GRANITE STASH TOOL

£49.99

SPECIFICATION Weight: 141g • Sizes: 35 and 40mm • Tools: 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6mm hex; T25; Spoke key: 0, 1, 2, 3 with valve core tool • Colour: black, orange • Contact: windwave.co.uk

Storing a multi-tool on your bike means you don’t have to carry it on your body or remember to take it because it’s always there for those trailside tweeks. The Granite Stash consists of a mini multi-tool and aluminium holder that you fit into your fork steerer. If you’ve seen the Oneup EDC you’ll know this design isn’t new, in fact Oneup’s new EDC Lite is almost identical to the Stash but comes with a nine-bit multitool for around £45. The Stash is a bit pricier and twice the weight, but it does have five more tools, although they’re all spoke keys.

The Stash is compatible with straight or tapered steerer tubes, fits steerer lengths from 150mm to 240mm and is relatively easy to install with a few simple tools. You have to remove the old star-fangled nut, which does require a bit of brute force and a long enough drift, but it did come out pretty easy on my Fox 38. Three steel bolts are provided for the different length steerer tubes, but getting things aligned is a faff. In the end I just opted for the longest bolt because I could see the end and it was just easier to line up. The lower insert seats nicely into the bottom of the fork crown, and also stops dirt getting inside.

The tool slots into a plastic holder, which then slides into the top of the steerer. It’s a tight fit initially, but there are two little tabs that you can get hold of, and I found it does loosen up once you’ve removed it a dozen or so times.

The multi-tool comes with 2-6mm hex keys, a Torx T-25 and a flat-bladed screwdriver. The latter is the least useful on a modern mountain bike, followed closely by the four different spoke keys. I can’t remember the last time I had to true a wheel on the trail – probably sometime in the last century. Yeah really!

I like having a tool on my bike because I test a lot of gear and I’m constantly tweaking it, so I have reached for the Stash numerous times during my rides. It’s a neat and tidy design but Oneup’s EDC Lite is cheaper and lighter, so if you’re looking for a hidden mini-multi that’d be the one I’d recommend.