New wearable bike tools from Leatherman unveiled this week promise to be the must-have accessory for tech-loving cyclists.
The Leatherman Tread is worn on the wrist and is crafted from stainless steel links that include two to three functional tools each. The 25 features sockets, Allen keys, screwdrivers and a carbide-tipped glass breaker. Even the clasp incorporates a bottle opener and square drive.
Wearable bike tools from Leatherman
President of Leatherman, Ben Rivera, tested the concept by wearing a bracelet made form bicycle chain to see how the weight would feel. The idea itself originated when Rivera was stopped by security at the gates to Disneyland for carrying one of his company’s multi-tools, which included a penknife blade. It inspired him to develop a way to carry tools that would be accepted by security.
The Tread will also be available as a watch strap. Expect the price to be around £100 when it goes on sale later this year.
Only when a multi-functional tool is engineered to an extremely high standard does it cease to be a jack of all trades and become supremely useful in its own right. As clever and desirable as the Tread is, it doesn’t claim to carry all the tools you’d need on a ride. The Nutter, on the other had, is the Swiss army knife of the cycling world; a new generation of bicycle multi tool that is exceptionally simple, extremely functional and rather stylish-looking to boot. It combines the most commonly used bike tools into one tool. Its distinctive form allows the tool to be used as a handle, giving more leverage than other multi tools on the market.
Win a Nutter tool
We have a Nutter Full Windsor worth £40 to give away. To enter the draw, simply leave a comment at the bottom of this page and we will pick a name on 6 February 2015.
The Nutter is stored in a pouch made from leather and recycled inner tubes, which can hang from the bike’s saddle rails or top tube.
Each Nutter multi tool features: A glass filled nylon tyre lever with a steel core; 15mm box head spanner; spoke key; 3,4,5,6,8mm hex tool bits; Philips head screw driver (PH2); flat head screw driver (3mm); T25 torque key; tool bit extender; bottle opener and a leather / recycled inner tube pouch.
The Nutter is made by Full Windsor and joins a growing list of imaginative and cleverly-designed cycling accessories.
Multi-purpose cycle insurance
Cycle insurance from the ETA is designed to provide a comprehensive level of cover for as many different types of cyclists as possible. Protection against theft, accidental damage and vandalism applies whether you use your bike to commute, race or simply potter about. We don’t devalue your bike over time and the excess we charge is only 5% of each claim (minimum excess payment £25). Oh, and we include £5m third party cover, personal accident, a breakdown recovery service for you and your bike and worldwide cover at no extra cost.
One simple policy
For over twenty years we have been providing straightforward, affordable bicycle insurance. Whether you use your bike to commute, shop, race or amble in the park, ETA Cycle Insurance has you covered.
Many cycle insurers offer very limited cover, charging extra for features we believe should come as standard – such as third party cover, personal accident or extension of your cover to family and friends. ETA Cycle Insurance provides one fully-comprehensive package for total peace of mind, whatever your cycling needs.
Michael Joy
Looks handy.
Richard Newman
Does the Full Windsor come in brown?
David Smith
What a fantastic idea! Handsome too.
Roger Kay
You’d be nuts not to have one of these! It’s the sturdiest-looking bike multi-tool I’ve ever seen!
Graham Clark
I’ve followed the nutter tool’s progress for a while… Great idea, I’d love one 🙂
Macjom
Cool tool!
David Sinden
I’m a sucker for ‘handy tools’, but that really does look genuinely useful (and I don’t just mean the built in bottle opener…)
Paul O’ Brien
Tis a beautiful tool indeed…
Martha Dellar
Looks great, really handy
Soen
The Tread appears to concentrate mostly on sockets… Which, don’t really appear too often on modern bikes, unless you’ve swapped your thief-friendly QR’s for nuts. But the Nutter looks excellent. Perhaps I should replace my decades-old Alien that has seen better days.
Stavria
Looks very handy, would love one! (pick me)
Nikki
Looks great! Still not sure that I’d want to risk losing at airport security though!
Tim Earl
Full Windsor? Do I have to wear a tie to use it?
Tim Steele
Multi tools are really useful.
Will
love the tie comment Tim 😀
one of these would be a godsend for my commuting.
Jill Harvey
Neat!
Barrie Watson
Excellent idea – for other uses as well as bikes.
Rick Gregory
For a fantastic piece of design, form as well as function.
David Purdon
The Full Windsor looks very useful, is it sponsored by Prince Charles ?
Craig
Great idea but would be interesting to see how the tread would work in practice. Nutter looks great though.
Brian Boothby
My lad could do with one of these ……… please.
Phil Shanks
I would like a full Windsor, not a half Windsor, please.
Angela
A lot more compact than my little toolbag! (But where’s the corkscrew?)
David Dunnico
Very nice.
Les Gunbie
Great for my kids to take on a ride with them.
Dave W
Christ if I win it guess I’ll have to get a bike!
Rob
Don’t think I could bring myself to stump up £100 for the Leatherman, But I love the Nutter, and the fact it includes a spoke key and a bottle opener!
