That is one of the most comprehensive and well-thought-out tool and spares kits I have seen. I am particularly impressed with how you have organized it. Food for thought. Take care. JP
Wow, Toby, you’re quite a mechanic. Thanks for showing us all your mechanic’s tools, and assortment of bike maintenance gear you pack so that you and Louisa can stay on the road. Thanks for the vid bro. Om!
My experience with seam grip/aquaseal is that once the tube is opened it doesn't last long because it tends to set in the tube. At home I keep the tube in the freezer to slow it down, but obviously you can't do that on a bike. I would take a few small tubes instead of one big one. The same thing applies to the superglue and the vulcanising cement for the tyre patches.
Yea, we've had the same experience now and only carry smaller tubes. Super glue, in fact, we don't really carry at all anymore as you can get it almost anywhere and we just buy it when we need it. We've also moved towards glueless patches which have worked well the 1-2 times we've needed them.
Personally I would be taking separate tools for everything instead of a multitool, that way you could use them as needed, by doing different things at the same time, instead of having two separate multi tools. Thank you so much for this super complete video!
Interesting approach! It would probably weigh more and use up more space though to take separate tools for everything. But then again, it's not that many tools from the multi tool we usually need simultaneously.
You can shorten your chain whip and adjustable wrench, then cut a slot into your seat post where they will fit. Then when you need the leverage you just use the seat post with the tool. I've seen it done this way.
We want to shorten the whip, but to be honest you probably don't even need the extra leverage. We never tighten our cassette that much that you need a lot of force to open them.
In most cases a damaged tire (with a slit on the side wall) can be repaired by wrapping electrical or duct tape around the tire and rim and reinforce the inner tire wall with a tube patch. If you have rim breaks you have to disengage them. Not good if you are in the mountains. Not much of a problem with disk brakes, you still have breaks. Years ago, leading group trips we were able to divide up the workshop and someone carried the spare tire. Traveling alone or with a friend I gamble. In that case you have to send a person ahead to find a tire and bring it back. And then there is always the problem now days with different rim sizes. In 50 years I have had to tape a tire maybe twice and once to send a rider ahead to find a new tire.
@@tomsitzman3952 Me and my son have similar setups - gravel, 28" tubeless, disk brakes. We only traveled in Western Europe so far, still, I brought with me an extra tube and tire and even an extra chain (patch kit goes without saying). I think I'll reevaluate my setup based on this video.
@@dimrub A Panaracer Pasela ProTite 25-622 (700x25C) weighs only 250gr and is a folding tire. And I only have it with me if I'm alone and in remote areas.
For a while we did also carry a spare folding tire, but this was only for a few weeks after Louisa's Specialized rear tire split open on us and we only had a cheap replacement mounted. Since we've been both using Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tours / Mondials we've had enough confidence in them not to carry a spare, even in remote areas. Louisa's Marathon Mondial did get a pretty big cut recently though, so maybe we would reevaluate in more remote areas.
Thanks, great video as usual. The smallest adjustable wrench with the widest range I found is neotools 03-020. It fits in the palm of my hand and the jaws extend to 32mm.
Brilliant Toby! Maybe you could do a video on when you do the odd repair/bike maintenance on anything. Spokes for example. I have no clue about how to do that. 😊Thank you!
I’m putting together a tool list and spare parts list to buy. Thank you for the detailed vids. I like longer vids. Do you have a written list somewhere of what you just showed us so I can buy the stuff?
You can check out our website, we have most things listed there, but not always with exact brand description. Generally it doesn't always matter which exact brand as long as it does the job! 😊
It's a Stanford Nova Roadjack. stanford-guitars.com/guitars/nova/stanford-nova-roadjack/ We just try to protect it against the elements as best as possible and hope for the best. :D
The chains on average every 3000 Km or so, when they are too stretched. Louisa's chains last a little longer, Tobi's a little less. With the cassettes we usually run about 3-5 chains on one cassette, or when the chain starts jumping too much.
