Mineral Design Mini Bar Tool

Mineral Design's Mini Bar multi-tool

If you are a bike nerd like myself, you probably have a bunch of multi-tools. You know, those bundles of Allen wrenches, screw drivers, and what not all in one package. Most fold out each individual tool like a knife blade in a Swiss Army knife. There are some other types I've seen around as well. Each have their own pitfalls and most are not easy, comfortable, or fun to use, but this one I got in for review on RidingGravel.com is a different animal. You can read my review of it here.

I had already posted the review and was doing a test ride around my local test track when I had to stop to adjust my Avid BB-7 mechanical disc brake. If you have ever had a set of these, you know that the caliper can migrate on the concave and convex washers with time. I figured that was what had happened. Well, I busted out the Mineral Design Mini Bar and discovered something kind of neat.

To make the adjustment correctly you need a T-25 Torx and a 5mm Allen wrench. Generally with a multi-tool you have to refold and unfold the tool every time you want to switch tools. That seems to be a given with most do-it-all wrench kits.

Two tool bits at the same time? Nice!

But because the Mini Bar has three sockets where you can place bits, I can have both the T-25 and 5mm out and usable at the same time. I just have to flip the wrench around. Simple! Plus, with the strong, neodymium magnets holding the bits in place, I do not have to worry about the bits falling out when I am using one end or the other of the tool.

So, the adjustment went without a hitch, and was no more difficult than it would have been at the shop. The tool is really nice and compact too, so you can store it easily enough in a small bag, or throw it in your pocket if you are wrenching on bikes at home and doing test rides, etc. Maybe I'm an oddball in that way. I do that kind of thing a lot and am always wanting for a wrench. Your mileage may vary.

I may end up getting a few of these tools because they work so well and are easy to carry. There are not many multi-tools I can say that about. I was also thinking that since the bits seem to use the universal, Allen type base, you probably could find replacements, in case you did lose one or two bits, rather easily. But the bottom line for me is that this tool makes working on my bike out in the Styx easier and more effective. Leverage? Easy. Access to bolts and fittings? Much better than with most multi-tools. Ease of use? Top of its class.

133 grams of high functioning "fix it".

That's a neodymium magnet down there. It holds the tool bits quite securely.

Anyway, I use a lot of tools and this one impresses me. If you are curious, you can check out this and some other stuff at http://www.mineralbikes.com

NOTE: Mineral Design sent over the Mini Bar for test and review to RidingGravel.com at no charge for test and review. I was not bribed nor paid for this post and I strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

Mineral Design Mini Bar Tool

Mineral Design's Mini Bar multi-tool

If you are a bike nerd like myself, you probably have a bunch of multi-tools. You know, those bundles of Allen wrenches, screw drivers, and what not all in one package. Most fold out each individual tool like a knife blade in a Swiss Army knife. There are some other types I've seen around as well. Each have their own pitfalls and most are not easy, comfortable, or fun to use, but this one I got in for review on RidingGravel.com is a different animal. You can read my review of it here.

I had already posted the review and was doing a test ride around my local test track when I had to stop to adjust my Avid BB-7 mechanical disc brake. If you have ever had a set of these, you know that the caliper can migrate on the concave and convex washers with time. I figured that was what had happened. Well, I busted out the Mineral Design Mini Bar and discovered something kind of neat.

To make the adjustment correctly you need a T-25 Torx and a 5mm Allen wrench. Generally with a multi-tool you have to refold and unfold the tool every time you want to switch tools. That seems to be a given with most do-it-all wrench kits.

Two tool bits at the same time? Nice!

But because the Mini Bar has three sockets where you can place bits, I can have both the T-25 and 5mm out and usable at the same time. I just have to flip the wrench around. Simple! Plus, with the strong, neodymium magnets holding the bits in place, I do not have to worry about the bits falling out when I am using one end or the other of the tool.

So, the adjustment went without a hitch, and was no more difficult than it would have been at the shop. The tool is really nice and compact too, so you can store it easily enough in a small bag, or throw it in your pocket if you are wrenching on bikes at home and doing test rides, etc. Maybe I'm an oddball in that way. I do that kind of thing a lot and am always wanting for a wrench. Your mileage may vary.

