Award Winning Global Tri-Sport Shop
There's three things to consider when buying a bike multi tool: weight, the number of functions and how easily it slips into your pocket. Happily, Topeak's Alien RX scores top marks on all accounts.
Weighing just 175g and fitting in its own clip bag (included) there's no excuse not to take it on every ride.
Topeak have got all the essential tools from the Alien into a considerably smaller and lighter package
Pricey but the most complete yet compact bike tool here
This is a miniature socket set with the tool bits housed inside the body...Two tyre levers also slot into the sides
The best equipped tool on test
The chain tool on the Alien II has a double cradle for stiff links and a replaceable pin.
Overall though a great multi with enough features to get you out of most fixes.
Very sleek and well made the Multi 15 packs in a chain tool and a few extra allen keys. A rubber band keeps the tool from unfolding and the piece fits neatly into the back pocket or saddlebag.
A slightly dissapointing chain tool, but neat and compact with everything you need.
The multi 17 packs its functions into quite a compact package, and although there's no case, the unit comes with a wide rubber band which keeps the tool tidy...all the allen keys and drivcers were hard to faultthe overall package is neat and sturdy, shame about the splitter.
Well designed unit, let down by badly designed chain tool.
Unlike the chain tools on most other multi-tools, the one on the Topeak Mini completely detaches from the tool body, and a stainless steel extension folds out to make the handle longer for better grip.However, it was thwarted by the 10-speed chain test. The list of features continues with a tin opener, easy-to-use spoke key, Phillips and flat blade screwdrivers and a single steel tyre lever that, although strong, can inflict damage on tyre beadings and inner tubes if you use it carelessly. Curiously, there are two 2mm and 4mm Allen keys, plus a 2.5, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10mm size for tightening the key-release units on Truvativ cranks.The padded Lycra pouch helps to protect the grey anodised end plates from getting scuffed when it's in a saddle pack with other items – and helps protect those items from the tool.
Neatly packaged, tough, and the spoke key is easy to use
Topeak's latest mini tools are fantastic bits of kit.
Useful tools in scaled-down handy sizes
Crank Brothers' typical, attractive, Mac style minimalism even extends to their multitools. The 19, weighing 174g, puts every tool you're likely to need on a race or long training ride (except tyre levers) in a very light, easy-to-use penknife design. The cahin splitter is particularly good and you get a proper 8mm Allen key. Steel-tool quality is good enough for several years' careful use before the favourites wear out, and the knurled alloy frame adds extra leverage. It sits nice and flat in a jersey pocket and you get a swanky stainless tool flask, too. Price is higher than some comparables, but so is overall quality.
Light, comprehensive easy to use and even stylish
The 19's frame is made from aluminium to save weight but the tools themselves are high tensile steel. There's a good spread of allen keys including a stubby 8mm...although this is the same in length as the Minoura, the body of the crank is much longer so offers greater leverage.
Still one of the best skeletal multi-tools out there
Crank Brothers has a reputation for well-thought-out, high-quality tools, and the multi-19 demonstrates why. It's a lesson in how to pack the maximum number of functions efficiently into one compact space, yet maintain ease of use for all of them. It's on the expensive side, but worth the extra stretch if you want the reassurance of carrying more than the minimum. It also comes in a smooth pack that slides easily into a pocket and means you won't get stuck with spiky bits when you crash. Style aficionados may want it for that reason alone - we just want it.
Easy to use, high functionality, high-quality tool. Recommended.
This one's a real belter. While it isn't that compact, you can get sufficient leverage in most situations. Make room for this in your pack next to a quality compact chain tool, such as a Park Chain Brute, and you'll have little to fear when the mechanical gremlins attack mid-ride. There's no spoke key, but if you know how to use one you'll have one already.
Construction is great and it has a lifetime warranty.
This 10-piece tool has an aluminium body for low weight. Opening the Allen keys takes a little bit more oomph than usual, but this gives greater stability when you're spinning bolts into threads and particularly when you're using the Phillips and flat bladed screwdriver. The Allen keys are longer than most, and so the smaller sizes tend to twist as you increase force on the handle, but it's okay with the 4mm and larger Allen key and the extra length of the 8mm Allen key makes it a bit easier to spin a pedal into the thread of a crank arm. There's no spoke key included on this one, but the lifetime warranty on all Crank Bros multi-tools is a bonus. The Allen key sizes are 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8mm and there's the obligatory T25 Torx driver too.
Superior stability when using a screwdriver and a good price
By far the prettiest tool on test, and if you don't like blue (what's wrong with you?) it comes in other spangly colours. The 12 also has all the essential tools for most 'get-me-home' repairs. Chain-tools built into multi-tools are usually rubbish, but Lezyne's offering really impresses - only the stiff link remover lets the side down. The spoke keys features are a superb fit. Tgere's even a splined Mavic nipple wrench for those unlucky enough to buckle their blinging hoops.
