bolts on your bike should always be tightened to the manufacturer's specifications.
VIDEO UPDATES
- 00:30 - You can also use a car bike rack to hold up your bike!
Today we’ll learn about some tools that every home repair shop should have in order to perform basic adjustment and maintenance procedures. I’ll cover more advanced tools in a future tutorial.
Repair Stand
The most important tool in any home shop is a repair stand. Park Tools makes an economy stand called the PCS-9 that will do the job, but if you’re going to be working on bikes regularly I’d recommend the PCS-4 because of the superior clamping system. If you’re not ready to invest you can always hang your bike from the ceiling, and for minor adjustments you can also use a bike display stand to keep your rear wheel off the ground. If you’re adventurous you can always build your own stand.
Cleaning Supplies
For basic cleaning you should have some cleaning solvent and a supply of rags. I find the Park gear cleaning brush extra handy for cleaning grime out of your sprockets and chain.
Lubricants
You should have 3 basic types of lubrication: chain oil, light oil and waterproof grease. See the video on choosing the right lubricants.
Screwdrivers
Both flathead and phillips (+) screwdrivers are essential.
Pliers
For pliers you should have a good set of wire cutters for trimming inner cable ends. The 4th hand tool is also invaluable for adjusting brake and derailleur tension and attaching zip-ties. If you plan on replacing cable housings, a proper cable cutter makes a clean cut every time.
Hex Wrenches
Most of the components on modern bikes are fastened using 4mm, 5mm or 6mm allen bolts. One of my favorite tools is the Park triple hex wrench, which includes all three basic sizes. I also find it useful to have a set of long allen keys on hand, as they include some extra sizes like an 8mm for crank bolts, and a ball-end that makes it easy to quickly spin long bolts.
Wrenches
For wrenches, most components are between the sizes of 8mm to 17mm, so having a good set of open-end wrenches is a must. It’s also a good idea to have a couple of adjustable wrenches on hand for odd jobs, but I recommend using the proper size whenever possible as adjustable wrenches often slip and can damage your bolts.
Wrenches for Pedals, Headsets & Hubs
A 15mm pedal wrench is necessary for tightening or replacing pedals. They come with a long handle which helps loosen pedals that are often very tight. If you have an older threaded headset you should have either a 32mm or 36mm headset wrench for making adjustments. A set of 13&15mm cone wrenches are also often needed to adjust your front and rear hubs.
Tire & Tube Tools
For tire repairs you’ll need a set of plastic tire levers. Never use a screwdriver or metal tool to pry off your tires as you’ll run the risk of pinching your tube or damaging your rim. For installing very tight tires I recommend the Kool Stop tire jack, which makes it really easy to pull them on. Of course every home mechanic should also have an air pump, tire guage and if you have presta valves, a presta valve adapter.
Wheel Tools
The last thing you should have are some basic wheel truing tools. Spoke wrenches come in 3 common sizes which you can get individually, or as a combination tool like the one from Park. You can usually make minor wheel adjustments on your bike using your brake pads as a guide, but if you want to be more precise you’ll need a truing stand. Park makes a great economy stand called the TS-8, but if you’re looking for a shop-quality stand that will last a lifetime, it’s worth investing in the TS-2. Once you’ve invested in these tools, you’ll be ready to tune up your bike and take care of minor repairs yourself!
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01/28 Truing Stand Brake?