We probably won't do a video on it, especially because it's very hard to generalize as every country has different regulations. But if you are looking for any specific visa requirements for certain countries, we might have the info on our website: www.louisaandtobi.com/route-infos
Solid stuff, inspiring, thank you for sharing. What did you use saw for? Few hacks back :-) You can consider Leatherman Crunch, this will save you one tool. But it will cost you some money, so it is better solution -- you can replace your cassette key with one without pin, and drill a hole in top section of it. This allow you to put for example hex key 5 from your multitool through the hole and use it as a lever. So one tool less needed, and some weight saving there. Using only this "tool" for mounting the cassette and not going overboard with the forces, you could drop whip entirely. And less important -- instead of going with full length hex key, you could take only hex key extender, you will save space for the handle. And zip ties, or saw in your case could be stored inside handlebar (literally inside, i.e. inside the handlebar tube).
Some nice hacks! 😊 It's definitely possible to save space and some weight here and there, maybe we'll consider it for some things. We've also thought about not tensioning the cassette so much as to not need the whip to remove it, maybe we'll try it out and if it works, get rid of the whip. One instance where we used the metal saw was when the rear frame eyelets of Louisa's bike broke in the mountains in Peru, carrying the rear rack. We ended up putting the rear rack directly on the rear axle and had to modify the rack & mud guards a bit to make it fit. 😅
Hello Toby, what touches me the most is that you explain things with a lot of energy in such a way that everyone can understand them. That makes you very, very likeable to me and I am very familiar with this claim, smile. I agree with your choice. I'm not one of those people who saw off the toothbrush anyway... I have nothing to do with your video... ruclips.net/video/9mYXimXwOt8/видео.html I greet you warmly, Bernhard
I installed the FSA self extracting crank removal bolts ($18 USD) on my cranks. These allow crank removal using only an 8mm hex key for a square taper bottom bracket. I found that the 8mm hex key on my multitool supplies enough leverage for removal and installation. That would eliminate carrying the crank removal tool and large adjustable wrench.
Have you looked at the either the Unior or Stein cassestte mini removal tools? They weigh only a few grams and do not require a chainwhip tool for cassette removal. And if all else fails, carry a Fiberfix Kevlar emergency spoke repair kit.
Alternatives to your spanner would be a knipex cobra 150 (145gr, toothed jaws) or the 125mm Mini pliers wrench also from knipex (105gr, non toothed jaws). And with a little bit experience you will not need your chain tool anymore. Just regularly compare new and old chains by how far you can lift of the chain at the most forward point of the big chain wheel. In that way you easily learn what is ok and what is worn. I also just saw that you reworked your website and removed the "green attitude" so to say.... thats really sad to my way of thinking.
I am a bit lost here. Could you please rephrase the chain tip. I mean, I have an old chain installed, then I should switch to the biggest ring at front and... also biggest cog at rear? And then what should I do to know I the chain is worn out?
@@WanderABit Which cog is not important. You simply grab the chain at the foremost point of the chain wheel and try to lift it away from the chain wheel. A worn chain you can lift up much higher (away from the chain wheel) than a new one because of the bigger clearance in the joints. hth
The Knipex tools look good. There's probably even better / lighter specialized gear out there designed for exactly this. We've found the best "early warning" for a worn out chain is if the shifting at the cassette gets laggy & imprecise. No need to even touch the chain. We then usually just use the chain tool to find the perfect moment to change. All throughout our journey, and especially in recent times with some longer flights coming up again, we've thought about how eco-friendly our way of traveling really is. So while recently reworking our website we decided to remove the possibly inaccurate / too idealistic phrasing, at least until we have some proper numbers & figures to back it up with. We are working on a video in which we will discuss this in more detail.
@@louisaandtobi I had been in a similar situation when cycling my first long-term trip (I also cycled Munda Biddi). That time it got important to me that the fact that I love nature really has a meaning. So I changed my mode of traveling/transport to only cycling. Unfortunately that means that I can not do some of the trips I really would like to do (for example there currently is no more or less direct and save land route between Europe and Jordania/Saudi Arabia). But it is not first priority that I need to see all of it. Nice to hear that you are aware of the situation and even plan to produce a dedicated video on that topic. I can’t wait to see that :)
It's a comprehensive list. 🙂 Some things just don't fit a tweet. And then this couple is thorough by (national) nature. Probably driven by their sense of responsibility, they make an instructional video so that one could safely follow their footsteps along at least 26,000 miles.
