Birzman Travel Tool Box

On the road or in the shed, the tool selection in the Birzman Travel Tool Box covers practically all the basic maintenance jobs tackled by the home mechanic. The quality of the tools means you shouldn't be replacing anything too soon either.

Bikes are pretty simple machines, and once you've done a bit of internet research you'll find that the majority of tasks are achievable with just a handful of tools. That's why the Birzman Travel Box is so good: it has (nearly) everything you need and nothing you don't.

We've got the 20 model which has, yep, you guessed it, 20 tools in the hard case. It is biased very much towards Shimano setups, which makes sense as it is by far the most common drivetrain manufacturer, found on all sorts of bikes.

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The tools are solidly built, and not only do they fit the job in hand at the business end, but Birzman has really concentrated on the ergonomics of the handles too. With a lot of jobs requiring a bit of force, you need a tool that is comfortable to use and offers plenty of grip – especially with oily hands.

The most expensive part in the whole kit is the Damselfly Chain Extractor (£34.99 individually; in fact buy buying the tools as a kit you are saving around £30 on the individual rrp), which is an absolute joy to use. It holds the chain straight and true, and thanks to the amount of pressure it applies the chain pin pops instantly with very little force. It comes with a spare extractor pin to allow for varying chain sizes from 1/8in singlespeed through to the latest 11-speed systems.

Hex keys – aka Allen keys – can be picked up for a few quid these days, but the Birzman jobbies (£19.99) are lovely bits of kit. With soft alloy bolts being used for some components nowadays you need a good close-tolerance fit and that's what you get from these. The ball end is ideal for tightening or loosening bolts at an angle, and again here the fit is snug to stop you rounding the bolt heads.

Companies like Fizik supply their stems with Torx screws and Birzman has sensibly included a full set of these in the kit too. They are the same level of quality as the hex keys, with a close fit and plenty of length for loosening stubborn screws.

For working on the drivetrain, you get a decent chain whip that works with 8, 9, 10 and 11-speed blocks, plus removal and fitting tools for both Shimano cassettes and freewheels.

Move to the middle and you've got a selection of options for removing your bottom bracket, whether cartridge type or Hollowtech. If you're a Campagnolo user you'll have to treat yourself to some specific tools, though. Chainset-wise the crank puller will remove older style square taper or Octalink chainsets – anything with a tapered mating face, basically. Again, all of these fit well, the threads are clean and tidy, and you don't get any movement in the tools when pressure is applied.

The cable cutters (£13.99) are probably the only weak link in the entire kit; although they cut through outers and inners with ease, they don't have quite as solid a feel as the rest of the kit. Mind you, 14 quid is quite cheap for a set of cable cutters, so to be fair their performance is on par with that.

The rest of the kit is basic maintenance stuff: chain wear indicator, tyre levers, patch kit, a spoke key and a couple of screwdrivers chucked in for good measure.

Overall, the Birzman Travel Tool Box is a decent long-term investment for the serious home mechanic. There isn't really much you can't do with it, especially if you are a Shimano/SRAM user, although it is missing cone spanners, for working on your hubs.

For £169.99 you get some quality kit, at a 15 per cent saving over buying everything individually. Plus you get the robust carry case. If I was starting again with regard to tools I'd go for something like this and just add the few specifics I needed.

Verdict

A portable toolkit that covers virtually everything the home mechanic needs, unless you're a Campag user...