Yesterday, I asked for your advice on the essential kit for a cycling trip. Today I went shopping. The most important part was choosing a multitool, something lightweight and small, but packed with pretty much every tool I might need to effect repairs on the road. I limited myself to what I could find in local stores, in order to get a feel for the heft and quality. I also like to support my local, privately owned bike shops.
As you can see from both the title and the photographs, I picked the Topeak Hexus, which contains 16 tools. But I took a look at a couple of others. One was the Alien II, another Topeak product, which is the beast you see below.
The Alien II boasts 26 separate tools, which is impressive. However, it cost almost double the price of the Hexus, which already has most of what my low-tech bike needs. The additions of some spanners and a more comprehensive range of Allen wrenches might be good for the more active rider, but the only thing that really tempted me was the built-in bottle opener. The price of the Alien II is €55 ($87) here in Spain, but can be had for just $30 on Amazon.
Product page [Topeak]
The other option, with an equally great name, was the Blackburn Toolmanator. Feature-for-feature the Toolmanator is almost exactly the same as the Hexus, but the design makes it a little bulkier. It uses the same hardened steel for the tools themselves, and seemed to have the same weight in the hand, but those tire levers looked a little prone to falling off and the whole thing just isn't as neat and compact. I decided to spend the extra €5 on the Hexus.
Product page [Nytro]
So. How does it do? First, if you have used a cheap multitool in the past, these higher-end tools are very different. The hardened steel components don't crumble and shed metal filings when you use them. The Topeak feels sturdy in the hand, although when using a screwdriver or a wrench, the actual tool shaft tends to move a little on its spindle. There's nothing that can be done about this, I suppose, without adding a locking mechanism for each part.
We'll skip the basic tools. You know how a screwdriver works. What we're interested in is the neat gadgets packed inside. First, and coolest, is the chain tool.
Used for breaking apart chain links and rejoining them, the chain tool acts like a press, driving the pin out of the link. You can use a No. 4 Allen wrench to turn it, but wait! The Allen wrenches are built into the same body. The problem is solved by putting a No. 4 hex key onto the inside of one of the tire levers, which also acts as the side of the case. The chain tool also has a wire retainer to keep the ends of the chain linked when you break it. This means you can leave it on the bike as you work, making repairs a lot faster. The same lever-mounted key is used to tighten up the tool itself, which is another smart feature.
The other tire lever has a couple of spoke keys built-in. As you can see above left, these are simply steel-reinforced notches in the plastic. Neat, and better than putting the spoke key on the main body which would be harder to manoeuvre around the spokes themselves.
This is the Torx wrench. Useless for me. I think my bike was made before Torx existed. Still, at least it sits out of the way, inside the body of the tool.
Are you ready for your close-up, Mr. Wrench?
And here is a size comparison, next to an iPod Touch. So far I'm pleased. The Hexus has performed well in the small tasks I have carried out so far. The big test will come on the road. I'll let you know.
Product page [Topeak]