I may end up getting a few of these tools because they work so well and are easy to carry. There are not many multi-tools I can say that about. I was also thinking that since the bits seem to use the universal, Allen type base, you probably could find replacements, in case you did lose one or two bits, rather easily. But the bottom line for me is that this tool makes working on my bike out in the Styx easier and more effective. Leverage? Easy. Access to bolts and fittings? Much better than with most multi-tools. Ease of use? Top of its class.

133 grams of high functioning "fix it".

That's a neodymium magnet down there. It holds the tool bits quite securely.

Anyway, I use a lot of tools and this one impresses me. If you are curious, you can check out this and some other stuff at http://www.mineralbikes.com

NOTE: Mineral Design sent over the Mini Bar for test and review to RidingGravel.com at no charge for test and review. I was not bribed nor paid for this post and I strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

A Tale Of Two Commutes

The snow was still firm enough last Friday to ride on.

The commutes of late have all been undertaken on the Ti Mukluk fat bike. In the Winter, it is just easier to hop on a bike with flat pedals, capable wheels, and with the Body Float seat post, it rides like a Cadillac. Why wouldn't I ride this bike back and forth to work? I can wear boots that keep my feet warm, or hiking boots when it is warmer, or Adidas when it gets to the 40's. Actually, on Friday it almost was that warm here.

Anyway, I took a longer route home to see if perhaps some trails had been ridden in, but I found my usual "dirt home from work" route had not been ridden in. No worries! I took a different way, went up on along the bike path on the south side of the Cedar River, and through a bit of downtown before hitting the neighborhood near my place. It was a really pleasant ride. Only one real issue was nagging me about the bike, and that was that the front shifter had jammed and I was stuck in the big ring. That was okay though, as I prefer that to being stuck in a lower range.

It was pretty surprising, but the snow was holding up rather well yet on Friday when I rode home. I was pretty sure it would be totally mushed out, but I was wrong. However; Saturday was to be even warmer, and Sunday was to be warm, so who knew then what Monday would bring?

A beautiful day Friday for a long way home ride from work.

Monday's commute was a somber, moody atmosphere.

Saturday I had big plans for a long ride. The day was perfect for it, but I was thwarted by a dizziness, stuffy head, and a cruddy throat. Mrs. Guitar Ted prescribed rest, fluids, and no riding. Bummer! Well.........she was right though. I ended up feeling better on Sunday, and my son and I did a brisk 45 minute walk/jog which got my exercise in. It wasn't much, but I am healthier for it. Had I ridden, I probably would be more ill now than I should be.

Anyway, the snow was melting all weekend and in to Monday. I was shocked by how much snow was gone on my early morning commute. Mud and slop were everywhere, and snow cover had receded to the point where large patches of grass were visible in many places now. It was really foggy, so I had lights on front and rear on the Muk. Calm before the storm we were to get Tuesday, perhaps. A moody, somber calm, which was in stark contrast to Friday's commute.

I had to be very careful of the "black ice" patches of refrozen snow melt from Sunday. It was treacherous in a few places and I walked my bike a couple of times to avoid certain harm to my body. The other notable thing was how many rubber-neckers there were yesterday morning. More so than usual. Maybe they figured I was a crazy, unprepared for a Winter storm cyclist? I don't know, but I had two people slow significantly to stare and another actually rolled down her side window to get a better look. Weird.

What the....?!! My crank arm came off on the way home.

On the way back from work, the temperatures had risen above freezing again, and the snow was melting. I was hammering away and crusing fast when about a mile from home, I felt something like a bent pedal spindle feels like. I immediately soft pedaled, and then coasted to a stop. I reached down to spin the pedal, which I figured was failing, to see if I was correct. I have had these Fixation Mesa MP pedals for several years now, so it would not have surprised me to have found that they had given up the ghost finally. But no! The crank arm comes off in my hand!

So, I was quite surprised by this, and was thinking I may be walking a mile. Upon further inspection, the spindle and crank splines looked to be intact. Hmm.....

