Titanium Multi-tool

Interesting Kickstarter Ti-multi -tool not too cheap at £30 posted from US but nice neat idea

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/objectthree/ob-1-multitool

That's really cool, and could be worth the 30 pounds, depends if it works properly.

Small tools are always a bit of a chance.

The thing that attracts me is the 15mm wrench. I have a Top Peak Hex II in my bag and I rarely ride without a bag so a key ring tool ultimately would probably just be a novelty for me.

But obviously if I need to take my wheels off I can't. That said if it's too small / difficult to torque then it's not much use.

Actually thinking about it, if they off-set the tool slightly so you could put something inbetween the spoke wrench and one of the holes you might be able to get enough leverage for axles.

you could probably slip a 15mm ring spanner over it to get the leverage

Leverage is a bitch, I imagine it would be very hard to unscrew a tight seatpost with it. It doesn't seem like you would have a good grip, that same would apply to the other tools.

Looks like a triumph of design over practicality.

Unless you have hands of steel (or titanium), you're not going to get much leverage to use the 15mm spanner on a wheel nut, and there is a good reason why normal Allen keys are L shaped. And how many bikes these days have bolts with normal hexagonal heads?

And why do all "cool" gadgets need to have a bottle opener?

And why do all "cool" gadgets need to have a bottle opener?

+a million!

It's like when people put the on dropouts or BB's. They're basically either for geeks, children (who don't yet know how to open a bottle with any number of other objects), or those annoying Australians you find in London.

I think the idea is if something on the bike comes loose, you have everything you need to cinch it up at least halfway tight 'til you get home?

the UK need screw cap bottles sooner rather than later.

Yeah I think it's more a case of it being an emergency fix in case you don't have any half decent tools on you.

But it's expensive for that.

I think it's really crap. The 15mm spanner will be quite useless - like people have said, the tool is just too short, and even though it's titanium it'll still deform and round off your nuts (ha) - rounding will be exacerbated by the small (4/5mm) faces on the spanner, too. In fact, it even says on the website that you won't be able to use it to attach a wheel nut correctly - so what's the point? There are no other 15mm bolts on the bike, except on some pedals - and you need a thin pedal-spanner for that.

What's the point of the 6-11mm spanners in the handle, too? The only one you're likely to need is an 8mm or 10mm for the anchor bolt on older/cheaper brake. I don't think I've ever had to use any other size except on cheap 60s/70s bikes (except perhaps on mudguards). And since they only mate on two faces, they'll round your nuts off too!

Also there aren't enough allen keys. All fasteners on a modern bike are allen bolts, and you only get 4 and 5mm! What good is that?

One spoke wrench size?

It's just pants. I could design a better one.

I have one of these. It's awesome.

Looks nice and slim and has all the bits you really need (i.e. allen keys).

The Full Windsor Nutter is the best I've seen, I think - tyre lever, proper 15mm spanner and various allen keys. It's a bit bigger (not really keyring sized) but there's no point in having a keyring-sized tool if it doesn't work properly.

Another criticism of the ob-1 is that the allen keys are very close to each other which might make it difficult to use.

Had the Full Windsor Nutter gone into production yet?

The Nutter is way behind schedule, probably September now. (it was projected to be delivered in May) It is a much better design than this one though!

True. But it's a lot bigger and heavier. Ultimately I guess it goes to show you can't have it all.

I find the pedros trixie pretty good. It's got most of the bits you need, life time guarantee and its sub£20. Also looks like they've redesigned it for 2013 and added some bits.

My favourite is the little lezyne multi tool. Every allen key and screwdriver you need, plus a genuinely useful spoke wrench and chain tool. With more than enough leverage to wreck a carbon component. I think I might have even gotten my old one for free.

Personally I go with 3 Allen keys and a Swiss Card - does every fastener on the bike, plus a little blade to cut things. I take a pedros if riding fixed too. I take a chain tool and spoke wrench on long rides... I might look into that leyzne tool actually.

i have a nutter on order from the kickstarter and im eagerly awaiting as it'll fit perfectly in my saddle attached tool roll and should be way nicer to use than the multitool i have

I also put money on the Nutter. Obviously, until we use it, we can't say how good it is, but the design convinced me that it is at least worth supporting. Unlike the ob-1.

I really love my keychain parktool mt-1

It will probably be more like £50 shipped. Add in taxes and the carrier's ludicrous handling fee (£10 for Fedex). I've been stung like this a couple of times, including on Kickstarter projects (the ElevationLab iPhone dock for one).

Negaatio, I like the look of that MT-1 but it doesn't seem to be available in the UK. Where did you get yours from?

pyoratohtori, a small finnish bicycle store. He has lots of interesting stuff