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Mountain Bike Tool Essentials

Buying a large tool kit is nice because it comes with everything you need, and probably more, but it’s hard to drop several hundred dollars at once. Because of the price, and because you might be paying for tools that you will never use, sometimes buying a few tools at a time is the better option. You only purchase what you need, and it spreads the cost out over a longer period of time.

Bike Repair Stand

If you’re planning on doing even the most basic bike repair maintenance, don’t underestimate the importance of a quality repair stand. Yes, they can be a little expensive and yes, they take up a little room in the garage. That said, a quality stand will save you from a lifetime of turning your mountain bike upside down and bending over to make repairs and adjustments.

Bike Tools for Routine Maintenance

Routine maintenance can include cleaning and lubing your chain, replacing brake pads, and changing and fixing a flat tire. For these more simple tasks, we recommend the following tools as a good starting point:

Allen® wrench set (ranging from 2-12mm in size)

Open end wrenches (6-17mm)

Chain brush

Chain lube and cleaner

Clean rags

Tire levers

Tubes (at least a couple spares)

Tube patch kit

Floor pump with gauge

Bike Tools for Brakes

Working on your brakes can be as simple as replacing your pads, or as complex as bleeding your hydraulic disc brakes. The following tools are useful for performing common brake tasks:

Allen wrench set (ranging from 2-5mm in size)

Open end wrenches (6-12mm)

Needle-nose pliers

Bleed kit and oil (make sure you check your brake owner’s manual for proper fluid type and brake fittings)

Rotor truing tool

Torx® T25 wrench

Latex gloves

Clean rags

Denatured alcohol (or some type of cleaner)

Bike Tools for Drivetrains

Working on your bike’s drivetrain can include adjusting your derailleurs, changing shift or brake cables, or replacing a worn-out chain. Removing a cassette, replacing your bottom bracket or removing your pedals are also common drivetrain tasks.

Again, the following list is a good starting point for your drivetrain-tool arsenal.

Screwdrivers (multiple sizes of flat-head and Phillips)

Allen wrench set (ranging from 2-12mm in size)

Torx wrench set (T25 being the most important)

Needle-nose pliers

Cable cutters

Dental pick

Chain pin removal tool

Chain pliers

Chain wear indicator gauge

Cassette lockring remover

Chain whip

12 in. adjustable wrench

Crank arm puller (make sure you have the right one for the job, there are many different types and styles)

Bottom bracket tool (make sure you have the right one for the job, there are many different types and styles)

Pedal wrench

Bike Tools for Wheels

Wheels may seem like they need little work or maintenance, but a properly trued and tuned wheelset is extremely important for maximum efficiency. The following tools are very specific for wheels and have little crossover to other areas of the bike, nonetheless they are important.

Truing stand (just like a bike repair stand, the truing stand will make life much easier)

Cone wrenches (13, 15, and 17mm will get you started)

Spoke wrench (these come in different sizes, make sure to use the correct one)

Spoke tension gauge

Dish tool (this is used to center the hub in the wheel)

Other Useful Bike Tools

Here are a few other tools that are nice to have, although not as common. They probably won’t be used as regularly as the other listed above, but they can be equally important, especially if you’re trying to be a true home mechanic.

Air compressor (this is especially nice when setting up tubeless tires)

Hacksaw (used to cut steerer tubes, seatposts and handlebars)

Derailleur alignment gauge (used to straighten derailleur hangers after a crash)

Shock pump

Metal file

High quality waterproof grease

Small parts like: -Brake and shift cables -Brake and shift housing -Cable ferrules -Cable ends

You can buy a pre-made kit from Park Tool. You can piece together the right tools for the job as they become necessary.

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How To Set Up Your New Mountain Bike

Before you jump on your brand-new mountain bike, you need to be sure it's properly set up. Riding with components in less-than-optimum positions can give you sore knees, arms, shoulders and back muscles. You'll have a much better riding experience if follow the simple steps outlined in this article.

To adjust saddle height, you need a way to hold the bike upright while you hop on. One option is to have a friend face you, straddle the front wheel and hold the handlebar. You can also lean against a tree, wall or a workbench.

Your goal: You want a 25- to 30-degree bend in your knee. Check this by putting the balls of your feet on the pedals and extending one leg to the bottom of the pedal stroke.

How to adjust: Use an Allen wrench (or quick-release lever if that’s what secures the seatpost) to loosen the binder bolt and slide the seatpost up or down. Make sure the “minimum insertion mark” etched on the seatpost is not showing after you’re done. After verifying that the saddle is at the correct height, retighten the binder bolt to the specified torque or retighten the quick-release lever.

Adjusting Saddle Position and Angle

Your front/back position goal: To check this, you need a simple plumb bob—a string with a weight (like a metal nut) tied on the end. With your saddle at the proper height and one peddle in the 3 o’clock position, center the ball of your foot over the axle of that peddle.

Dangle the plumb bob off the front of your knee so that the weight dangles just above your foot. If the saddle is in the right position, an imaginary line that runs along the plumb bob’s string will bisect the axle on your bike pedal. For a more precise check, have someone stand next to you verify this.

