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review
Tools - multitools
B'Twin 300 Bike Multitool B'Twin 300 Bike Multitool
BTwin 300 Bike Multitool

B'Twin 300 Bike Multitool

8
by Dan Joyce
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Jul 21, 2015

1
£6.50

VERDICT:

8
10
Great value multitool whose bulk makes it best for home not roadside use
Weight: 
150g
Contact: 
www.decathlon.co.uk
How we test

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Like other decent multitools, the B'Twin 300 Bike Multitool has a range of hard, chrome-vanadium steel tools that fold out from an aluminium body. There are nine tools: 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5 and 6mm Allen keys, Phillips and flat-head screwdrivers, and a T25 Torx. What's special is the price: £6.50. For that, you might expect soft steel and a rattly tool body. Think again. This is as sturdy a multitool as I've ever used.

The tools are accurately made and tough. They pivot easily because of the nylon washers between them. And the multitool shows no sign of coming loose and falling apart. (You may need to tighten the pivot bolts at some point, of course.)

Buy this online here

The aluminium tool body is comfortable in the hand, so it's easy to tighten or loosen stubborn bolts, such as a 6mm saddle clamp. At 87x47x15mm and 150g, it's relatively large and heavy for a multitool with nine functions. Leverage and durability are good, but it's a bit bulky for stuffing in a seatpack and will weigh down a jersey pocket. My 10-function Lezyne V10 is significantly smaller and two-thirds the weight despite also packing a chain splitter.

That V10 also costs four times as much as this B'Twin 300 Bike Multitool. Is it worth the extra? Yes. A chain splitter is a deal breaker when it comes to fixing roadside mechanicals. As chains get thinner to suit the growing number of cassette sprockets, breakages are becoming more common. Even if you're carrying a spare quick-link, you'll need to drive out a rivet or two so you can fit that. Size and weight, meanwhile, aren't just a matter for weight weenies. The smaller and lighter a multitool is, the more likely it is you'll have it with you on every ride. (Sod's law says you will most need the multitool that you forgot to bring.)

Having said that, if you're on a tight budget then saving pounds is probably more important than saving grams. If you don't mind a bit of extra heft and won't miss a chain splitter, you will not find a better value multitool than this. Where I think it will score for most road.cc readers is as a workshop multitool. It's a handy way to keep your most-used Allen keys and a few other tools together, and in the workshop its beefiness is an asset. That's where this test multitool now lives.

Verdict

Great value multitool whose bulk makes it best for home not roadside use

road.cc test report

Make and model: B'Twin 300 Bike Multitool

Size tested: Gold

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?

Decathlon say: "9 tools in 1. The essential multi-purpose compact tool for use when out riding or on your workbench!"

I say: "For use on your workbench."

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

6061 aluminium body, Cr-V steel tools, nickel nuts and bolts, nylon washers

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Exceptionally well made for such a cheap tool.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Big enough and comfortable enough for easy use. No chain splitter, though.

Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

This ain't your pound-shop multitool.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
4/10

It's big and heavy, given the number of functions.

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

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

In the workshop, it's great – as good as any multitool I've used. At the roadside, it works okay but I begrudged taking it with me as there wasn't room in my seatpack after spare inner tube, tyre levers, patches, and quick link.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Proper Cr-V steel tools.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Bulk.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? For the workshop, and if I didn't have about a million Allen keys already, yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? For workshop use, yes. For roadside use: only if the friend was pretty skint

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 45  Height: 1.78m  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride: Ridgeback Solo World fixed wheel  My best bike is: Planet X Pro Carbon Track. Or Whyte M109

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: time trialling, cyclo-cross, commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mountain biking

 

B'Twin 300 Bike Multitool
B'Twin 2015
B'Twin

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1 comments

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nortonpdj | 9 years ago
0 likes

If it's too bulky to take on a ride then it's no use. Why use a multitool rather than separate allen keys when you are at home?

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