Topeak Essential Toolshop

Topeak’s Essential Toolshop is a reasonably well-equipped box of good-quality tools that cover basic bike repairs. While it’s not going to cover more involved repairs, it’s a well-priced entry that’s ideal for in-car stowage. Just keep an eye on the magnet in the ratcheting handle.

Topeak Essential Toolshop – Technical details

The Essential Toolshop is specced for everyday maintenance rather than full-bike overhauls, and is contained within a hinged polymer case. Much of the toolkit revolves around the Ratchet Rocket HD ratcheting handle, which goes a long way to making the whole thing more compact.

With it comes a full range of Allen and Torx bits, ranging from 1.5 to 10mm and T10 up to T40, respectively. Boosting the kit’s usefulness further is the Nano TorqBar torque wrench adapter, which attaches to the ratchet handle and reads from two to six Newton metres. The ratchet handle also leverages the chain tool, and a ‘speed sleeve’ bit holder (the outer case stays still while the inner bar rotates, making it easy to spin) acts as the handle.

There are also PH1, PH2, and flat head screwdriver bits thrown in to cover all bike bolt types.

However, not everything uses the Ratchet Rocket handle. Topeak’s Power Lever II tyre levers double up together as master link pliers, and there’s a plastic disc brake spacer too.

All of that sits in a neat plastic box that measures 25×9.6x6cm, so it’s ideal for stashing in the car for pre or post-ride bike tweaks.

Topeak Essential Toolshop – Performance

As far as basic bike maintenance goes, it’s really tough to go wrong with what Topeak has produced here. The joy of using the kit comes immediately after opening it up, as all the Allen and Torx bits sit in hinged holders, making them easy to pull out when needed. Better still, there’s knurling on each one, so they won’t slip from your fingers.

I touched on this before, but most of the kit works with the ratchet tool in some way. Obviously, all of the bits sit directly in it for use, with the torque wrench and speed sleeve acting as extensions. It’s a pretty heavy duty ratchet, too, and capable of more demanding jobs like removing stubborn pedals.

However, one small things marred this for us – the magnet in the ratchet that holds bits in place split and fell out. While that doesn’t render it useless, it does make things quite a bit more difficult. That said, I’ve used a lot of Topeak’s ratchet handles, and I’ve never had this happen before. Topeak assured us it falls under a warranty replacement so, while not ideal, it should be a pretty quick fix.

There’s one design niggle I found with the ratchet handle, too. I constantly knock the direction lever when using it. I put this more down to my own mishandling, but wow, is it annoying!

That aside, the Essential Toolshop is exactly what it says on the tin. Or cardboard sleeve. On the plastic box. Anyway, it’s small enough to stash in a glovebox and robust enough to rattle around the back of a van, and it contains everything needed for the more minor jobs; setting up a bike for a ride, checking it all over, tweaking gears or controls and so on.

I’m a huge fan of the inclusion of a torque reading device. The Nano TorqBar is a simple but super useful tool that reads out its torque as you turn it. As it’s small, it can reach all the bolts it needs to, and it takes the guesswork out of tightening common cockpit fasteners, saddle bolts and such. Its range of measurement is pretty narrow, but that’s still plenty for its intended uses.

The tyre levers are mighty clever. Used as levers there’s plenty of strength to help wrench tricky tyre beads into place – these got some seriously tight tyres onto 29in rims for me. Plugged together, meanwhile, they become pliers for opening and closing quicklinks, which can be very useful indeed. There’s also a dedicated chain tool for pushing link pins out if that becomes necessary.

The other tools are merely nice additions, I’d say. I very rarely have the need to space brake pads just before a ride, but if I do, the pad spacer is ready and waiting. I don’t find much use in the speed sleeve bit holder, either but I’m not going to complain that it’s there.

Topeak Essential Toolshop – Verdict

For this, Topeak is asking £90, and I’d say that’s a pretty good deal. In a world where you don’t really want to rely on a multi-tool for everything, the Essential Toolshop steps in with better quality and more ergonomic features.

Tool kits from other brands are generally more expensive, with Pro’s Starter Toolkit costing £139.99. But for the extra £50, you are getting more, such as a chain whip, cable cutters and a cassette tool.

Below £90 the competition gets much more basic, with Wera’s 14 piece Zyklop set costing £55.99 and coming with a limited set of Allen keys and a pair of tyre levers. But knowing Wera’s quality, the ratchet shouldn’t fail you.

But with all of that in mind, the Essential Toolshop looks like the best-equipped tool kit for the price.

The Essential Toolshop isn’t a tool kit that’ll revive your bike from the dead, but it’s not meant to be. It’s a go-to for minor bike tweaks before or after a ride. It’s equipped just well enough and at the price it’s an excellent first tool kit for those looking to maintain their bikes without having to run to the bike shop at every inconvenience.