Welcome to Grand Junction Colorado, home of the Lunch Loops trail system.
You’ll find quite a few riders spending their lunch breaks here, as any one of these
loops takes just a few minutes.
Because the trailhead is always within reach, you don’t need a lot of gear to ride the
lunch loops.
On the other hand, some rides require a lot of gear, which of course comes at the expense
of comfort.
But there’s a sweet spot around two hours, where you only need a bottle of water and
a few tools to get by.
And that’s what we’ll be talking about today: products that keep the essentials on
your bike so you don’t need to worry about them or sacrifice any comfort.
First, let’s have a look at my two hour ride setup.
Like most setups, mine starts at the water bottle, but then on the other side is my crankbrothers
clic pump.
This pump has an inflation hose hidden inside, which keeps stress off the valve stem when
you’re really giving it hell.
There’s actually some space inside the handle of this pump, where I keep a valve core—wrapped
in tissue paper to prevent rattling.
Here we have an inner tube, strapped to my frame with self stick hook and loop.
A lot of people try to correct me and call this velcro, but velcro is just one of many
brands that make hook and loop.
I digress.
Up here at the fork is where things get interesting.
This is my Industry Nine Matchstix multitool.
The Matchstix is a thru axle, which means installing it is easy.
If you’re replacing a Maxle you’ll only net an extra 25 grams by installing the Matchstix,
which is impressive, as the matchstick comes with a chain tool, a spoke wrench, a valve
core wrench, quick link storage, and whatever selection of hex and torx bits you need.
A few videos ago I was kinda hard on this tool for being pricey, but for its capabilities
the matchstix is the lightest lowest impact integrated tool, period.
So there’s definitely a market willing to pay $145 for this.
I wish I could say the same for the all in multi tool, which fits in hollow bottom brackets
and costs $110.
At that price, it doesn’t even have a chain tool, spoke wrenches, or valve core wrenches.
This thing is barebones.
With that said, it’s still impressive.
Although it doesn’t fit all cranksets, it fits most, and it does so magnetically which
makes it surprisingly secure.
Once you have the tool in your hand it’s very easy to change bits, and it even turns
sideways to give you leverage—maybe the most leverage.
But while the All in Multitool is stealthy, secure, high quality, and attractive, it lags
behind the competition in terms of capability.
Speaking of a tool that’s low on capability, I’m now installing the Topeak Ninja which
is actually designed for road bikes.
Why is it called the ninja?
Although it’s just a bottle cage with a micro multi tool in it, the Ninja costs only
$33—and as you would expect from topeak, it’s nice.
The bottle cage is very good, the compartment is slick, and for some riders the Ninja will
be an inexpensive way to never leave their tool behind—this, coming from a guy who
would definitely leave his tool at home if it wasn’t attached to him.
Although the Ninja has the same capabilities as the all in multi tool, it costs less than
a third and comes with a good bottle cage.
For that, I can give it some latitude.
In terms of value, I think this next tool may be the winner.
This is the Synchros Matchbox Tailor Cage, which costs $80.
It’s a bottle cage, which reveals a slide out tool kit.
It features a chain tool, spoke wrenches, and all the allen keys you need including
an 8 mil.
It even comes with a tiny pump that telescopes to give you more air volume.
Although the pump doesn’t have a strain relief hose, I would give it a chance for
it’s compact size.
You could also swap it out if you really wanted to.
But one of the best things about the Tailor is how stout the bottle cage is.
It’s way overkill, which is perfect for mountain biking!
My only complaint is that the actual tool feels kinda chintzy, but I think it would
still get you back on the trail.
While the Synchros Matchbox Tailor Cage won’t win any marketing awards for its name, it
gives you the most bang for your buck, period.
And now the crown jewel of this segment, the One Up Components EDC.
This thing is seriously well made, and at $60 the price seems too good to be true.
That’s because the EDC is modular.
You either spend $60 on a pump that it fits inside of, or $60 on a kit that lets you install
it in your steerer tube.
So it’s more like $120 which puts it up there with the most premium tools, but premium
it is.
In its pump configuration you’ll carry this large, but not ridiculously large pump.
It has tons of volume and can even hold a 20g CO2 inside with the tool.
Ditch the CO2, and you get this storage compartment which is probably large enough for a tubeless
patch kit or an entire valve stem.
If you want to install the EDC in your steerer tube you’ll need the top cap and tap kit.
The tap kit comes with everything you need to remove your star nut, and actually cut
threads into your steerer.
Once you’ve threaded your steerer, you can secure your headset bearings using the top
cap and a cassette tool.
The EDC then slides in and stays put.
With a chain tool, a tire lever, CO2 storage, and quick link storage, the EDC is well equipped,
but it doesn’t end there.
The multi tool lets you combine these two wrenches to make one 8mm, which you’ll probably
need to step on if you’re doing pedals.
But that little piece serves another purpose: quick link removal—you might want to watch
this instructional video.
I’m glad I figured this out in my garage instead of, I don’t don’t know, the desert?
So now that we’ve looked at some tools, I want to show you a hack to extend your ride
time.
Filtering water bottles let you re-up from any water source—even sketchy ones.
But after searching my local REI and even Amazon, I was unable to find one that fits
a bike bottle cage.
To be clear, I mean that the bottle would need this indentation which keeps it from
popping out.
This one looked like it would work, but it’s too wide and the indentation doesn’t line
up.
Life straw sells these filtering caps, which I was sure would work.
They didn’t.
But ironically, this Life Straw bottle had just the right top, for $45.
Nevertheless, the cap fits a 26oz bike bottle, and might just extend your ride with a carefully
planned route.
I’m going to see if I can ride all day with with this once my wrist heals.
So now that I have in front of me all the major integrated tools, you’re probably
wondering if my setup has changed.
And it has.
On my trail bike, I’m now running the Synchros Matchbox with my custom lifestraw bottle.
I love the compact pump and the robust bottle cage.
I also love how everything disconnects from the bike into a mini toolkit.
You probably thought I’d choose the EDC, but I’m actually planning to use that on
a special bike this summer.
I did use the EDC tool strap for my inner tube.
You can really crank down on it.
As for my single speed hardtail, aka the Murder Machine, it’s getting the matchstix.
I use it at parks, jumps, and quick loops where I don’t need to bring anything.
Since the matchstix has virtually zero impact on a bike, it’s the perfect tool that I
can never accidentally forget.
It makes me think that the Matchstix could be the perfect companion to a downhill bike,
or a dirt jumper.
Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this mashup of integrated tools.
There were some others that I didn’t include, like the ritchey barkeepers, and a few proprietary
tools from specialized that won’t work on my bikes.
Integrated tool storage is an exciting category that I want to see grow.
As a very forgetful person, it’s nice to know the essentials will always be with me.