Bicycle Multitool Mod Boredom

Old took kit I carried in my small seat bag.

I was recently doing some maintenance on a friends bike. When I was finished I realized I had only used the normal tools I carry in my seat bag. This was a good sign as I like to be prepared for anything but it was also a bit concerning when I realized I was carrying all this stuff all the time. I figured the best way to shed some weight was by combining the two multitools. (In all honesty I did this small project because I was a bit bored this morning and wanted to see if it would work. Luckily it did.)



Background:

The two multitools I carried were a Lezyne Rap 20 and a Spin Doctor FT-9. Both I bought separately from Performance Bike near my house mostly because they were inexpensive. The Lezyne lists for $29.99 and the Spin Doctor for $12.99. I carried the Lezyne for a long time as my only multitool but I found myself needing longer Allen/Hex keys with ball ends. This was mostly for my the eccentric bottom bracket on my SS bikes but Ive found it comes in handy for other things too. So I started carrying both. There were however some downsides to both tools. The Lezyne's tools were too short and I never liked using the included chain tool / nipple wrench. The Spin Doctor didn't have Torx/Star keys.
Lezyne Rap 20 and Spin Doctor FT-9 multi tools.

The Plan:

Remove the unused/disliked tools from the Lezyne (Two small bent Allen keys and chain tool) and replace them with the longer ball ended Allen keys from the Spin Doctor. Also if possible replace the spacers on the Lezyne with actual tools. I think If I do this correctly I can get all the tools from the Spin Doctor onto the Lezyne.

Lezyne Rap 20 and Spin Doctor FT-9 laid out.
You can see the spacers on the Lezyne.

First to be switched over were the two smaller Allen/Hex keys. 

 Disassembly, Tinkering and Assembly: Lets see if it works

Take everything apart and lay it out left to right in the order they came off.

Swap out the smaller Allen keys in the layout.

Assemble the tools with the new Allen keys.

Success! But lets not stop here.

Success: Finished Multitool Mod

After the first mild success of switching out the small Allen keys I did a lot of tinkering without taking any pictures. I assembled and disassembled the tools in various ways and finally landed on the configuration shown below. I was able to move all the tools from the Spin Doctor over to the Lezyne by loosing a few tools. The tools I removed were the two smaller Allen keys, the Phillips screw driver, the chain tool and a few spacers. I removed these tools because they were not great to begin with. The Phillips screw driver was too short, chain tool was a pain to use and the small Allen keys were also a pain to use because they were bent.


Final configuration.

What I remove from my kit. The Spin Doctor frame with unused
bits as well as my Leatherman Micra.  I really like the
Leatherman Micra but I never used it as seen by
the layer of rust spots.

My new ket. A little lighter. Includes Park Tool chain tool,
Park tool spoke wrench, modified Lezyne multitool,
 Benchmade pocket knife and a patch kit.

Conclusion:

Modifying my multitool helped me shed a bit of weight, 164g, but mostly freed up space in my small under seat bag. It is now much easier to carry a few other smaller objects in there like my wallet, cell phone and keys. Empty pockets makes riding bikes a bit more comfortable. 

Cut down 164g from my tool kit. (1/3 of a pound)

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