The crank is a surly OD model, and it has an aluminum pre-load plug that screws into the spindle and draws the non-driveside arm onto the spindle when the pinch bolts are loose. I could not find that bit anywhere. I figured it had fallen off somewhere between work and where I was, but that was three plus miles I wasn't going to cover again. The arm wouldn't slip back on the spindle until I loosened the pinch bolts, so I did that and pushed the crank arm on as good as I could there. I tightened the pinch bolts as tightly as I could with a multi-tool and then gingerly pedaled it back a mile or so to the house.

Now today I have off due to the fear of the "big storm" and I need to do some scrounging, or this bike won't be commuting- or doing much of anything but being parked in the corral- for a long time.

A Tale Of Two Commutes

The snow was still firm enough last Friday to ride on.

The commutes of late have all been undertaken on the Ti Mukluk fat bike. In the Winter, it is just easier to hop on a bike with flat pedals, capable wheels, and with the Body Float seat post, it rides like a Cadillac. Why wouldn't I ride this bike back and forth to work? I can wear boots that keep my feet warm, or hiking boots when it is warmer, or Adidas when it gets to the 40's. Actually, on Friday it almost was that warm here.

Anyway, I took a longer route home to see if perhaps some trails had been ridden in, but I found my usual "dirt home from work" route had not been ridden in. No worries! I took a different way, went up on along the bike path on the south side of the Cedar River, and through a bit of downtown before hitting the neighborhood near my place. It was a really pleasant ride. Only one real issue was nagging me about the bike, and that was that the front shifter had jammed and I was stuck in the big ring. That was okay though, as I prefer that to being stuck in a lower range.

It was pretty surprising, but the snow was holding up rather well yet on Friday when I rode home. I was pretty sure it would be totally mushed out, but I was wrong. However; Saturday was to be even warmer, and Sunday was to be warm, so who knew then what Monday would bring?

A beautiful day Friday for a long way home ride from work.

Monday's commute was a somber, moody atmosphere.

Saturday I had big plans for a long ride. The day was perfect for it, but I was thwarted by a dizziness, stuffy head, and a cruddy throat. Mrs. Guitar Ted prescribed rest, fluids, and no riding. Bummer! Well.........she was right though. I ended up feeling better on Sunday, and my son and I did a brisk 45 minute walk/jog which got my exercise in. It wasn't much, but I am healthier for it. Had I ridden, I probably would be more ill now than I should be.

Anyway, the snow was melting all weekend and in to Monday. I was shocked by how much snow was gone on my early morning commute. Mud and slop were everywhere, and snow cover had receded to the point where large patches of grass were visible in many places now. It was really foggy, so I had lights on front and rear on the Muk. Calm before the storm we were to get Tuesday, perhaps. A moody, somber calm, which was in stark contrast to Friday's commute.

I had to be very careful of the "black ice" patches of refrozen snow melt from Sunday. It was treacherous in a few places and I walked my bike a couple of times to avoid certain harm to my body. The other notable thing was how many rubber-neckers there were yesterday morning. More so than usual. Maybe they figured I was a crazy, unprepared for a Winter storm cyclist? I don't know, but I had two people slow significantly to stare and another actually rolled down her side window to get a better look. Weird.

What the....?!! My crank arm came off on the way home.

On the way back from work, the temperatures had risen above freezing again, and the snow was melting. I was hammering away and crusing fast when about a mile from home, I felt something like a bent pedal spindle feels like. I immediately soft pedaled, and then coasted to a stop. I reached down to spin the pedal, which I figured was failing, to see if I was correct. I have had these Fixation Mesa MP pedals for several years now, so it would not have surprised me to have found that they had given up the ghost finally. But no! The crank arm comes off in my hand!

So, I was quite surprised by this, and was thinking I may be walking a mile. Upon further inspection, the spindle and crank splines looked to be intact. Hmm.....

The crank is a surly OD model, and it has an aluminum pre-load plug that screws into the spindle and draws the non-driveside arm onto the spindle when the pinch bolts are loose. I could not find that bit anywhere. I figured it had fallen off somewhere between work and where I was, but that was three plus miles I wasn't going to cover again. The arm wouldn't slip back on the spindle until I loosened the pinch bolts, so I did that and pushed the crank arm on as good as I could there. I tightened the pinch bolts as tightly as I could with a multi-tool and then gingerly pedaled it back a mile or so to the house.

