Product Review by PBE Squad member, Mike Bentz
Hey, hey, Mike here to talk about some product. This year there have been a handful of things I’ve brought on 99% of my rides, while all of em are awesome in their own right, it’s always the “you don’t need it til you need it” item that steals the show when it finally gets the spotlight. For me this was the Wolftooth 8-Bit tool, a 3 part multi tool with 15 functions that’s neatly sandwiched together magnetically. I specifically chose the 8-bit kit Two; the One comes with a rim dent remover tool while the Two comes with a rotor truing slot and an 8mm flare wrench. The latter seemed more practical for my needs.
So I threw it in my Nittany Mountain Works bag and did some biking, naturally. The most common bit I used was expected – the hex bits, the tool offers 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 mm bits. From tinkering with seat post height and adjusting bar angle mostly, if you know me I’m always messing with my Salsa Fargo 😁. Always nice to have hexes, they’re tucked into the plier and master link tool 1/3 of the product. Additionally, the pliers provide flathead and phillips head bits, torx t10 and t25 bits, a spoke and valve core wrench and to top it off storage for extra master links. Very useful, right? If you follow me on the gram you may remember me posting about using the chain tool on the East Coast Greenways NYC-PHL ride. We had left Princeton and just hit the D&R canal when my buddy’s chain popped- a you don’t need it til you need it moment and thank goodness we had it! Got up and rolling to Philly for cheesesteaks in no time.
We aren’t done yet! The pliers are one slice of bread in this Wolftooth sandwich, the middle layer is a tire lever which holds the previously mentioned rim dent and rotor true tool. For sure have used the tire lever, fortunately I only had one flat this year but I have a bad (for my wallet) habit of wanting to try every tire in existence so tire swaps were frequent. It’s a sturdy lever that provides plenty of leverage for the toughest tire beads.
To top off this thing we have a a chain break and utility knife that houses an extra razor blade (incredibly useful for a myriad of reasons), a slot for a spare valve core, bacon strips and a tire plug inserter. Quite the buffet of toolage to discover in this just shy of 15cm long package. It’s 171g weight weenies – 171g of worth it.
I haven’t used the majority of the features this tool provides yet but the ones I’ve used have been as effective as anything I’ve tried before. I also leave on my rides with a sense of security knowing I have the tools to self service my bike trail side if need be! If you see me out and about ask me about it, check it out and then go get you one. Thanks, Wolftooth!