Thanks Tobi. Great to hear this from a long term bike traveller with interest and skills in on road maintenance.😃👍
Thanks for the detailed overview of all your repair and spare gear. This is a good checklist for any biketourer. Cheers !
You guys are Super Best .Thankyou for your educational tips. Thankyou. ❤
Wow, Really impressive!! 🙌🏾❤️✌🏾
That is one of the most comprehensive and well-thought-out tool and spares kits I have seen. I am particularly impressed with how you have organized it. Food for thought. Take care. JP
Thanks! 😊
Very clear video, you have it all organized perfectly!
Thank you ☘️🐺☘️
For me, a really insightful useful guide. Thank you! Happy cycling!
Glad it helped, thanks! 😊
Wow, Toby, you’re quite a mechanic. Thanks for showing us all your mechanic’s tools, and assortment of bike maintenance gear you pack so that you and Louisa can stay on the road. Thanks for the vid bro. Om!
Glad we could help a bit! 😊
I would say this is one of the most important things to get right if you do a super long tour of several months.
Nice list. I'll add a few of them to my setup. Thanks
My experience with seam grip/aquaseal is that once the tube is opened it doesn't last long because it tends to set in the tube. At home I keep the tube in the freezer to slow it down, but obviously you can't do that on a bike. I would take a few small tubes instead of one big one. The same thing applies to the superglue and the vulcanising cement for the tyre patches.
Yea, we've had the same experience now and only carry smaller tubes. Super glue, in fact, we don't really carry at all anymore as you can get it almost anywhere and we just buy it when we need it. We've also moved towards glueless patches which have worked well the 1-2 times we've needed them.
Thank you Toby. It's really helpful. 👍
Thanks 😊
Personally I would be taking separate tools for everything instead of a multitool, that way you could use them as needed, by doing different things at the same time, instead of having two separate multi tools.
Thank you so much for this super complete video!
Interesting approach! It would probably weigh more and use up more space though to take separate tools for everything. But then again, it's not that many tools from the multi tool we usually need simultaneously.
Good stuff to know for sure, thanks...hope all is well with you two.
All is well, thanks! 😊
Schönes Tshirt 😊 danke für den Beitrag 🙏🏻
Danke! 😊
very good long adventure tour bicycle
Try a small to medium size vise-grips instead of an adjustable wrench. Can do anything and adj. wrench can plus a WHOLE LOT MORE!
For the chainwhip and cassette lockring tool you could use a stein tool mini cassette lockring driver, much smaller and lighter.
Thanks for the tip!
You can shorten your chain whip and adjustable wrench, then cut a slot into your seat post where they will fit. Then when you need the leverage you just use the seat post with the tool. I've seen it done this way.
We want to shorten the whip, but to be honest you probably don't even need the extra leverage. We never tighten our cassette that much that you need a lot of force to open them.
@@louisaandtobi the slot across your seat post will give all the leverage you need.
Interesting. Spare tubes - but no spare tires? All in all, a very impressive store of tools and parts.
In most cases a damaged tire (with a slit on the side wall) can be repaired by wrapping electrical or duct tape around the tire and rim and reinforce the inner tire wall with a tube patch. If you have rim breaks you have to disengage them. Not good if you are in the mountains. Not much of a problem with disk brakes, you still have breaks. Years ago, leading group trips we were able to divide up the workshop and someone carried the spare tire. Traveling alone or with a friend I gamble. In that case you have to send a person ahead to find a tire and bring it back. And then there is always the problem now days with different rim sizes. In 50 years I have had to tape a tire maybe twice and once to send a rider ahead to find a new tire.
@@tomsitzman3952 Me and my son have similar setups - gravel, 28" tubeless, disk brakes. We only traveled in Western Europe so far, still, I brought with me an extra tube and tire and even an extra chain (patch kit goes without saying). I think I'll reevaluate my setup based on this video.