Now today I have off due to the fear of the "big storm" and I need to do some scrounging, or this bike won't be commuting- or doing much of anything but being parked in the corral- for a long time.

Iced Down

Tweak, clean, grease.....

The weather went upside down on us Sunday here and we got a good dose of ice. It essentially made our street look like it was made out of dark colored glass. The sidewalk was shiny and the grass was crunchy when I walked on it. Yep......all day. 

So, I spent most of the day dinking around in my shop. I cleaned, arranged, tweaked, assembled. Searched, swept, stacked, and retrieved. It needed it all badly, and the worst part is, I only made a dent in the necessarys.

I did find some more bits to assemble on to the Vaya project. It's going to start out as quite the "mutt" build. That's pretty typical of me when I have to make do with what I have around here. Well, anyway, I decided to use a 2 X 10 drive train, and it is going to be weird. I'll save that all for later, but for now the gearing is going to be 42/30 front, 11-36T cassette. That should make me go over anything I have in front of me out on the gravel roads. The wheels will be the tried and true Edge, (so old! Now they are called Enve), with American Classic hubs. Light weight, tough, and maybe even a bit aero!

The tires and a few bits and peices have to be sorted yet. I tried Nanoraptors, but the front was juuuust a bit too big! Oddly enough, the rear fits fine with a wee bit of room to spare. But that's okay, I'll have on some nice, voluminous tires soon.

It was kind of hard sticking around the house all day. I was itching for a ride, since I started feeling a wee bit better in the afternoon. However; the conditions never improved, and I couldn't even risk going on a short errand. It was just too slick. But I managed! Working on the Lab and on the bikes needed to be done. I felt good about accomplishing that much.

But I feel like it is time to buckle down on some training, getting riding in, and maintaining some forward progress with regard to fitness. The weather looks to be cooperative early in the week, but later we go back into the deep freeze for a few days. Blecch!  It's high time to either get a huge amount of snow so we can have Winter again, or let's just get on with Spring already. This iced down stuff and cold weather is not working for me.

Iced Down

Tweak, clean, grease.....

The weather went upside down on us Sunday here and we got a good dose of ice. It essentially made our street look like it was made out of dark colored glass. The sidewalk was shiny and the grass was crunchy when I walked on it. Yep......all day. 

So, I spent most of the day dinking around in my shop. I cleaned, arranged, tweaked, assembled. Searched, swept, stacked, and retrieved. It needed it all badly, and the worst part is, I only made a dent in the necessarys.

I did find some more bits to assemble on to the Vaya project. It's going to start out as quite the "mutt" build. That's pretty typical of me when I have to make do with what I have around here. Well, anyway, I decided to use a 2 X 10 drive train, and it is going to be weird. I'll save that all for later, but for now the gearing is going to be 42/30 front, 11-36T cassette. That should make me go over anything I have in front of me out on the gravel roads. The wheels will be the tried and true Edge, (so old! Now they are called Enve), with American Classic hubs. Light weight, tough, and maybe even a bit aero!

The tires and a few bits and peices have to be sorted yet. I tried Nanoraptors, but the front was juuuust a bit too big! Oddly enough, the rear fits fine with a wee bit of room to spare. But that's okay, I'll have on some nice, voluminous tires soon.

It was kind of hard sticking around the house all day. I was itching for a ride, since I started feeling a wee bit better in the afternoon. However; the conditions never improved, and I couldn't even risk going on a short errand. It was just too slick. But I managed! Working on the Lab and on the bikes needed to be done. I felt good about accomplishing that much.

But I feel like it is time to buckle down on some training, getting riding in, and maintaining some forward progress with regard to fitness. The weather looks to be cooperative early in the week, but later we go back into the deep freeze for a few days. Blecch!  It's high time to either get a huge amount of snow so we can have Winter again, or let's just get on with Spring already. This iced down stuff and cold weather is not working for me.

Nature's Repair Stand

Wednesday and another test ride day. This time I decided to roll on up to Cedar Bend Park north and west of Waverly to see how the trails were. Last time I tried to check the place out the county road access to the park was being repaved, so I was thwarted in my attempt to ride that day.

