The Travel Tool Box is all about making it convenient to have the essential items on hand, be it when you're in the garage or on a month-long road trip, and that's exactly how I ended up using the kit. I'd throw it in the back of my van when heading out for a weekend adventure, with it being slim enough to fit behind my seat and go unnoticed until someone needed to use it, and it even served as our go-to kit when in Sedona for a month and needing to swap parts and setup different bikes before rides. The chain whip, socket wrench, and pedal wrench are all made with thick steel, unlike some of the thinner, cheaper feeling alternatives, and their thick rubber handles didn't hurt my hand when trying to break an overly tight part free. The hex keys have ball-ends on one side, which is nice for spinning bolts into those hard to reach places, and the tire levers are nice enough that I found myself putting them in my pocket instead of the old ones that I had been using for years. It's also worth mentioning that most of the tools have a hole or loop on them that lets you hang them on a tool board if you wanted to do so. The individual hex keys are nice, but there's something to be said for a three-way hex tool that doesn't have you juggling and dropping separate keys, so I'd likely still go out and buy one of those. Also, I would have rather seen a much smaller phillips and flathead screw driver set than the one included in Birzman's kit - these are bike's we're working on, not cars. The only tool that I took any issue with function-wise is the cable clippers, as they just don't feel as high-quality as some other on the market. Then again, they cut the cable easily and didn't crush the housing, so what more can you ask for? The built-in awl to open up freshly cut housing ends is also pretty neat. Yes, you'll likely want to add a few specialty items to your on-the-road kit that are specific to your bike (think bleed kit, cone wrenches if you use Shimano wheels, ect), but Birzman has done well at putting all of the basics together in one easy to carry package. And when you consider that the $243 USD price tag works out to each tool costing just over $12 (assuming the hex and torx kits count as one tool each), the Travel Tool Box looks to make a lot of sense for anyone who wants an on-the-go tool solution. - Mike Levy |
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www.chainreactioncycles.com/ca/en/x-tools-bike-tool-kit-18-piece/rp-prod40997
X-Tools Bike Tool Kit - 37 Piece-$87.99
www.chainreactioncycles.com/ca/en/x-tools-bike-tool-kit-37-piece/rp-prod55963
Quality kits under $100
I have the 18 piece kit and its great!
You don't need to break the bank for good equipment
Checkmate Pinkbike
Always worth have good quality tools. There is nothing more annoying than breaking a tool when you trying to use it
Park for non-bike specific are a waste of money as their quality is poor for what you are paying - especially their screwdrivers and ring spanners
www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOJW41PCTK/jobsworth-pro-41pc-swap-shop
and
www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOJWMTWS/jobsworth-pro-torque-wrench-set
is all you need unless you run Fox forks IME.
Their torx keys are far superior from any offering from Park tools and with more and more bikes using these heads instead of hex its pretty handy.
Bottom line if you want long lasting tools for at home buy Birzman. Not to expensive and great quality. If its good enough for the Santa Cruz Syndicate mechanics its good enough for plebs in their sheds.
Just such a shame Bike Barn in NZ does such a hideous job at distributing them.
www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOJW30PCTK/jobsworth-pro-workshop-quality-30pc-tool-kit
Always buy the best tools you can.
You never know if and when your very life and well being will depend upon it.
www.amazon.com/Pedros-Apprentice-Tool-Kit/dp/B00HYHO4V8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_10?ie=UTF8&refRID=05K51BK8J4262H1XV0W4
www.pinkbike.com/photo/8952731