Saddle Angle

Your angle goal: You want a level saddle. A tilted saddle can cause hip and back pain and require you to expend energy to keep from sliding off the front or back. To be precise you can use a simple bubble level to check this.

How to adjust seat position and angle: Loosen the Allen bolts securing the clamp that holds the rails under your saddle (on different saddles the clamp design might vary). Slide the saddle forward or backward while simultaneously rotating it into a level position.

Once the saddle is repositioned, retighten the bolts and recheck things with the plumb bob and level. After verifying that everything is where it should be, retighten the saddle to the specified torque.

Adjusting Brake Levers

Getting brake levers set up correctly helps with your reaction time and control, and it helps keep you in a riding position that’s nicely balanced when you’re braking.

Adjusting Brake-Lever Angle

Your goal: When the levers are at the correct angle, your wrists will be straight. If your wrists have to rotate up to grab the brake lever, you tend to lean too far forward as you ride. If your wrists have to rotate down to grab the brake lever, you tend to drop your elbows and lose stability.

How to adjust: Loosen the Allen bolt on the brake lever clamp and rotate it until the levers are at a 45° angle. Then retighten the bolt to the specified torque.

Basic Suspension Adjustments

A key adjustment on air-spring suspensions is setting “sag,” which is the amount that your fork or rear shock compresses when you sit on the bike. Setting sag correctly dials in your suspension’s available range of travel. Sag also affects how harshly or smoothly your suspension reacts to bumps.

See our Mountain Bike Suspension: Setting Sag video to see how to do this.

If you have coil-spring suspension instead, you might have a preload adjustment dial on top of your fork. Setting it is a matter of personal preference. Increasing preload stiffens your ride, which can increase pedaling efficiency and minimize bounciness. If things feel too harsh, though, you can decrease preload to soften your ride.

Most adjustments can be done with a standard bike multi-tool. To do a proper job tightening things back up, though, you need a torque wrench. That’s especially true for carbon components. Sometimes specified torque settings are stamped on a component; if not, consult the component manufacturer’s website.

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Mountain Biking For Beginners 

There are many ways to enjoy mountain biking, and you don’t even have to be in the mountains. Trails vary from pleasant rides on wide, flowing logging roads to high-adrenaline challenges on technical singletrack.

In this article, we'll tell you the basics of what to expect before your first ride, including an overview of different types of mountain bike terrain, styles of mountain biking and basics for getting geared up for a fun time on the trails.

Types of Mountain Bike Terrain 

While you might start out on trails that are relatively smooth and flat, your ability to navigate around—or over—obstacles will develop as you gain experience and becomes part of the fun of the sport. Mountain-bike-specific trails are typically marked by skill level (beginner, intermediate, expert and double expert) and are maintained.

Singletrack, the most common trail type, has a width that varies from just a little wider than your shoulders on up to a track that's just wide enough for two bikes to pass. Many singletrack trails are open to one-way travel and wind their way through the best terrain that the landscape offers.

Doubletrack trails are normally double the width (or more) of a typical singletrack trail with enough room for two bikes to ride side-by-side. Often doubletrack trails follow abandoned logging roads, fire roads or power-line roads, where the tires of vehicles created two single tracks. Doubletrack trails are usually a gentler grade than singletrack and tend to have less-technical features.

Mountain bike terrain parks are popping up everywhere from jump-and-pump tracks under urban overpasses to lift-serviced trails at ski resorts. Expect such features as elevated bridges, half pipes, jumps of various sizes, berms, banked corners and hairy downhill switchbacks.

Mountain Biking Styles  

Many bike manufacturers categorize their bikes based on the following mountain biking styles to help you decide what type of bike is appropriate for you.

Trail: This is arguably the most common mountain biking style because the category isn’t grounded in any specific type of racing. If you’re interested in meeting up with friends at the local trailhead and riding a mixture of climbs and descents, then this is the style for you. Bikes in this category place equal emphasis on fun, efficiency and sensible overall weight.

Cross-country: This style of riding typically implies riding fast, with an emphasis on climbing prowess. Distances vary from just a few miles to 25-plus, and bikes tend to focus on light weight and efficiency. These bikes can be great if you’re considering getting competitive or would like a racier ride for your local trails.

All-mountain/enduro: Think of all-mountain/enduro riding as trail riding on steroids, with bigger leg-burning climbs, longer white-knuckle descents and more technical features—both man-made and natural. Bikes for all-mountain/enduro riding are designed to perform well on steep descents while also being light and nimble enough to pedal uphill.

The term enduro comes from the racing world and describes a competition that has timed downhill stages and untimed uphill stages. The winner is whoever has the fastest combined time on the downhills. Enduro riding has become very popular, and the term is now often used interchangeably with all-mountain regardless of whether you’re racing or not.

Downhill/park: This type of riding is mostly done at lift-serviced bike parks (often during a ski resort’s warmer months). You ride big, tough bikes and wear full-face helmets and body armor. The bikes boast more durable components and fewer gears, and the suspension has more travel (the amount of movement in the suspension). All of this helps you conquer jumps, berms, rock gardens and wooden ladders. Given that you’re on a perpetual descent the entire time, you don’t have to pedal much, but you still get a serious workout because you’re constantly reacting to the fast-approaching terrain.

