You don’t have to be a bike mechanic to be able to do the basics. Here are our top 5 items that every cyclist should have around their house and know how to use.
- Floor Pump
Name something worse than spending 20 minutes trying to pump up your tyre with a small ineffective hand pump. All you’ll accomplish is a sweat, a tired anger and a bad attitude. Investing in a quality floor pump that you can keep at home. These have gauges that allow you to measure the pressure of your tyre, are much more efficient and easier to use than a hand pump. Choosing the ideal pump and making sure that it's right for you can be confusing. Bicycling put together a list of their favourite pumps to help you choose.
- Multitool
A good multitool can be used for so much more than just tinkering with your bike. You’ll find yourself using it to fix the squeaky door, assemble your new coffee table or even to change the plug on the microwave. Multitools vary greatly in size and functionality but generally speaking they feature a few different allen keys, a flat and star screwdriver along with a couple of other tools like a chain break all packaged into a compact fit-in-your-pocket tool.
BikeRadar recently reviewed all the best multitools to help you decide which is best for you.
- Individual allen/hex keys
We know that a multitool has hex keys on it but sometimes individual ones are the thought thing that will do the trick. Getting to your bottle cage bolts or loosening a pedal is not possible with a chunky tool. Individual allen keys are longer than your typically multi tool allen keys allowing you to achieve great force. They’re also slim and can easily slip into tight spots.
Try this Professional L shaped Hex Wrench Set from Park tools or the 950/9 Hex-Plus Multicolour HF 1 L-key set, metric, BlackLaser, with holding function from Wera
- Chain cleaner
A clean chain is a smooth ride and a smooth ride is a good ride. Having a proper degreaser like Muc-Off’s Bio Drivechain cleaner or WD-40 Specialist Bike Degreaser makes a world of difference not only to how your bike rides but also to the longevity of your drivetrain. You can either invest in a chain cleaning brush or go old school and tape 2 toothbrushes together like chopsticks with the bristles facing each other.
- Torque wrench
Torque wenches aren’t the most affordable tools on the market but if you consider the consequences of not tightening your bolts properly or over tightening them and cracking your carbon frame it very quickly becomes an important item in your tool box. Don’t leave this tool lying around and it’s sure to last you for years and years.
Check out this article by Road.cc on the top 9 torque wrenches on the market.
- Velosure bike insurance
Because some things can’t be fixed with a hex key or duct tape, that’s why there’s Velosure bike insurance. Velosure has your bike covered against accidental damage, theft and more. Whether you overshoot the gap jump and end up on the floor instead of on two wheels or you forget your bike on the roof when driving into the garage after a Sunday group ride, Velosure has you covered. You can also add their third-party insurance that covers you should something happen to you or you damage someone or their property whilst out riding.
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