Top 10 essential home workshop tools and how to use them
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00:00Not everybody can have access to a full bike shop spec'd workshop in their own home,
00:11and if you were to have every single tool that's needed to work on bikes,
00:15you're going to need a pretty big space and more importantly a really big wallet.
00:20But there are some tools or types of tools that we feel are the essentials that everybody should
00:25have in their collection, and with these you can pretty much strip down a bike or
00:29do any home maintenance jobs. So here's a rundown of those tools.
00:33Probably the number one tool or type of tool that everybody needs is the humble
00:43allen key or hex key. Now a good set of hex keys means that you can pretty much
00:49do any maintenance job on the bike. It is the most important type of bolt head that
00:54you find on bikes and so therefore you need to have certain sizes. Now most kits go from
01:01about a 2mm up to an 8 or a 10mm, but the most important ones are 4, 5 and 6.
01:06You can buy them as separates, so obviously you can have separate ones like this. These
01:10are really really easy to use in the workshop, or you can buy them as part of a multi-tool.
01:16And obviously everybody carries multi-tools, so you'll see that you'll have these at all times.
01:21So those are the two types that you really should be looking at. If you're going to do
01:27things at home, then separates work better. If you want to do something when you're out and
01:31about or just have the convenience, then a multi-tool with hex keys on there is an essential.
01:36Now torx keys are those funny star-shaped tools that you see that a lot more bikes
01:47are starting to use. They're a bit of a safer option if you're a bit ham-fisted when it comes
01:52to maintenance because they're less likely to round out. And what you'll find is that more
01:56and more expensive components tend to come with this type of bolt. The most common size that you
02:02find, especially if you use disc brakes, is a T25, but often a kit will have everything from a T10
02:07up to a T30. But T25 is the important one to make sure you've got in your collection.
02:18If you're planning on doing lots of maintenance jobs when it comes to looking at your cables,
02:22then you'll know the importance of having a good set of cable cutters. So a good set of cable
02:28cutters will allow you to cut any type of cable perfectly straight and perfectly accurate,
02:33allowing you to make sure that your gears and your brakes are going to be working spot-on.
02:38Most tend to be sprung loaded and what you'll find is they have very, very sharp cutting edges. Some
02:45will have then a little tool that you can use to poke the hole back in the cable just in case it
02:50does get squashed a little bit. But the main thing that they do is they cut perfectly straight and
02:55they shouldn't really squash your cables at all. Okay, so this next one isn't technically a proper
03:06workshop tool, but you cannot survive without one. You need to make sure you've got a really
03:11good track pump if you want to keep your tyres inflated properly. And as anybody has tried to
03:18pump up a normal road tyre with a little hand pump, you'll know how hard that can be. A good
03:23track pump will make an absolute doddle of the task. When you're swapping tyres and tubes around,
03:33then you'll find sometimes that those tyres are very, very hard to get off. And this is where a
03:39good tyre lever comes in. Obviously, if you can avoid using tyre levers, that's the best solution.
03:45But if you can't, if you've got a really, really tight setup, then good tyre levers will help save
03:51your fingers and will help save your rims and your tyres themselves. There's loads of good tyre levers
03:57out there. The important thing is that they're strong enough and stiff enough to be able to cope
04:01with taking the tyres off, but soft enough in terms of not being able to damage any delicate carbon
04:08rims or expensive tyres. You can get different styles of tyre levers and some have different
04:14widths. So it depends on which style works best for yourself. These are two very, very common
04:20styles and you'll see that they come in sets. So if you're finding that the tyre is really stubborn,
04:26you might need to use more than one to do the job. One of the most important things to do on your bike
04:36when it comes to maintenance is to look after your chain because that is the one bit that can let you
04:41down more than anything else. And also, if you use a chain for longer than its life expectancy,
04:47you can wear out those expensive chain rings and cassettes. So the next two tools I will recommend
04:53are tools that will help you to keep on top of chain maintenance. Number one is a good chain
04:59checker. This is a very, very simple tool that you use to measure how badly worn your chain is.
05:05They only cost a few pounds but can help save you hundreds of pounds if you use it regularly. You
05:11literally put it on top of your chain and you can see how much your chain is stretched and how much
05:16life is left. So a very, very simple but effective and essential tool, the chain checker. Then if you
05:25do need to change your chain, you're going to need one of these, a chain tool. And a chain tool
05:31will be the only way that you can cut your new chain down to the correct length and in most
05:38respects to be able to actually connect the chain properly. So you can buy chain tools in different
05:44sizes and different shapes. If you're going to use one at home, you want to go for a good workshop
05:49one. This will make it a much easier job to do and can be used on several different types of chains
05:55from 6-speed, 7-speed, 8-speed, 9-speed, 10-speed, 11-speed to 12-speed.
06:04A good set of screwdrivers is going to help make gear maintenance a absolute doddle. So you're
06:11going to need to have a good set of screwdrivers when it comes to adjusting your limit screws,
06:15for example. And obviously there's a few other different areas on your bike that you will require
06:21these. You can get Phillips screwdrivers and obviously the standard flatheads. And there's
06:28also something called a JIS, which is a Japanese industrial standard screwdriver, which Shimano
06:33use for their rear derailleurs and for their front derailleurs. But you don't necessarily
06:38need to have that. Just a very good set of crosshead and flathead screwdrivers.
06:44A decent set of pliers is then going to help you with those little fiddly jobs, especially things
06:50like cable routing. And when it comes to putting cable crimps on the ends of those cables as well.
06:56You can get different types of pliers, but our perfect ones to use for bikes are the needle
07:01nose pliers. This means you can really get into those tiny little hard to reach places
07:06and you can do all of those essential jobs. So let's get started.
07:10And last but by no means least, probably the set of tools that are the most specific in the
07:15entire list. And those are the tools you will require to take your cassette off and put a new
07:21cassette on. You'll need a set of pliers, a flathead screwdriver, and a flathead screwdriver.
07:28And that also includes a flathead screwdriver and a flathead screwdriver. You can also get
07:34list. And those are the tools you require to take your cassette off and put a new cassette on.
07:40There's two tools that you need, you need a cassette tool and a chain whip. So these are
07:46ones we have here, again they come in different styles, this is Park Tool's version so rather than
07:53a normal type of chain whip, this grips hold of the cassette on both sides and means that you can
07:59loosen it without the whole thing spinning. You will then need one of these little tools here
08:05and an adjustable spanner to be able to actually do the job itself. This then is used if you want
08:11to put your new cassette back on. You can buy these with handles built in or as it is like this,
08:18a very simple small effective tool that you use with a spanner set. So that is the only specific
08:26tools on the list really, everything else is something that you can use for multiple types of
08:32jobs. So there you have it, a simple rundown of the 10 most essential types of tools that every
08:39rider needs to have. Now if I've missed anything out or you think there's another tool that you
08:44think is an essential for everybody to have, please put it in the comment section below.
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