Wolf Tooth 8-Bit Kit One

Wolf Tooth's 8-Bit Kit One is a very well-made, light and compact tool kit. It includes what you need to fix most of the issues you might encounter on a ride, but the minimalist design means it can be a little fiddly to use. As soon as you pick it up, it's obvious that this is a premium product, but it comes at a premium price, too.

The Wolf Tooth 8-bit kit one uses a swivel head and bits rather than the usual fold-out tools of many multitools. The advantage is more leverage, but it does mean a bit of a fiddle to get the right bit – and you have to be careful not to lose parts.

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Kit One combines three separate 8-Bit multi-tools: the Chainbreaker + Utility Knife, the Tyre Lever + Rim Dent Remover, and the Pack Pliers. They stack together using magnets and locating pins. You can buy each of the tools (and their spares) separately, so you could make up your own package instead.

Altogether, the kit has 24 functions. For fastening, there's all the usual hex keys (2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8mm), the most common Torx keys (T10 and T25) and screwdrivers in flat and Philips heads.

For wheels and tyres you get a valve core remover, a tyre plug rasp, an inserter and plugs. You also get a single tyre lever and a rim dent remover, plus chain master link pliers, a chain breaker and a utility knife. There's space to store a spare valve core and a chain quick link.

That covers most roadside repairs, realistically, though I can't help thinking a second tyre lever would be more useful than a dent remover; I've personally never had any need for the latter. If you choose to add one it will stack nicely with the rest of the kit, at least.

8-bit Pack Pliers

Mike wrote a very nice, in-depth review of Wolf Tooth's 8-bit Pack Pliers on their own last year, so I won't repeat everything he said.

Like Mike, I found them well engineered, and very capable of applying the necessary torque. Undoing a pedal for example, is no problem. The bits are small and can be a little more fiddly than a workshop tool, but that's true of a lot of multi-tools, where compactness is important.

The nylon composite tyre lever has a curved lip that hooks under rim beads nicely, and it feels strong enough for the tightest tyres. The dent remover, meanwhile, is machined from aluminium and bolted into a recess for some decent rigidity.

I've never dented a rim badly enough that it needed straightening to get home, and with carbon rims it's not an option, but your experience might be different.

Chainbreaker + Utility Knife

This part has a chainbreaker at one end, a small craft knife at the other, and storage containing tyre plugs, a spare blade and a combined tyre plug inserter/chainbreaker lever. There room for a spare valve core too, but not all cores... I had to try a couple as some proved too long to fit.

The chainbreaker sits out at a right angle to perform its function, and it works well, though I found it easier to muscle the 3mm bit with the Pack Pliers than the dedicated handle here.

The tyre plugger end of it is well thought out, though; the T-handle can be sandwiched in the storage space with the plug end sticking out, giving you plenty of leverage for shoving an anchovy in your tyre. Or a sardine in your hub, come to that (it's unlikely to come to that). The tool comes with five standard size plugs to get you going.

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Using this to plug a tyre is definitely not as quick as with a dedicated tool such as the Dynaplug Racer, but ultimately it works just fine.

Lastly, the craft knife slides out only 10mm of sharp edge, limiting its functionality somewhat. It is handy to have, nevertheless.

Stacked together, the kit measures 146 x 20 x 28mm and weighs 171 grams. Consequently it's not great for smaller saddlebags; it's a bit too long, and far happier in a bottle-sized carrier, on your frame or in a bar bag.

There's no sleeve or case to protect it in a bag, though, and at this price that's a shame. A rubber band works just fine, at least. Maybe you can find a suitably expensive one to use...

The way the 8-Bit stacks is quite clever. The tyre lever sits in the middle, with the pliers on one end and the chainbreaker on the other. The recess for the valve core tool faces inwards it can't fall out, while the utility knife's slider is similarly blocked shut. So long as the stack stays together, anyway.

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All multitools have their niggles; the need for a low-mass, compact design inevitably affects usability in some way. It's a compromise. Using bits with the swivel head means you get more leverage than on other multitools, but the downside is that they can be a bit fiddly, and they're vulnerable to getting lost.

I didn't mind the compromise made by this 8-Bit Kit, and it now lives with my gravel bike. But when a less patient friend had a go with it, choice words were forthcoming pretty swiftly; it's not going to please everyone, and that makes the price an even pricklier subject.

Value

£140 is premium money without a doubt.

The Topeak Mini PT30 multi-tool does most of the things the Wolf Tooth kit does at less than a third of the price – it's fully £100 cheaper at £39.99. It doesn't have a tyre lever, but you can get a lot of those for £100, and it does have more spoke adjustment options.

Silca's T-ratchet kit + Ti-torque kit comes closer in price at £100 but does things differently; it has a (useful and not cheap) torque wrench which the Wolf Tooth kit lacks, though overall doesn't cover the same breadth of tasks.

Conclusion

The construction here is superb, the finish is lovely and the whole thing promises to last a very long time; Wolf Tooth supplies any spares you might need.

For sheer usefulness, however, it's not easy to justify spending £140 when you can get similar tools with similar functions for far, far less. They may not look or feel as impressive, but that's where I'd look if it was my money – especially as this, with its slight fiddliness and lack of a protective case, is not a perfect design either.

Verdict

Top quality tool kit for most maintenance needs, but can be fiddly – and it's very expensive