Fat-tire biking: Picture the kind of bike you always wanted as a kid: one with giant tires that can roll through just about anything. Fat-tire bikes are bikes with tires that are at least 3.7 in. wide (and may be as wide as 5 in. or more). They offer excellent traction through snow and sand. Fat-tire biking is not limited to these conditions and has proven to be a fast-growing addition to all-season trail riding. Fat-tire bikes can be a great choice for beginner mountain bikers because they are very forgiving on rough terrain.

Types of Mountain Bikes

What type of bike you ride is usually decided by where you plan on riding. Suspension type and wheel diameter are two key features that determine what type of terrain the bike is capable of riding. You have a wealth of options when it comes to types of suspension and wheel diameter (denoted by such terms as 26, 27.5 (650b), and 29ers).

Suspension Type

Rigid: While not the most common type of mountain bike, “rigid” mountain bikes don’t feature any suspension. They are easy to maintain and usually less expensive, but most riders prefer bikes with suspension for greater comfort. Most fat-tire bikes are rigid, and riders find that the wide tires and low tire pressure provide all the squish needed to absorb bumps in the trail.

Hardtail: These bikes have a suspension fork in the front to help absorb impact on the front wheel, but the rear of the bike has no suspension—ergo a hardtail. Hardtails are typically less expensive than full-suspension bikes, and have fewer moving parts (which often translates into less maintenance). Most hardtails have the ability to lock out the front fork for times where a fully rigid bike is desired.

Cross-country riders typically gravitate toward hardtails as they allow more direct transfer of power between the pedal stroke and the rear tire. Hardtails can also be at home on all-mountain trails, and the lower cost and easier maintenance make them a solid option for everything except serious lift-serviced downhill trails.

Full suspension: There are many variations of full-suspension bikes, but the general idea is for the front fork and rear shock to absorb the impacts of the trail. This drastically reduces the impact on the rider, increases traction, and makes for a more forgiving and enjoyable ride.

A full-suspension bike can soak up a lot of a trail bumps and chatter, but the bike can also “bob” a bit and you lose some of the energy transfer when climbing uphill. As a result, most full-suspension rigs have the ability to lock-out the rear suspension to offer better power transfer and more efficient climbing.

Bikes designed for downhill riding typically boast a lot of travel—the amount of movement in the suspension—compared to bikes designed for cross-country and all-mountain riding. As much as eight inches of travel front and rear is fairly common.

Wheel Size

26 in.: In the not too-distant past, all mountain bikes were equipped with 26 in. wheels. It is still a popular wheel size for its responsiveness and maneuverability, but now when you walk into a bike shop and inquire about mountain bikes, you are likely to be asked, “26 in., 27.5 in. or 29 in.?”

27.5 in. (650b): Offering a middle ground between standard 26 in. wheels and 29ers, these bikes apply a “best of both worlds” solution, more easily rolling over terrain than the 26s, but more maneuverable than 29ers. As with 29ers, this wheel size can be found on both full-suspension and hardtail rigs.

29ers: These bikes feature 29 in. wheels that are typically heavier and a little slower to accelerate, but once you start moving you can conquer considerably more terrain easier than on a bike with standard 26 in. wheels. They generally offer excellent grip and they have a higher “attack angle”—meaning the wheel rolls over trail obstacles easier. These bikes have become extremely popular for the cross-country crowd. 29ers can be found in both hardtail and full-suspension rigs.

24 in.: Kids’ mountain bikes typically have 24 in. wheels to accommodate the shorter legs of children. Most are less-expensive versions of adult bikes with simpler components. Generally speaking, these suit kids ages 10 to 13, but this depends more on the size of the child than the age. Younger/smaller children can get started biking with 20 in. wheels.

For more information, see Mountain Bikes: How to Choose.

How to Dress for Mountain Biking

Bike-specific clothing makes for a more comfortable ride, no matter what style of biking you're doing. That said, different styles of mountain biking will dictate what type of clothing you'll choose.

Shorts: Options for mountain biking shorts range from form-fitting styles (often worn by cross-country racers) to baggy styles with a more casual look and more coverage and durability for snags along the trail. These generally have an inner lining with a padded chamois that helps reduce saddle fatigue and reduces some of the trail impact.

Jersey: Similar to shorts, jerseys range from form-fitting to loose and more casual-looking. Regardless of fit, you still want to choose something that wicks sweat and dries quickly. You’ll also want something you can wash and dry with little fuss. If you plan to carry a backpack, you won’t need a lot of pockets—although some mountain-bike jerseys offer that option.

Gloves: You’ll be surprised how much a good pair of gloves reduces hand and wrist fatigue; get a pair with padding at the palm. Full-fingered gloves keep your hands warmer and provide some texture between your fingers and the grip on the brakes and gear shifters. Both fingerless and full-fingered gloves add protection in the event of a crash.

Mountain bikes are a fun way to exercise and connect with nature. like fatter tires with rugged tread for stability and durability on off-road terrain and a more upright cycling position that lets you enjoy the view.