Optional extras
Optional extras
The absolute essentials have been covered already, but there are a couple more things that can be useful to have with you.
The first of these is a spoke wrench. Should you crash, knock a wheel seriously out of true, and be forced to get back home under your own steam, a spoke key is invaluable. It’s another one of those tools for people who really do fear the worst, but if the cost of getting one with and one without is negligible then it’s better to spend a couple more pounds and make sure you’ve got the security.
The second is tyre levers. Personally, we think these have no place on a multi-tool. A separate set of quality tyre levers is in itself a must for any rider but that’s in addition to, not as part of, a multi-tool. For a start, you should carry a pair, and almost all tools that have a tyre lever on them only have one. By all means, if you’ve got the hand strength of a concert pianist and you can force any tyre over a rim with sheer effort then forgo them altogether, but for the mortals among us a pair of tyre levers is a very important tool and shouldn’t be economised.