Multitools are not something a lot of us worry or care about until you need one so it’s easy to throw any old thing in your pocket/bag/tool case and completely forget about it. When you do need it, say when you are about to start the best downhill of the day and you quickly investigate the rubbing brake rotor which has annoyed you all ride only to find three bolts are loose on the front wheel. So you reach for your multlitool in the depths of your bag and realise it doesn’t have the T25 bit that you need to save your ride! Suddenly you care about multitools.
These days it’s easy to overlook these little ride saving tools because bikes are so much more reliable than they were back in the 1980’s, parts tend to stay together and are actually designed for the job but as a serial saddle height, bar height etc adjuster I always carry a mutlitool. So why not take one that covers all the bases and that way when you’ve forgotten about it and a situation arises where you can save your or another riders ride you can blow the pocket/bag fluff off it and come to the rescue?
Topeak’s Mini PT30 tool is one such item and the one I have is in a very fetching gold colour. It has 30 functions, hence the name and manages to pack them all into a tiny space measuring 7.4 x 4 x 1.9 cm and weighing 168g on my kitchen scale. It also comes in a neat little pouch which protects it, yay! but hides the gold sparkle, boo!
The Mini PT30 body is aluminium and has the folowing tools, deep breath… 2L / 2.5 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 8 mm hex wrenches, 10 mm hex socket
T10 / T15 / T25 Torx® wrenches
14G / 15G / Mavic M7 /4.5mm (Shimano wheel) spoke wrenches
CrMo steel chain tool, chain hook, CrMo master link tool
#2 Phillips / flat head screwdrivers
Tire reamer, plug insertion tool
Serrated knife/saw, disc spacer
All these are very well made and over the 4 months I’ve been using them they haven’t rounded off, become loose or tarnished. I’ve even been using the chain hook in the shed/workshop for messing with chains. The chain tool can be a little fiddly as its quite small and leverage can be an issue on a stubborn link but no more so than any other mini tool I’ve tried. However how is differs from those other tools is that it can be unscrewed independantly from the body of the tool and then turned by the 4mm hex, another neat touch is the master link tool which makes rejoining chains easier. As with a lot of multitools the 10mm hex fits over the 8mm to save space and is secured with a spring loaded ball bearing. Unfortunately I seem to have lost the 10mm part over the test period somehow. Thankfully I’ve not had to use the tyre reamer for reaming tyres but I have used the serated knife to cut up an apple and some cheese! The fabric case also stops the tool rattling against anything else you have stored away.
The Topeak Mini PT30 feels like a quality well made tool and having had it on various bikes and trips and even used it to fit a very expensive machine at work I can definately recommend it as an every ride carry back up. Oh, and it’s definately got a T25 for those rotor bolts!
you can find more details on the Topeak website here MiniPT30
UK GRAVEL COLLECTIVE 