Craig Scott-Angell
Looks like a great bit of kit. Would love one 🙂
Vivien Sproule
What a beautiful piece of kit – those pictures are pretty much multi-tool porn! That puts another slant on the (existing) name as well …
Bobbie
What a neat little bag. Great idea
Nigel
Looks the biz. I suppose I’d better not say that if I didn’t win this I’d go and buy one anyway.
Doh!
Robert
How can a bike tool get any better than this ?
mark shingler
Reckon the nutter would come in handy if you breakdown on the psychopath.
Peter Crook
I like the bottle opener, but where’s the nutcracker?
Matt Roff
Classic and stylish, whilst highly functional. Just like the tie knot it’s named for.
Basia Zaba
I’d like to Win d’ sor t of tool
Edward
The Tread Vs Nutter, Nutter wins on practicality, form and function.
Richard
But do you need a brooks saddle to strap it on?
Mary Fisher
I have a Brookes, I’d love an all-in-one tool like this!
Matthew Goddard
What a wonderful piece of kit, would love the get my hands on one.
Dom
Really want a nutter in my life! Nice bit of kit, super useful and looks great.
Peter Chisnall
Looks good
David Jolly
Nutter….very sensible.
Barbara
Both Look like excellent designs – would like to see how easy Tread would be to use in anger.
Rory Harkins
Looks really handy and discrete. Gimme.
Eleanor Clegg
I need a nice, novel, neat nutter
Mark B
Another nutter in my life wouldn’t do any harm.
Peter Clark
Discrete and classy. I’ll take it!
Andrew Harmsworth
Great name, I want one! Can I swap it for a punctured inner tube?
Andrew Harmsworth
Great name, I want one! Can I swap it for a punctured inner tubke
Andrew Harmsworth
Inner tube, rather. And it’s more discreet than discrete…
Graham Cox
What a great piece of hardware super idea.
Elizabeth Kirkham
Very practical and very good looking
TimA
Full Windsor?! Yes Please.
champaklal
great kit
Hans-Juergen Stuhlmacher
Would look great on my ancient Schwinn cruiser.
cee clarke
Windsor is Wonderful.
Manuel Bello-Cano
I love space saving tools and this one looks to be of top quality!
paul seymour
Great idea but £100 is far too much
Herbie Leinster
The best I have seen. A def must have.
Charles Heatley
Looks great , like a small bike tool that also has spanners.
markymark67
nice
Alan
Nice tool
metalhippyrich
neat! count me in!
Mike Croker
Close, but where’s the chain tool?
Alan Jones
Looks awesome
Al Napp
nothing like being all tooled up
Mark Lange
The Tread looks great, but I’m not sure it will work as great. How will those diddy allen keys get into tight corners? or undo tight bolts?
The Nutter on the other hand is simple and looks really effective. Using replaceable bits means you can match the tool exactly to the bike, taking nothing more than necessary. I once had a ‘ring spanner with bits sticking out’ which was great if awkward for some jobs, very light and simple, nothing to go wrong. Until I stripped the 6mm allen… no problem for the Nutter!
Hollie
Practical and stylish!
David Sharpe
Cleverly designed, looks good
Raf
I don’t usually wear jewellery, but i might be willing to make an exception here…
Bill Hughes
looks very useful,even to an oldie
James Russell
Almost worth having a mechanical failure, just so you can show it off!
Shirley Thomas
Getting a birthday present for my son can be difficult.He is however a keen cyclist.
so HOORAY HOORAY -The NUTTER is a perfect present—so problem solved.
P.S.I cannot ride a bicycle myself so without my usual look at the ETA site I would not have known
about this most useful piece of equipment.
Andy
Usefull
Anthony Johnson
Love to have thus packed into my frand bag for on the go events!
Alastair
love the ingenuity that goes into designing these things. Congrats to the clever inventors.
david
It will be interesting to see if it works as well as it looks!
Eddie Collict
Excellent bit of kit, versatile, ingenious and maximimising use of metal, weight and space.
Alex
A multi tool with a 15mm spanner – perfect!!
Stuart
Stylish,practical and compact.
Phil
I’d love one of these
Richard
Perfect tool and pouch for my wooden (Ash) mountain bike.Looks great and should perform well too.
phil
Cool tool. If I don’t win it, I will be sore!
Steve Adamson
A great little compact multi tool though as a vegan I’d rather the case wasn’t leather but I’d still love to win one please so fingers crossed! (-:
John England
I wish I had one
Humph
Clever piece of kit and a clever play on words.
Toity
Neat, compact, easily attached and just what one might need stuck on the way home on a dark night!
Dick Willis
Really nice idea but I’d worry that an over-zealous security guard would take it, anyway
Charlotte
Looks incredible!
Damian Connaughton
Looks great!
Colin Ward
Great addition to any cyclist repair kit.
Mark
Great looking tool. I’d use it!
Tom Bee
I never wear jewellery so that one’s out. But that wee Nutter is just ‘le billet’.
Jon
At last a compact tool that can do everything
Rod
A nifty Nutter tool! Would love it to adorn my bike
Cheers
Doug Milsom
Looks like the best solution to the compact bike multi-tool so far. I would certainly like to own one!
Gail
I’d be only too happy to rehome one of these
Darren C
Cool. I want one!
Dave
What a great tool.
Sandra
As a family of four, we could do with one of them when going on tour.
repat
That would be helpful on my next long distance trip 🙂