First tool set

[Sigil]

My parents want to know what i want for xmas and as i need some tools for the bike i think ill take the opportunity to get it started of. It will be a working collection, but they will be willing to spend around the £100 mark.

Any suggestions on the essential tools for bike maintenance?

was thinking:

Tool box, socket set and a screwdriver set for starters (i have a torque wrench atm)

and brand wise the halfords advance stuf seems good.

[megawatt]

Yep, good stuff at Halfrauds. 3/8" socket set, set of combination spanners, set of cranked ring spammers, long Allen keys with ball ends, screwdrivers and bits, big 1/2" sockets or spanners for big nuts. Ball pein hammer, lump hammer, angle grinder, dremel, electric ratchet from Aldi,

[mealexme]

My parents want to know what i want for xmas and as i need some tools for the bike i think ill take the opportunity to get it started of. It will be a working collection, but they will be willing to spend around the £100 mark.

Any suggestions on the essential tools for bike maintenance?

was thinking:

Tool box, socket set and a screwdriver set for starters (i have a torque wrench atm)

and brand wise the halfords advance stuf seems good.

 

£100? I may be asking to borrow some of yours! haha (joking)

they are the basics though, check it has one for taking out the spark plug and make sure its the right size (I have two socket sets but both have different sized spark plug removers :s )

pliars, mole grips are always useful, adjustable spanner (although some people dont like to use those) and you should e set to do pretty much any job.

Stanley knifes can be useful for cutting of grips, anything that has been cable tied on

If you want to do tyres yourself then you should get the specialised shoe horn type devices... I'm not being very technical here am I?

soldering iron, solder and heat shrink if you want to do electrics

multimeter is always useful for finding electrical faults

Copper grease

WD40

eeerm, yea, that should add up to over £100 haha

[megawatt]

Alex, do not use a Stanley knife to cut cable ties. Use snips, much safer

[satnavsatnav]

Heres mine

http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/tools.jpg

[megawatt]

Show off.

[Big Stu]

any half decent socket set will take care of most jobs. After that, pliers, snips and a large hammer (in case of emergencies)

[hammer5]

Heres mine

http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/tools.jpg

 

Is that TC?

[Colin the Bear]

Go for chrome vanadium spanners and sockets. Nevermind the make, check what they're made of. Check the toolkit that came with the bike and upgrade the spanners in the sizes they gave you. Sets are ok to start with but you get lots of sizes you'll never use.

Include

A pencil type tyre pressure guage, a foot pump, some sort of battery charger, washing up bowl and some cheap paint brushes for chain and general cleaning/lubing . A little funnel for topping up oil and battery fluid.

Security chain, pinlock, and AA membership can be added to your christmas list

[CheshireCBR]

Sockets

A 3/8 drive set will do most jods but for wheel you will need 1/2 drive realy to give you enough tarqu it undo and do back up

Spanners

sets are normaly cheaper to buy (about £20 ish) where as individuals are normaly about £4 each, one set is a good starter but eventualy two is ideal because quite often you do need two but you can use a socket in most situations.

Screwdrivers

DONT BUY CHEAP ONES!! they just bend, I would hate to think of the number I have had over the years but 3 or 4 decent ones then a few others for abusing is always handy

Other bits

Pliers, side cutters (for cutting cable ties lol), tape mesure, steel ruler, stanly knife, swan neck grips (the type plumbers use), center punch, ball pain hammer,?????

I think that should be a decent starting block, dont go for the cheapest on the market but the next up for now just to get the basics in place, then upgrade as and when you have the money. keep the old ones thow because you will always find jobs that you dont want to use you decent stuff for lol, as you go through you will find that you will need different tool to do certain jobs that you either need to buy or make and your kit will build up from there, I have been colecting mine for over 30 years with the inclushon of two sets through inheritance and I still find I am buying more, then again I am a total tool freak

enjoy, cool xmass pressy

[Mawsley]

Ratchet spanners are pure sex to use. And I love my extendable magnetic probe which lights up at the end.

[Guest philgale]

here you go...

