After you’ve been bike touring for a while, sometimes you forget that the tools you take for granted as ‘standard’ aren’t known to everyone else. We were reminded of this when we recently got this email from a reader:
It seems to me that the tools we carry are a lot of weight that we rarely use. I have a very good multi tool but am seeking out ways of saving weight on other tools. Does anyone know of a cassette removal tool that uses the frame as the lever arm, rather than having to carry a chain whip and removal tool?” -Dave
For Dave, and everyone else out there who’s worrying about having to carry a chain whip, don’t worry! There’s a much lighter and better solution out there for bicycle tourists. It’s a tiny tool (about 2 inches long) that will let you take the cassette off the back of your bike, which you might need to do if you break a spoke on the rear wheel, for example.