@@dimrub A Panaracer Pasela ProTite 25-622 (700x25C) weighs only 250gr and is a folding tire. And I only have it with me if I'm alone and in remote areas.
For a while we did also carry a spare folding tire, but this was only for a few weeks after Louisa's Specialized rear tire split open on us and we only had a cheap replacement mounted. Since we've been both using Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tours / Mondials we've had enough confidence in them not to carry a spare, even in remote areas. Louisa's Marathon Mondial did get a pretty big cut recently though, so maybe we would reevaluate in more remote areas.
Thanks, great video as usual. The smallest adjustable wrench with the widest range I found is neotools 03-020. It fits in the palm of my hand and the jaws extend to 32mm.
Nice, thanks for the info! 😊
Brilliant Toby! Maybe you could do a video on when you do the odd repair/bike maintenance on anything. Spokes for example. I have no clue about how to do that. 😊Thank you!
Thanks! Yea, we'll consider it 😊 We have our general maintenance video which we released a few weeks ago, but we could also do more specific ones.
An alternative wrench would be the 6 inch Knipex pliers wrench.
Very good information, thank you!! You mentioned the phone mounts. What kind do you use?
We now use the Peak Design Out Front Bike Mount.
@@louisaandtobi Danke!
I’m putting together a tool list and spare parts list to buy. Thank you for the detailed vids. I like longer vids. Do you have a written list somewhere of what you just showed us so I can buy the stuff?
You can check out our website, we have most things listed there, but not always with exact brand description. Generally it doesn't always matter which exact brand as long as it does the job! 😊
How (?) did your guitar stand up to what was thrown at it? I din't catch a brand.. Laminant or, solid woods? Any observations about music appreciated.
It's a Stanford Nova Roadjack.
stanford-guitars.com/guitars/nova/stanford-nova-roadjack/
We just try to protect it against the elements as best as possible and hope for the best. :D
Hi there, I might have missed the part about your bike. Can you tell what bike you ride and what would you recommend? Cheers
Hey, check out our Bike Review Videos, you'll find all that out there. 😊
On average, after how many km do you change the chain? And how often do you change the kassette?
The chains on average every 3000 Km or so, when they are too stretched. Louisa's chains last a little longer, Tobi's a little less.
With the cassettes we usually run about 3-5 chains on one cassette, or when the chain starts jumping too much.
Are you planning to do any videos concerning visa application processes? This insight would be invaluable to all types of travellers.
We probably won't do a video on it, especially because it's very hard to generalize as every country has different regulations. But if you are looking for any specific visa requirements for certain countries, we might have the info on our website: www.louisaandtobi.com/route-infos
Understood. Thanks.@@louisaandtobi
thanks nice video
Thanks! 😊
Solid stuff, inspiring, thank you for sharing. What did you use saw for? Few hacks back :-) You can consider Leatherman Crunch, this will save you one tool. But it will cost you some money, so it is better solution -- you can replace your cassette key with one without pin, and drill a hole in top section of it. This allow you to put for example hex key 5 from your multitool through the hole and use it as a lever. So one tool less needed, and some weight saving there. Using only this "tool" for mounting the cassette and not going overboard with the forces, you could drop whip entirely. And less important -- instead of going with full length hex key, you could take only hex key extender, you will save space for the handle. And zip ties, or saw in your case could be stored inside handlebar (literally inside, i.e. inside the handlebar tube).
Some nice hacks! 😊 It's definitely possible to save space and some weight here and there, maybe we'll consider it for some things. We've also thought about not tensioning the cassette so much as to not need the whip to remove it, maybe we'll try it out and if it works, get rid of the whip.
One instance where we used the metal saw was when the rear frame eyelets of Louisa's bike broke in the mountains in Peru, carrying the rear rack. We ended up putting the rear rack directly on the rear axle and had to modify the rack & mud guards a bit to make it fit. 😅
What’s the name of your pump?
This is it:
mswbike.com/products/inflation/airlift-220-mountain-mini-frame-pump
No spare derailleur hangers??