Test Winner
The Lezyne 12 is a stylish and practical design in an overcrowded pocket tool market. The forged CNC machined stainless steel construction improves rigidity and lifespan while the high lustre aluminium side plates look pretty and shave a few grams into the bargain.Tools are pretty comprehensive: there's 2,3,4,5,6 & 8mm Allen wrenches, Phillips screwdriver, a T25 torx and a chain breaker that cuts stubborn chains down to size with relatively little effort. This tool even incorporates spoke wrenches - Mavic, two standard and one square. The tools are initially quite stiff and benefit from a shot of Teflon based lube but haven't become floppy or required tightening despite continuous service.Phrases such as 'ergonomic' are easily dismissed as marketing puff but the shapely profile falls very naturally to hand without pressing uncomfortably into the palm. However, as always with this kind of tool the Allen wrenches don't offer a great deal of leverage. For this reason an 8mm crank wrench is salvation in a dire emergency but a test of perseverance to achieve anything resembling a snug fit.A sturdy neoprene sleeve prevents injury in the event of a tumble but it's a faff when you're in a hurry-a pouch would've been better. Small niggles aside the Stainless 12 combines good build quality, shapely design and keen pricing making it a worthy choice for most riders.
An excellent tool with build quality that sets it apart from the crowd. A few simple tweaks (most notably a pouch) would make it better still.
If you prefer the idea of fitting a multi-tool to your bike instead of keeping it in your back pocket then the Ratchet Rocket is the answer. It comes with mounting brackets that fit onto any tube, or it can be attached to a pair of bottle cage bosses. The top peels back to reveal a line of Allen key sockets, though the omission of an 8mm key means that you will have to rely on your home toolkit for fixing pedals, and the 6mm Allen key isn't deep enough for Shimano Dura-Ace top bolts. There's also no spoke key. Otherwise, the Ratchet Rocket handled the 10-speed chain test superbly, although you have to be careful not to overtighten small Allen key screws as there's far more leverage on offer here than with the other tools on test. You also get a pair of aluminium tyre levers into the bargain.
Socket set in miniature that's it's barely heavier than one-piece tools
Lezyne multi-tools are unlike any other we've ever come across before. Smoothly machined and smartly engineered not only to appear more aesthetically pleasing but also to perform better than the rivals, Lezyne's products are a breath of fresh air.The newly released SV10, as its name implies, offers 10 tools inside its CNC-machined 7075 aluminium side plates, and its flat and low size weighs a scant 101g. Lezyne's forged and CNC-cut stainless steel bits use a centre pivot which ensures the sides of the tool are incredibly smooth with no excess material.There's a useful array of tools. A chain breaker is engraved with the company logo and a timed thread ensures it always rests in the correct position following use. There's 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and even an 8mm Allen key, which will get you sorted on any modern bicycle, plus a Philips-head screwdriver and T25 and T30 Torx bits.The SV10 might cost a little more than other similar tools, but we're willing to bet none offer quite the same attention to design - attention that results in an especially compact, slim, refined and lightweight design that wouldn't look out of place if left lying around on a coffee table in some contemporary building out of Grand Designs.But let's not forget we're talking about a multi-tool here, not a design object, and that it should be measured on its performance in those instances when you're far from home and only a multi-tool can save you. We've been carrying the SV10 with us for a couple of months now just dying for a mechanical [You complain about them all the time - ed.] to force us to have to slip the tool out of its logo-ed Leatherette case [Don't you mean 'pouch'? - ed.]. And when that moment happened, we were certainly glad to have such a high quality tool at the ready. The tools are all of a high quality and there's enough leverage available for most roadside repairs to be rapidly dealt with.
Not only more stylish than all the rest, but also functionally much better. A joy to use.
Lezyne are a company that have the ability to make a seemingly mundane product such as a pump or multi tool into an object of desire. They mix quality materials with well thought out design and an attention to detail, which result in objects that demand attention. This is certainly true of their SV10 multi tool, which packs, as you may have guessed, ten tools into a light (only 101 g), compact and attractive package.The list of tools included are: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8mm Allen keys, T25 and T30 Torx, a Philips headed screwdriver bit and a chain tool. The tool is contained in a stretch leatherette sleeve which protects it from the elements, and your jersey pocket from it.The build quality is excellent, with details that make it a pleasure to use, such as the way the end of each of the tools is machined and centre drilled where it pivots, rather than the cheaper option of just bending the end of the bit around the pivot. This not only allows the SV10 to be slimmer, but each bit pivots out smoothly and has full 360 degree rotation.The bits are all forged and then CNC'd to give a smooth accurate finish; the chain tool deserves special mention, it is incredibly smooth in operation, and as easy to use as a stand alone chain tool, and when not in use, folds into the body of the tool unobtrusively.The SV10 is not just good looking though; it is more than tough enough for any roadside repairs I encountered, and even had enough strength and leverage available to remove my SPD-SL pedals.The polished aluminium side plates carry the Lezyne logo etched into the polished metal, as does the chain tool, and the whole tool has a polished finish that gives it the look and feel of a quality product, which this ultimately is.
The range of tools included covers all the usual emergency repairs in a lightweight package making it easy to carry, with a look, feel and finish that is only bettered by its practicality and effectiveness.
The Alien has been of this world for some years now, and this third incarnation of the useful fettling object doesn't disappoint.With an arsenal of 25 tools, a typical multi-tool can be cumbersome to lug around and difficult to use when it comes to it. However, the Alien's trademark two-piece, snap-together format simplifies things by allowing you to halve the tool.The tool bits are made from quality chromoly steel and despite the plethora of functions, it weighs just 267g. The all-important chain tool is a durable cast chromoly affair. It's effective in use and even has a spring clip to hold the chain while you rejoin it.
Don't expect it to replace your toolbox, but it will sort most trailside mechanicals conveniently