As I got ready to ride I noticed the temperature was pretty hot already. Southwesterly winds were going to bring the heat even more, that much was clear. Hopefully I wouldn't wilt. Generally heat and I don't get along all that well when I am cycling.

As it turned out, I spent a fair bit of time fiddling with adjustments on the new-ish rig. Seems that derailleur hangars sometimes bend when you try bashing them with broken limbs. Who knew? So, I found an appropriate branch to use as a makeshift repair stand, applied an "equal and opposite force", and re-tuned the cable to get back to a crisp interchange of gears once more.

Then a badly behaving brake made for more fettling, although there wasn't a whole lot one can do with a hydraulic set up in the field. Meh.... I ended up eating into a big chunk of my ride time allotment with all this mechanical grubbing, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

At least I got sum skilz at mechanickin'!

Nature's Repair Stand

Wednesday and another test ride day. This time I decided to roll on up to Cedar Bend Park north and west of Waverly to see how the trails were. Last time I tried to check the place out the county road access to the park was being repaved, so I was thwarted in my attempt to ride that day.

As I got ready to ride I noticed the temperature was pretty hot already. Southwesterly winds were going to bring the heat even more, that much was clear. Hopefully I wouldn't wilt. Generally heat and I don't get along all that well when I am cycling.

As it turned out, I spent a fair bit of time fiddling with adjustments on the new-ish rig. Seems that derailleur hangars sometimes bend when you try bashing them with broken limbs. Who knew? So, I found an appropriate branch to use as a makeshift repair stand, applied an "equal and opposite force", and re-tuned the cable to get back to a crisp interchange of gears once more.

Then a badly behaving brake made for more fettling, although there wasn't a whole lot one can do with a hydraulic set up in the field. Meh.... I ended up eating into a big chunk of my ride time allotment with all this mechanical grubbing, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

At least I got sum skilz at mechanickin'!

Reviving The Animal

<===It lives!  Again!

I didn't have a very productive cycling weekend. Saturday it rained practically all day and Sunday, while nice, was taken up by other activities. Well, that is until evening came around. Then it was time to start wrenching.

It's been awhile since this particular bike has been up and running. I pilfered parts from the original build of it, and it was in a rag-tag state of affairs. Probably still would be if not for another bicycle I have. That bike, a Salsa Cycles Dos Niner, has been through several incarnations since I acquired it a few years back. Thing is, no matter what I did to it, I ended up not liking the end result.

The Dos was just too flexy. It really started bothering me after I started in testing a lot of other bikes and learned that things could be so much better in terms of stiffness and 29"ers. The ol' Dos just couldn't measure up, so I retired it from active duty Sunday.

Knowing I was going to do that with the Dos soon, I started to think about the shifty bits on that Woodchipper and how I liked that. That led to thoughts of reviving this other bike. The more I looked at it and the more I thought about it, I figured why not? So, I tore one down and built the other up.

There still is much to tweak out on it. I have some brake work to do. I have to adjust the handle bar a bit, and probably three other things besides. Who knows. One thing is for sure though, and that is that the ol' animal lives again!

Reviving The Animal

<===It lives!  Again!

I didn't have a very productive cycling weekend. Saturday it rained practically all day and Sunday, while nice, was taken up by other activities. Well, that is until evening came around. Then it was time to start wrenching.

It's been awhile since this particular bike has been up and running. I pilfered parts from the original build of it, and it was in a rag-tag state of affairs. Probably still would be if not for another bicycle I have. That bike, a Salsa Cycles Dos Niner, has been through several incarnations since I acquired it a few years back. Thing is, no matter what I did to it, I ended up not liking the end result.

The Dos was just too flexy. It really started bothering me after I started in testing a lot of other bikes and learned that things could be so much better in terms of stiffness and 29"ers. The ol' Dos just couldn't measure up, so I retired it from active duty Sunday.

Knowing I was going to do that with the Dos soon, I started to think about the shifty bits on that Woodchipper and how I liked that. That led to thoughts of reviving this other bike. The more I looked at it and the more I thought about it, I figured why not? So, I tore one down and built the other up.

There still is much to tweak out on it. I have some brake work to do. I have to adjust the handle bar a bit, and probably three other things besides. Who knows. One thing is for sure though, and that is that the ol' animal lives again!