Basic tools for touring

[Gravity Aided]

And then there's the Armadillo.
Like a moving speed bump.
That carries leprosy.
Thanks to global warming, now as far north as Illinois.

 

[12boy]

I would wax my chains and make sure as many hex headed bolts have been replaced with Allen's as possible. If your bike wheel have nuts in lieu of QRs, I would cut down an old 15mm wrench. I find multitools to be hard to use with any force so I carry 3, 4 , 5 and 6 mm allens, which cost little and weigh little too. A blue paper shop rag is useful and I like steel tire irons. Couple of zip ties, screwdriver, Park patches and a lezyne pump and thats it for my tool roll. Haven't yet been touring but with back packing the grams add up to ounces and the ounces to pounds.

 

[Blue Hills]

I thought allen and hex were the same thing?

 

[youngoldbloke]

- there's a big difference between hex-headed and hex-socket (allen) bolts.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

A 1:100,000 map of the areas you are touring in.

 

[Blue Hills]

- there's a big difference between hex-headed and hex-socket (allen) bolts.

by hex socket i assume you mean bolts with a hole in which standard bike hex keys on a workshop or mini tool like Topeaks wonders will fit into? I thought all modern bikes used these?

 

[mjr]

I would wax my chains and make sure as many hex headed bolts have been replaced with Allen's as possible. If your bike wheel have nuts in lieu of QRs, I would cut down an old 15mm wrench.

No need to mess about cutting good tools: a 15mm adjustable 4" weighs 45g then you can also replace all those horrible water-holding rust-prone Allen mushroom heads with hex heads and not carry another tool. Or if you really want allen keys, a 6" right-angled hex bit driver is 60g and each bit 6g. I carry the driver for the PZ2 bit and a deep 10mm socket to adjust the chain tugs.

 

[Gravity Aided]

A 1:100,000 map of the areas you are touring in.

And a lensatic compass, maybe a map measurer as well.

 

[12boy]

Sorry if I have been misleading......by hex bolt I mean a bolt with a hexagon shaped head. An Allen wrench fits inside the hexagonal opening inside an Allen bolt. For example, my Brompton brakes cable clamp was a hex headed 10 mm bolt which required a 10 mm wrench. By replacing it with an Allen bolt I could use a 4mm Allen wrench and avoid carrying the 10 mm hex wrench. Many vintage bikes used hex headed bolts which can be replaced with Allen type bolts. Didn't someone (Mark Twain?) Say " England and America...two countries separated by a common language".

 

[Blue Hills]

Thanks for the clarification yukon.

Yes an old shimano rear mech of mine had a hex head bolt which was also very shallow holding the jockey wheels. A nightmare to remove even with an appropriate spanner. The topeak alien 2 tool used to have small spanners, maybe still has, but agree that it is better if they aren't needed.

 

[mjr]

For example, my Brompton brakes cable clamp was a hex headed 10 mm bolt which required a 10 mm wrench. By replacing it with an Allen bolt I could use a 4mm Allen wrench and avoid carrying the 10 mm hex wrench.

And now you're trying to put the same force through a near fit into a water-retaining circle of 4mm sides instead of an exact fit onto dry 10mm sides: what could possibly go wrong?

 

[Gravity Aided]

Sorry if I have been misleading......by hex bolt I mean a bolt with a hexagon shaped head. An Allen wrench fits inside the hexagonal opening inside an Allen bolt. For example, my Brompton brakes cable clamp was a hex headed 10 mm bolt which required a 10 mm wrench. By replacing it with an Allen bolt I could use a 4mm Allen wrench and avoid carrying the 10 mm hex wrench. Many vintage bikes used hex headed bolts which can be replaced with Allen type bolts. Didn't someone (Mark Twain?) Say " England and America...two countries separated by a common language".

G.B. Shaw.

 

[Gravity Aided]

And now you're trying to put the same force through a near fit into a water-retaining circle of 4mm sides instead of an exact fit onto dry 10mm sides: what could possibly go wrong?

I have failed to witness this water retention, except when the allen bolt is mounted vertically. Which seems to be where they use it in quill stems. A wee bit of wax on a swab will be helpful.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I have failed to witness this water retention, except when the allen bolt is mounted vertically. Which seems to be where they use it in quill stems. A wee bit of wax on a swab will be helpful.

If one is really concerned about socket head bolt water retention issues (mjr?) you could always order these to protect all such bolts on the bike:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M5-M6-M8...ER-CAPS-HEAD-SCREWS-ALLEN-BOLTS-/201469659621
(actually very useful for the stem pre load bolt)

 

[mjr]

If one is really concerned about socket head bolt water retention issues (mjr?) you could always order these to protect all such bolts on the bike:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M5-M6-M8...ER-CAPS-HEAD-SCREWS-ALLEN-BOLTS-/201469659621
(actually very useful for the stem pre load bolt)

Or I could just leave the hex head bolts on, instead of replacing them with an inferior head type as suggested and then solving all the consequential problems.

You can see why bike makers like them: sell more shoot to resolve unnecessary problems and more chance of people breaking bike parts so buying new ones. How clueless are buyers and reviewers not to challenge this?