I started riding off-road every week about 20 years ago when I got my first mountain bike and I know what it’s like to have a breakdown in the middle of “Nowhere Forest”. Switching to riding on the road about 14 years ago on a mixture of geared and fixed gear bikes I also know what it’s like for something to fail when you’re a long way from home.

You’re a Multi-Tool MacGyver so you’re used to using your multi-tool in a wide range of situations. That’s why you carry a multi-tool. Bike multi-tools have a different purpose than your everyday carry though.

There are only 2 situations you need tools for your bike – when you’re out riding and you need to adjust or fix something so you can continue riding or you’re doing maintenance on your bike at home. Unless you don’t have any workshop tools, there really isn’t a good reason to use your bike multi-tool at home because it’s a compromised design compared to a full-sized tool. Not a problem in a tight situation but if you have the choice, use your dedicated tools.

So you really only need to choose a multi-tool for cycling that’s going to get you out of trouble when you’re on the side of the trail or road.

Recommended Mountain Bike Multi-Tool

I know it’s important to get a quality multi-tool that will get you out of trouble and back riding when a failure happens. And it will happen.

There’s not a lot of difference between the multi-tool you need for mountain biking and the one you need for riding on the road. They both need a similar toolset. The only extra tool I think is necessary to give you “get out of jail” comfort for mountain biking is a chain breaker.

Mountain bike chains get a heck of a beating and can break leaving you completely stranded. That’s why I really recommend you check out the high-quality stainless steel Lezyne SV 11 at Amazon with its chain breaker tool. It gets the Off-Road Biking Multi-Tool crown!

If you have a mountain bike with disc brakes, you might want to consider the Lezyne Stainless 20 from Amazon which also has a brake disc pad spreader. Not a compulsory tool for me but also has some other handy tools. 

Recommended Road Bike Multi-Tool

The chains of bikes ridden on the road don’t get the same punishment as mountain bikes. Yes, it’s possible the chain can break but I’ve never had a chain break in all the years and miles I’ve been road riding. I’ve only ever heard of someone else breaking their chain once. So in my opinion, you don’t really need a chain breaker on your road bike multi-tool.

Because you have to carry your multi-tool on your bike or maybe in your jersey’s back pocket, you want something that’s strong but also light. And you don’t want to be carrying around unnecessary tools, do you?

Less is more in this case so I recommend you go with an excellent quality, lightweight, minimum tools necessary, multi-tool like the Topeak Mini 9. It has the common hex sizes (2 / 2.5 / 3 / 4 /5 / 6 / 8 mm) and a T25 Torx head plus a Phillips head screwdriver. Weighs only 3.2 oz (92 gm). And it’s not even expensive! Check out the price on Amazon.

For the ounce counters and the gram fanatics, you can go even lighter and leaner. With the Topeak Mini 9 Pro you lose the 6 and 8mm hex and you lose some weight. Weighing in at a measly 2.6 oz (73 gm) it also includes a couple of tire levers stored in the tool. Less is more can also means more money.

Before you buy – Do a Bike Fasteners Check

Before you buy any of these multi-tools you want to know what tools you need to carry. You could buy the best biking multi-tool in the world but find when you really need it that it doesn’t have the tool you need to get you out of trouble. Useless!

So do a bike fasteners check. Grab a pen and paper and your home workshop tools. Get your bike or bikes in front of you.

Now go around your bike using your home tools to check all the sizes of the different screws and fasteners. Pay attention to the parts that can come loose like the seat post and seat, handlebar stem, bottle cage, and brake and shift levers.

If your bike doesn’t have quick release wheel levers you probably have large bolts you’ll want to be able to unscrew. Note down all the sizes and tools you need so you can find the multi-tool with the right toolset for your bike. Of course, if you have more than one bike, you’ll need to do the same check and decide whether you need another different multi-tool.