The Topeak Ratchet Rocket Essential HD is the Heavy Duty version of its lightweight ratchet toolkits, and it’s designed to cope with the majority of your bike’s bolts and fastenings. The ratchet handle’s 60Nm maximum torque is more than enough to tighten or undo any normal spec components on your bike. The high-quality individual tools are great to use and overall Topeak has created a super little toolkit for both home and roadside use.
> Buy now: Topeak Ratchet Rocket Essential HD for £44.99 from Tredz
For more options, check out our best bike multi tools buyer’s guide.
The kit contains the ratchet handle, a 60mm bit extender, 12 tool bits and a 1000D nylon case. It includes 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8mm 1/4in drive hex bits, T10, T15, T20 & T25 Torx bits and a PH2 Phillips screwdriver bit. These are magnetically held in the case to prevent loss, the extender has an elasticated sleeve to keep it secure, and the ratchet is held by a clip.
The whole kit weighs in at 208g with the steel ratchet weighing 71g. The case measures 130 x 52 x 25mm when it’s securely closed using the poppers.
I used Topeak’s Ratchet Rocket Essential HD kit for a full bike service, where I stripped a bike fully down to its frame. I then cleaned and replaced parts as needed, and rebuilt the bike. The HD ratchet was used as much as possible, and I’ll come on to any areas it struggled with later.
I also used it for the rebuild, with a final check with a torque wrench to ensure correct bolt tightness. The first thing to report is that the HD is a lovely small ratchet to use in your hand. It has enough weight so that it falls past the ratchet pawls ready for the next turn. You can hold it near the head to remove bolts quickly, and unlike its little brother, I never found myself catching the direction lever inadvertently.
The thumbwheel and the knurled hex keys were straighforward to use, the tool works well overall and it has the feel of a high-quality piece of kit.
But there is one area to discuss: the 60Nm rating. Theoretically this is much more than sufficient to do up and undo all a bike’s higher-torque fixings, such as cassette and disc brake lockrings, bottom bracket cups, square taper crank bolts and pedals, which are often tightened to 40Nm.
But with the tool just 120mm long there isn’t enough leverage to undo some of these higher-torque fixings. Topeak confirmed to me that you can extend the handle by 50mm by putting the bit extender into the handle’s base, and at 170mm that makes quite a difference, really helping me to undo a tight pedal.
In order to test its 60Nm rating I bought a 1/4in hex to 1/2in square drive converter and used the 170mm handle length. Many specialist tools required for bottom brackets, cassette and disc brake lockrings use a 1/2in square drive interface, and I usually use a 250mm 1/2in square drive ratchet to undo these. The Topeak’s 170mm wasn’t always sufficient, and it struggled to undo a cassette lockring and a bottom bracket cup. I do think that I was asking a lot of the tool to attempt these jobs despite its heavy duty rating.
That said, the tool’s ratchet action was fine after these attempts, with it still clicking around nicely, which I think shows that the 60Nm rating is correct. This isn’t to knock the tool in any way, but rather to flag up an area where it just falls short. It’s actually a great little ratchet tool that’s very good to use.
In addition to workshop use, the kit is designed to be used by the roadside or trail so I also took out on my rides. It fits comfortably in a jersey pocket, with its grippy, textured case keeping it stable. And while it didn’t feel heavy, you could always leave some of the bits out – removing the Torx bits and extender would trim 45g, for example. And this ability to customise it is one of the beauties of this type of tool.
If durability and versatility are your highest priority then this kit is well worth considering, though if weight is your prime focus there are other potential options. And while quite expensive, it is a high-quality piece of kit with tools that are a real joy to use – and you’re much less to round off bolts than with cheaper alternatives.
Value
For starters it’s up against its cheaper and lighter little brother, the 107g Topeak Ratchet Rocket Essential. That has two fewer tools and is rated at a maximum of 18Nm torque, which makes it better suited to trail and roadside use rather than your home workshop, but it’s still a high-quality option.
Mike rated the £30 Prestacycle Prestaratchet Go highly when he reviewed it. At 137g it’s lighter than the Topeak HD but has the same 12 tool functions, though the ratchet tool is only rated to 30Nm and it has quite a short handle.
The Granite Design RocknRoll Toolkit costs £30 and is a similar size to the Topeak HD though it lacks the T10 T15 & T20 bits, and is also only rated to a max of 20Nm.
Conclusion
This is a super little toolkit that covers most of the functions you require on a regular basis and it feels great to use. The high quality of the individual bits suggest you’ll be using it for years too, and while the leverage isn’t quite enough for the biggest and tightest fixings, it will easily cope with everything else, and I loved using this set. And while not cheap, I feel that its quality, functionality and durability make it worth the price.
