The Best Bike Tool Kits Give You a Quick Fix

Cycling, as far as we’re concerned, is the best way to get anywhere. Commuting, shopping, meeting up for dinner, long rides on weekends with friends, months-long trips across multiple countries – getting around is more fun pedaling on two wheels. Of course, there is a downside: The more you ride, the more likely you are to suffer from the occasional flat tire, snapped cable, or broken chain.

Whether you’re miles from home or just simply trying to get to work on time, a flat tire or other mechanical issue can throw a wrench into your plans. As a person who literally rides their bike everywhere, I never leave home without a bike tool kit, no matter where I’m heading.

Unless something catastrophic happens (like your wheel frame splintering or your frame cracking), you can make most minor mechanical repairs on the road with the right bike tools. Carrying one of the best bike tool kits and a little elbow grease, means you’ll be back on your way in no time, rather than calling a cab.

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Best Bike Tool Kits

The Expert: I'm a New York-based journalist who writes about cycling and outdoor gear for HuffPost, Adventure Cycling Magazine, BBC Travel, Vulture, Dirt Rag Magazine, and many others. I'm an all-weather bike commuter, member of CRCA, the New York Cycling Club, and Transportation Alternatives, as well as a gravel and road rider who, once long ago, actually raced. These days I'm anavid bike-packer. I've trekked across a good part of the world, from Beijing to Istanbul, through eastern and western Europe.

What to Consider When Buying a Bike Tool Kit

Some folks might prefer to buy a saddle bag and gradually build a repair kit over time with the tools they want, but it’s easier — and more affordable — to buy an off-the-shelf kit (especially if you’re starting from scratch.) If that sounds like your speed, you can rest assured that there are repair kits for every kind of cyclist, with a range of styles to help you fix every kind of problem.

What tools do you need in a bike tool kit?

A properly stocked bike kit should, at the very least, give you all the tools you need to fix a flat tire. More specifically, it should have bike levers, a patch kit, and one of two tools to inflate a tire – either CO2 cartridges and an inflator head or a mini pump.

To complete your kit, you will need to purchase inner tubes specific to your bike to keep with your kit, as no one stock kit can accommodate every style and size out there. If you have wheels with deep rims, you may also need a longer valve to properly fill the tube with air. If you’re unsure about which tubes to buy, ask someone at your local bike shop.

Beyond fixing flats, many kits will also throw in a multi-tool with the most common hex wrench sizes (4, 5, and 6mm), a flat-head screwdriver, and possibly a T25 Torx bit (for properly tightening down bolts). The multi-tool will allow you to make minor adjustments to your bike like changing the seat height and loosening clipless pedals.

One last thing to keep in mind: Though many bikes have quick-release skewers/axles, some bikes still feature thru axles, which require the proper hex wrench or wheel key to remove your wheel and fix a flat.

Inflation Gear: CO2, Pump, or Both?

Every rider has their own preference on the best tool for inflating their tires – CO2 or a pump.

A CO2 cartridge inflates your tire fast, and using one takes a lot less work. You screw a cartridge into a CO2 holder, then insert the tube stem into the cartridge holder the same way you would with a pump, and slowly release the CO2 into the tire. That said, your CO2 is a limited resource: Each cartridge has enough gas to fill one tire, so there’s less room for error. Practice makes perfect, so I recommend using one at home before bringing them out on the road.

I’d always recommend carrying a mini pump, whether you bring CO2 along or not. Even if you prefer CO2, it’s a useful backup—some are designed to attach to your frame, and some are small enough to fit into a jersey pocket or even a seat bag. It takes some muscle to pump up a tube to 80 – 100 psi with a small hand pump, but it always works.

Get The Right Kit for Your Bike

Make sure you pick a repair kit that can help you fix your specific bike. First and foremost, that means choosing one that can fix tubeless tires if you have them. Some, but not all, kits come with the gear you need to fix tubeless tires. The Topeak Gravel Gear Bag on our list, for example, includes tubeless-tire repair plugs and the Tubi 11 mini-tool, which is equipped for tubeless-tire repairs.

Kit Storage

Most bike tool kits are designed to attach under your saddle or somewhere on your frame. Saddle bags may come with a bolt-on mechanism that you’ll need to secure the bag to your seat rails and/or seat post. If you have two water bottle holders on your bike, there are also kits that fit into a water bottle holder.

If you really want to keep your kit out of sight, there are options like the Wolf Tooth Components EnCase that fit discreetly inside the ends of your handlebar.

If, somewhere down the road, you decide to upgrade to a larger, roomier tool kit with room for extra supplies and more tools to fix bigger problems like a snapped shifter or brake cable, a broken chain, or a bent derailleur, there are lots of well-designed bike bags to choose from.

How We Selected The Best Bike Tool Kits

One of our experts owned a car for over twenty years. Cycling is her primary mode of transportation (only an active snowstorm sends her to the subway). As well as commuting and just regular getting around town, she participates in long group road or gravel rides weekly and has ridden her bike through many countries (including a five-month long trip across Central Asia). She’s experienced almost every manner of bike mechanical there is – from super common like the inevitable, occasional flat to downright weird like a wheel rim crumpling mid-ride. All of this is to say that we have spent a lot of time using bike tool kits and know firsthand what makes a good one.

We’ve also researched bike tool kits online, scoured customer reviews and ratings, and factored in price and value while also obtaining input from the Bicycling gear editors. After all that, we’ve selected the best bike tool kits for any kind of rider, on any bike, on any adventure.