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Full Windsor The Nutter Cycle Multi Tool

8
£39.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Cracking multi-tool that is 'en point' with any bike fettler's needs
Weight: 
224g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Nutter tool came about from a crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter, the same process that launched Full Windsor's successful range of flat-packed, foldable mudguards.

For a pocketable bike tool costing £39.99, you want something a bit special and the leather carry pouch adds just that, a bit of luxury and greater satisfaction to your purchase. The pouch is available in a tan or black leather and is like a mini tool roll, bound closed with a popper and a couple of Velcro straps. The straps can thread through your saddle rails or bag slots (old school) and are even long enough to hang the pouch from your top tube making it very portable which is a good job as the tool is pretty hefty at 224 grams including the case (115 grams for just the tool body).

The re-constituted leather pouch does more than just house the tool, it stores all the bits that plug into the tool's body and it holds all those bits in using the rubber from bicycle inner tubes, a nice bit of thoughtful up-cycling and design.

The Nutter is different from the more common multi-tool Swiss Army knife type affair; it is essentially a ring spanner into which you mount a selection of driver bits. The provided bits are 8, 6, 5, 4, 3mm allen heads, a T25 Torx head and two screw driver bits, a Phillips No 2 and a flat head 3, there is even an extension.

The cast stainless steel body of the tool has a 15mm ring spanner at one end and a plastic coated tyre lever on the other. It is super strong and long enough to apply enough torque to tighten your back wheel nuts firmly in place on your fixed gear bike. Further integrated in the tool body is a spoke key and as is obligatory on every cool bicycle tool, a bottle opener.

Before using the tool, my first thought was that the long body may get in the way. The tool bits locate perpendicular to the body and only at one end so you can take full advantage of the leverage the long body provides.That's great for tightening a seat bolt but a bit clumsy for minor tweaks like adjusting the limit screws on your mech. It isn't enough to moan about, but a second bit holder would be nice at the tip of the tool for light, precision work and twiddling.

A magnetic bit holder in the body allows you to have the most commonly used tools like the 4 and 5mm allen keys without faffing about popping them in and out of the rubber bit holder in the tool case which really comes in useful if you are giving your bike an overhaul.

The tool bits are pretty good quality and last well. They are easily replaced if they do get rounded off or misplaced as they are standard hex fitting. I swapped out the flat head for a slightly larger one; you could customise what bits you carry from what you have in your tool box.

The quality of manufacture is good and being able to use the tool as a big handle to apply lots of torque is great, especially tightening up wheel nuts and loosening stubborn bolts that feel like they are welded in. That's something very few multi-tools can manage without bending out of shape or breaking.

The plastic tipped tyre lever is excellent. The strong, long metal body is able to prize off the most stubborn tyre and the softer tip is gentle on anodized rims, preventing any gouging and allowing the lever to slide around the rim so you can show off your prowess in removing a tyre swiftly.

What I wasn't so happy with was the spoke key, especially on tight alloy nipples. It's best reserved for real emergencies as it's a bit loose and can easily round off a nipple.

In all, the Full Windsor Nutter is of a quality that could be used in a workshop, apart from the spoke key. It would probably prove to be good value just as a tyre lever over time; a long period of time admittedly. Just because it has a wheel nut spanner doesn't mean it's just for fixie riders. After all, it is lacking a lock ring tightener and if it were just intended for fixie crowd, it was it wouldn't need half the other bits.

No, the Full Windsor is for people who tinker with all types of bikes, old and new. You only need to add a 15mm pedal spanner and a chain splitter and you are able to tackle most minor bike services. I like the design and how it works in your hand, but most of all I like the way it can actually be used to do real jobs on your bike and isn't something that just packs away into the size of a matchbox and is as robust as a meringue.

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Verdict

The Nutter is a cracker of a multi-tool that is 'en point' with any bike fettler's needs.

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Full Windsor The Nutter Cycle Multi Tool

Size tested: NA

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Workshop quality, built to last. Only gripe is the spoke key is a bit 'one size fits all'.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

If you ride fixed or single speed you need to keep your rear nuts tight! This spanner is long enough to make that easy.

Rate the product for durability:
 
10/10

The tyre lever is excellent and the quality of build is great being constructed of stainless steel should see this tool lasting a long long time.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
7/10

It isn't something you will be packing in your jersey on race day.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
9/10

The tool looks pretty content in its pouch.

Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

It is more about quality and design.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Great for all but the most fiddly of jobs.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Able to tighten cranks up (with 8mm allen bit) and wheel nuts make this tool a great choice for fixie and single speed riders.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Feels a bit clumsy on light jobs like adjusting limiter screws on a dérailleur.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Indeed.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? I have,

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

Well presented multi tool that can tackle bigger jobs.

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

This is what they have to say on the Nutter - "Featuring all the essentials for fixing your most common bike headaches. The Nutter combines all the tools you need when out riding into one simple unit. Its unique design and distinctive form turns the tool into a handle, giving you more leverage than other multi tools on the market" - It does tackle most little jobs apart from splitting a chain and the leverage the handle like body allows a lot of torque to be applied

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Cast stainless steel body, nylon tyre lever, 15mm box head spanner, spoke key, 3,4,5,6,8mm hex tool bits, philips head screw driver, flat head screw driver, T25 torx bit, magnetic tool bit extender, bottle opener Housed a choice of a burnt brown or jet black leather and recycled inner tube pouch.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 40  Height: 179  Weight: 75

I usually ride: Condor pista  My best bike is: Condor Pista fixed. Look KG241, Jean Thomann vintage

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed, bare back

 

Add new comment

6 comments

Avatar
glynr36 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Shoreditch called, it wants it's bike tool back...

Avatar
rojre | 9 years ago
0 likes

This is the sort of thing you can give to your aunty when she goes out and buys a Pashly retro sit up and beg.

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McVittees | 9 years ago
0 likes

I would have liked some pictures of the tool with bits attached and actually being used rather than just having to go by the reviewer's words.  7

Avatar
nortonpdj | 9 years ago
0 likes

It's heavy. It's a collection of fiddly little bits which will get lost by the roadside. It's expensive. I give it one star!

Avatar
Jez Ash | 9 years ago
0 likes

What does "re-constituted leather" mean?

Avatar
Peowpeowpeowlasers replied to Jez Ash | 9 years ago
0 likes
Jez Ash wrote:

What does "re-constituted leather" mean?

You know the cheap sliced ham in the supermarkets? "Formed" ham? Like that, but leather. And with added stuff.

So not really leather tbh.

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