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7 Must-Have Portable Travel Tools and Accessories
Written by
Greg Kaplan,
Whether you’re on the road or traveling with your bike, it’s always a good idea to be prepared for making quick, easy and precise adjustments. Sure, “eyeballing it” might get you home or through a race but at what cost to your cycling gear? These are our picks for portable bike tools and maintenance accessories to help you get rolling quickly and safely.
Topeak Ratchet Rocket Lite NTX
$89
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Making for quick and accurate work when adjusting components with recommended torque specifications, the Topeak Ratchet Rocket Lite NTX makes a discernible "click" sound when you've reached a torque limit. Remove any of the three preset torque "heads" and use the ratchet to quickly loosen fasteners with a lot of threads. The accompanying travel case also stores included tire levers.
Pro Tip: Tool manufacturers recommend using torque wrenches only to tighten never to loosen bolts and other fasteners. This prevents unnecessary wear and tear in the reverse direction of tool calibration, which could degrade accuracy over time.
Pro Tip: Tool manufacturers recommend using torque wrenches only to tighten never to loosen bolts and other fasteners. This prevents unnecessary wear and tear in the reverse direction of tool calibration, which could degrade accuracy over time.
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Your Next RidePark TW-5.2 Ratcheting Click-Type Torque Wrench
$110
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Although not specifically designed to be a portable tool, the Park TW-5.2 Ratcheting Click-Type Torque Wrench is indispensable when performing bike maintenance both at home and when traveling. We've used the 5.0 version of this of this torque wrench for several years, and it saved our carbon, aluminum and titanium bike parts from certain destruction on more than a few occasions.
Set the desired torque—accurate to 0.4 Nm—by rotating the base of the handle. An indicator on the shaft displays the desired torque setting. When you've reached the load limit, a clutch momentarily disengages the ratchet, so you'll feel when you need to stop tightening. A hard plastic storage case keeps this tool safe when traveling. Bits sold separately.
Set the desired torque—accurate to 0.4 Nm—by rotating the base of the handle. An indicator on the shaft displays the desired torque setting. When you've reached the load limit, a clutch momentarily disengages the ratchet, so you'll feel when you need to stop tightening. A hard plastic storage case keeps this tool safe when traveling. Bits sold separately.
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Your Next RideBlackburn Big Switch
$29
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With two different torx bits, as well as 2.5 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm and 8 mm hex wrenches, the Blackburn Big Switch proves to be as useful as it is durable. Although we didn't need them for emergency fixes, the spoke wrench and chainbreaker gave us peace of mind. A travel case keeps the Blackburn Big Switch from scratching our bike's paint and keeps it organized for quick access.
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Your Next RideSilca T-Ratchet + Ti Torque Kit
$99
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The precision machining of the Silca T-Ratchet + Ti Torque Kit means that even after repeated use, tool edges remained crisp, so it doesn't "round out" or strip bike parts. The three separate beam scales etched into the body of this torque wrench made precision adjustments easy. The magnetic bits stayed securely in place and were easy to swap between tightening tasks. The storage wallet kept this Silca toolset scuff-free, so we could easily read the scale on torque tube body.
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Your Next RidePedros RX-20 Multitool
$29
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You never know what can come loose or need adjusting while riding. Instead of bringing an entire toolbox with you—which is kind-of impractical—stash the Pedros RX-20 Multitool in your saddlebag and you'll be ready for almost any "just-in-case" situation. Pedros hides a chain quick link inside the tires' levers that in turn snap onto the body of this multitool. This is one of the few multitools we've seen that includes a Shimano crankset spindle cap remover.
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Your Next RideBlackburn Honest Digital Pressure Gauge
$24
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Over time, some bike pump pressure gauges may lose accuracy. The result is not optimal: too little air pressure and you risk a pinch flat or a tire pressure too high and your ride will be jarring and you risk a blowout. Dial in your tire pressure after you pump your bike tires with the Blackburn Honest Digital Pressure Gauge. The tool head pivots, making it easy to access your inner tube valve between spokes from nearly any angle.
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Your Next RidePark PCS-10 Home Mechanic Workstand
$196
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Leaning our bike against hotel beds—or flipping it upside down—to do bike maintenance can be quite frustrating and often inconvenient. The Park Tools PCS-10 Home Mechanic Workstand features a 360-degree rotating arm, an adjustable clamp with replaceable covers to accommodate bike tubes of nearly any size and shape and legs that lock securely into place. It even folds down for easy travel and storage.
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Your Next RideAbout the Author
A lifelong endurance sports athlete, Greg raced bikes on the road as a junior prior to changing his athletic focus to rowing. Upon retiring from elite rowing competition, Greg revisited his passion for racing bikes and also added some swimming and running into the mix, competing at the ITU Age Group World Championships on multiple occasions. He and his wife Shannon—also a rower, bike-racer, and triathlete—enjoy traveling, learning about wine and keeping up with their rescue cats when they are not training or racing.