Verdict
Excellent to use, robust and well made. And while expensive, its quality and durability make it worth the money
> Buy now: Topeak Ratchet Rocket Essential HD for £44.99 from Tredz
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Topeak Ratchet Rocket Essential HD
Size tested: 15 functions
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 toolkit is for riders from any discipline who maintain and repair their own bike either out on the roads and trails, or at home.
Topeak says it is “an enhanced version of the Ratchet [Rocket Essential] tool kit, supporting up to 60 Nm. It can handle a wider range of maintenance tasks compared to standard ratchet tools.”
The addition of a T20 bit covers off more parts on a modern bike as well as an 8mm hex bit that will cope with a wider range of pedals and older type crank bolts. Topeak says there are 15 functions in the kit, yet there are only 12 bits, which suggests it has counted the ratchet, bit extender and carry case as three functions. It is certainly a beefier toolkit than its lighter sibling, the Ratchet Rocket Essential set.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
TOOLS: 2 / 2.5 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 8mm hex bits, T10 / T15 / T20 / T25 Torx bits & PH2 Phillips screwdriver bit. All are 1/4in hex drive bits
MAX TORQ: 60Nm
MATERIAL:
Ratchet tool: Steel
Bag: Nylon
Bits: S2 hardened steel
Bit extender: Steel
SIZE:
130 x 52 x 25mm (closed)
130 x 105 x 24mm (open)
WEIGHT: 209g
FEATURES:
Carry bag
30mm bit length, Colour coded
71g Steel Ratchet Toolbar 122mm long
22g magnetic bit extender 60mm long
The 12 1/4in hex bits are held magnetically in the case, the ratchet is clipped in, and the 60mm extender has an elasticated sleeve to secure it. The ratchet has a fine action with a click roughly every six degrees of rotation. This helps it to turn in tight spaces. The steel ratchet handle weighs 71g, and the complete kit 209g. The bits included will work with most modern fixings, but you have the option to easily customise which bits you take with you to suit your own bike’s setup.
It feels well made, with a sturdy case held shut with popper studs that have a pleasingly positive feel. The magnetic case holds the bits securely in place, an elasticated sleeve keeps the extender in place and a C-shaped clip holds the ratchet well. The ratchet feels like it’s well constructed and this translates in how good it is to use too; the bits feel equally well made.
The ratchet is rated to 60Nm, and you can extend the 120mm-long handle to 170mm by slotting the bit extender into the handle’s base, giving you useful extra leverage, particularly when undoing pedals. You can also use the base of the handle for fine tune-ups by putting a bit there and using it like a screwdriver.
It feels very well made, and worked flawlessly during testing. The bits have a finish that seems like they will resist rust for a long time.
It is heavier than many multi tools, though it’s much better to use in the workshop than a regular multi tool.
The pack fits nicely into a rear jersey pocket, and the nylon case was grippy enough to stop it moving around. Its weight is fine in your pocket too, though I wouldn’t want it any heavier. In use it fits well in your hand and is great to work with.
At £49.99 it’s pretty pricey – but I’m confident you’ll still be using it many years down the line.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It worked beautifully when doing a full service on a bike, and I think its overall quality means it’s capable of being used as part of your core set of tools.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The ratchet is very good to use and fits your hand well. There were no issues or glitches with the ratchet during the test period, nor was the direction lever mis-clicked during use.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
For starters it’s up against its cheaper and lighter little brother, the 107g Topeak Ratchet Rocket Essential. That has two fewer tools and is rated at a maximum of 18Nm torque, which makes it better suited to trail and roadside use than workshop, but it’s still a quality toolset.
Mike rated the £30 Prestacycle Prestaratchet Go. At 137g it is lighter than the Topeak HD but it comes with the same 12 tool functions, though the ratchet tool is only rated to 30Nm and has quite a short handle.
The Granite Design RocknRoll Toolkit costs £30 and is has a similar size to the Topeak HD though with fewer functions, lacking T10 T15 & T20 bits. The handle is also only rated to a max of 20Nm.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
This is an excellent workshop-quality tool that functions very well. The ratchet mechanism has a high torque rating that the leverage from the handle can’t fully exploit, even with the bit extender added in. It’s probably unrealistic to expect it do everything that a longer ratchet can. But you can carry it in your jersey pocket and use it for roadside repairs too. Although quite expensive, you can use it for a lot of maintenance jobs on your bike – and you should be using it for many years too.
About the tester
Age: 56 Height: 180cm Weight: 66kg
I usually ride: Condor Fratello 55cm My best bike is: Gios Evolution 55cm
I’ve been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every week I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, General road riding is most common