While looking at a couple of posts and my brain going Bike crazy within the past few weeks I was thinking. How sometimes when truing wheels on the stand and the wheel turns away and ya loose your place. Like if ya had to get up and walk away for a moment the wheel ghost quietly spins the wheel lol. Anyone have suggestion on keeping braked, or rather held in place?... Read more >>
01/27 Home Made Heavy Duty Repair
Today I was working on my Work Shop and took a long look at my Bike repair stand. I am going to make one the same listed here... http://forums.bicycletutor.com/thread-992.html only bigger and better. There are a few enhancements that I am working that may just prove to be valuable to everyone. This new one is rather in my head and on paper right now but can tell ya it will be with 3/4 black steel pipe. Thats all for now.... Read more >>
01/21 New Trueing Stand
My old stand: http://forums.bicycletutor.com/thread-3155.html After getting some experience with my first home built stand, I decided the I needed some improvements:
- Be able to handle ISO630 wheels with 32mm tires mounted
- Be able to handle ISO622 wheels with 40mm tires mounted
- Improved rigidity
12/17 Hanging an FS bike
Should I hang a FS MTB upside down? I'm wondering about the oil in the fork tubes. I am a newbie to FS bikes and would appreciate any advice on this subject. I live in northern Il and don't ride my bike in the winter, ( prefer my snowmobile ) and store it in an unheated garage.... Read more >>
11/21 Bench Vise Repair Stand
Anyone have a path to a DIY bench vise mounted bicycle repair stand?... Read more >>
08/16 School Time Toronto -- GTA
Anyone interested in improving their maintenance skills may find this helpful, if you have not seen the latest calendar. Scroll down a bit. http://econnect.tdsb.on.ca/econnect/Activities/Activities.asp?SCheck=282556648&SDT=40771.5533449074&SectionId=2&SubSectionId=10... Read more >>
08/08 DIY Bicycle Accessories +
Hi all, I am a new member here, so I thought I'd post some of the things made for my bike. It sees mainly messenger and hauler duties as much is accessible close to where I live. I got tired of trying to re-do any commercially available rear racks, so I just made one: Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us It was made from a waiting room chair that was discarded. You can see it before installation in that last picture (and a trailer that is mostly complete) You can see other raw materials, hockey nets and other stuff that was all tossed... Read more >>
07/07 Bike shops in Toronto, Ontario?
Hey guys, Anyone here Have any recommendations on any good bike shops in Toronto? The one I'm currently going to, I'm finding is not that great... Bad advice and expensive parts.... Just curious.. Thanks... Read more >>
06/16 To those with greater knowledge of tools
Can anyway give me a general list of tools needed for a beginner/advanced/expert bike repair person. I know opinions are varied I just don't know what is the best order (most important tools) to get first and what could possibly wait. Also this will help get informed with tools I haven't heard about that assist bicycle repairing. So for example wrenches (hand/socket) are needed first but a bike repair (or wheel truing stand) could wait.... Read more >>
05/30 Tri flow light oil - available in UK?
Would appreciate any advice from anyone in the UK (or elsewhere close by) who might know where to buy TriFlow oil online in Europe. I'm in Luxembourg, but have access to all the UK online retailers that ship outside the UK, etc., but can't find it anywhere. Have checked Ribble, ChainReaction, Evans, french/german amazon sites, but nobody seems to have it. Any ideas? Thanks.... Read more >>
05/30 Stand upgrades
http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/bb8/dianemisso/Stand%202/ The angle brackets that were on the bike stand bent!!! I got some 10 x 12 inch shelf brackets from Home Depot yesterday, and moved the old angle brackets to the outside corners - belt and suspenders I also added another L bracket to the piece of plywood to prevent frames rocking side to side that did not hit.... Read more >>
05/29 Trueing Stand
Pictures: http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/bb8/dianemisso/Stand/ I used two pieces of 3/4" aluminum angle, 1/8" thick, 14" long. One end of each needs to be cut as square as you can, the other end doesn't matter. 14" is long enough for a ISO 630 (27") wheel without tire, or a ISO 559 (26") wheel with tire. I don't know about ISO 622 (700c); as I haven't tried the Tandem's wheels yet - they are don't need any adjustment and the spoke tension is good. ISO 571 also fits with a tire installed. Clamp the two pieces together, to form a 'T'; with the good ends matched as perfectly as you can. ... Read more >>
05/27 Yet Another Torque Wrench Question
Hi guys, I understand most of the bits you need for a torque wrench, such as sockets, hex-end sockets bits, Torx end socket bits etc. But what bits are required for the torque wrench for say, tightening an external bearing bottom bracket, or tightening the cassette? I've not really been able to find any torque wrench fittings for jobs like this you see. Cheers Si... Read more >>
05/16 How to figure out which Park Tool to use to remove cassette?
Hi guys, I bought a pre-built bike without any real details as to what pieces were used to make up the bike. Now I'd like to remove the cassette, but don't know what kind of tool I need to buy. Can you guys give me some feedback as to how I can figure out which tool I need to remove my cassette? Thanks.... Read more >>
05/14 Rare Tools
Here is a couple tools I have that I wanted to share pictures of with everyone...... Read more >>
Recommended Tools:
- Starter Tool Kit
11 genuine Park Tool products & a custom Park Tool toolbox. - Advanced Tool Kit
The AK-37 includes all the most frequently used tools. - Park PCS-9
Entry level repair stand for the home mechanic. - Park PCS-4
Uses the 100-5C clamp and includes a leg stabilizing system. - Park TS-8
The TS-8 allows accurate wheel truing at an economical price. - Park TS-2.2
The world's most popular wheel truing stand.