Our old frames have the hangers as part of the frame and not as an extra part. Otherwise we would definitely carry spares.
Are you guys gonna post another video of southern chile for your trip soon
Our Patagonia Documentary is coming soon! 😊
@@louisaandtobi Wass fantastik!
Hello Toby,
what touches me the most is that you explain things with a lot of energy in such a way that everyone can understand them. That makes you very, very likeable to me and I am very familiar with this claim, smile.
I agree with your choice. I'm not one of those people who saw off the toothbrush anyway...
I have nothing to do with your video...
ruclips.net/video/9mYXimXwOt8/видео.html
I greet you warmly,
Bernhard
Thank you! 😊
I installed the FSA self extracting crank removal bolts ($18 USD) on my cranks. These allow crank removal using only an 8mm hex key for a square taper bottom bracket. I found that the 8mm hex key on my multitool supplies enough leverage for removal and installation. That would eliminate carrying the crank removal tool and large adjustable wrench.
Thanks for the tip, the wrench we would still need for the cassette & headstock, but definitely an idea to save the crank puller tool!
Have you looked at the either the Unior or Stein cassestte mini removal tools? They weigh only a few grams and do not require a chainwhip tool for cassette removal. And if all else fails, carry a Fiberfix Kevlar emergency spoke repair kit.
@@AKay1956 Thanks for the tips, we'll see if we can get our hands on them.
Since carrying a tension gauge is impractical, do you tension the spokes by their tone frequency?
By tone is difficult, in our opinion. It's more of a fingertip feeling at this point.
Drill holes into the handle of the cassette tool to make it 50% lighter
i was surprised you didnt have shifters and brake levers. one crash can take both out, how do i know this i can not remember.
Alternatives to your spanner would be a knipex cobra 150 (145gr, toothed jaws) or the 125mm Mini pliers wrench also from knipex (105gr, non toothed jaws). And with a little bit experience you will not need your chain tool anymore. Just regularly compare new and old chains by how far you can lift of the chain at the most forward point of the big chain wheel. In that way you easily learn what is ok and what is worn.
I also just saw that you reworked your website and removed the "green attitude" so to say.... thats really sad to my way of thinking.
I am a bit lost here. Could you please rephrase the chain tip. I mean, I have an old chain installed, then I should switch to the biggest ring at front and... also biggest cog at rear? And then what should I do to know I the chain is worn out?
@@WanderABit Which cog is not important. You simply grab the chain at the foremost point of the chain wheel and try to lift it away from the chain wheel. A worn chain you can lift up much higher (away from the chain wheel) than a new one because of the bigger clearance in the joints. hth
The Knipex tools look good. There's probably even better / lighter specialized gear out there designed for exactly this.
We've found the best "early warning" for a worn out chain is if the shifting at the cassette gets laggy & imprecise. No need to even touch the chain. We then usually just use the chain tool to find the perfect moment to change.
All throughout our journey, and especially in recent times with some longer flights coming up again, we've thought about how eco-friendly our way of traveling really is. So while recently reworking our website we decided to remove the possibly inaccurate / too idealistic phrasing, at least until we have some proper numbers & figures to back it up with. We are working on a video in which we will discuss this in more detail.
@@louisaandtobi I had been in a similar situation when cycling my first long-term trip (I also cycled Munda Biddi). That time it got important to me that the fact that I love nature really has a meaning. So I changed my mode of traveling/transport to only cycling. Unfortunately that means that I can not do some of the trips I really would like to do (for example there currently is no more or less direct and save land route between Europe and Jordania/Saudi Arabia). But it is not first priority that I need to see all of it.
Nice to hear that you are aware of the situation and even plan to produce a dedicated video on that topic. I can’t wait to see that :)
Pedal wrench?
Just a suggestion... Shorten things up a bit
It's a comprehensive list. 🙂 Some things just don't fit a tweet. And then this couple is thorough by (national) nature. Probably driven by their sense of responsibility, they make an instructional video so that one could safely follow their footsteps along at least 26,000 miles.