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_255215

[Sigil]

cheers for the replies guys , looked at the halfords advanced set. seems to have most things i would need.

Also looked at http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... zone=PDPz1

But im not sure if it would be any good, has most things but am dubious of the quality of it.

Think the halfords advance stuff is worth the extra cash?

The other option is to just get a tool box and the stuff i need as i go along and just build on it.

And in my short life so far i have learned cheep screwdrivers are bad economy

[CheshireCBR]

These sets are ok to start you off then slowly rebuild/replace from there, let me get on the computer in a bit and there is another one that i can point you towards that has got more in it. I acquired one a few years ago and they arnt that bad

[CheshireCBR]

try this set

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... repair-kit

I know it is a bit over your budget but it might be worth adding a bit to it to give you a semmi decent first kit with all the basics in

[Guest philgale]

only ever heard good things about halfords advanced stuff, for the money they are supposed to be the best around.

plus it comes with a lifetime guarantee so if they break under normal use (i.e. not using a spanner as a hammer) they will replace it.

[mealexme]

only ever heard good things about halfords advanced stuff, for the money they are supposed to be the best around.

plus it comes with a lifetime guarantee so if they break under normal use (i.e. not using a spanner as a hammer) they will replace it.

Or if you use a large piece of metal pole for leverage and it snaps then go back to the help desk, forget to tell them about the pole and spurt off technical terms and demand a replacement, they will replace it then too...

[mealexme]

only ever heard good things about halfords advanced stuff, for the money they are supposed to be the best around.

plus it comes with a lifetime guarantee so if they break under normal use (i.e. not using a spanner as a hammer) they will replace it.

Or if you use a large piece of metal pole for leverage and it snaps then go back to the help desk, forget to tell them about the pole and spurt off technical terms and demand a replacement, they will replace it then too...

[Guest philgale]

only ever heard good things about halfords advanced stuff, for the money they are supposed to be the best around.

plus it comes with a lifetime guarantee so if they break under normal use (i.e. not using a spanner as a hammer) they will replace it.

Or if you use a large piece of metal pole for leverage and it snaps then go back to the help desk, forget to tell them about the pole and spurt off technical terms and demand a replacement, they will replace it then too...

 

may take some proving you did that, if you kept it quiet i wouldn't see a problem.

on a side note, posts with just smilies in will be deleted cheshireCBR

[TC]

here you go...

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_255215

 

Second this (not so stupid)

I got this set last year Its got every socket i've needed for the last 12 months

[Stu]

here you go...

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_255215

 

Second this (not so stupid)

I got this set last year Its got every socket i've needed for the last 12 months

 

Third this I've had this set for about 4 years and its great its been well abused too

My advice is don't buy cheap shit as it will break or round off nuts buy the best you can afford build it up over time

I'm constantly adding to mine but its got to the point where I have all the basic stuff and have been looking at all advanced gear like complete sets of timing gear locking pins and specialist tools that only one manufacturer would use etc

[Sigil]

thanks for the advice guys i will see if i can get the halffords advance stuff as it should have 90% of the things i will need and i can just add to it at a later date.

Altho i will now have no excuse to not maintain the bike lol

On another note, do you guys who do all the main maintenance (oil, brake pads exc) ever get a garage to service the bike?

In the long run is it beneficial to get services from a garage to sell the bike on with full service history?

[mealexme]

i don't do much maintenance to the bike, probably less than i should but i think its ok if you service it yourself and just keep all the receipts so the next buyer can see its had regular oil changes etc

[Sigil]

that wat i was thinking of doing. do all the oil exc but get a garage to do the major services and keep all the recepts of the oil and filters exc.

But i wonder the impact of not having the full service history will be. I know i look out for it when buying a bike.

[megawatt]

There's a great offer at Halfrauds at the moment . A small box full of tools for £50

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... zone=PLPz1

If you buy a new bike, you will need to keep paying the inflated servicing prices, but you have a choice if it's not under warranty. The cost of doing your own servicing will be far cheaper than what you would lose from a dealer because it doesn't have a full service history!