5 AliExpress Tools Every Home Bike Workshop Needs

A workshop tool is a different purchase from a tool you carry. My saddlebag multitool has to be small before it is good. A home workshop does not need to look like a bike shop. Most of what I do to my own bikes comes down to five tools, and every one of them came off AliExpress for under CHF 22. None of them is the nicest version of itself. All of them have paid for themselves several times over.

These come from the two tool videos on the channel, both embedded above. Prices are what I saw in October 2026, and AliExpress prices move constantly, so treat them as a guide rather than a quote.

The T-handle hex key set, around CHF 20

Hex keys are the one tool nobody gets to skip. Nearly every bolt on a modern bike takes one, so a set that is pleasant to use pays you back every time you pick up a spanner.

This is the Riderace set: eight keys from 2 to 10 mm in CrV steel, each on its own T handle. In my video I called it the most premium hex key set I had found on AliExpress. A T handle is easier on the hand than a standard L key, because you turn the bolt with your whole palm and not with the short end of a bent bar. Check what it is going for, since it was around CHF 20 when I looked in October 2026.

The catch is nothing! I have used these hex keys for over a year now (as apparent by the pictures) and they have held up tremendously well. What really surprised me too was that the tolerances are very tight too. The 10 mm hex key is, in actuality, 9.98 mm. So no rounding bolts with this one!

Buy it if you work on your own bike more than once or twice a year and want hex keys that are comfortable to turn.

The derailleur hanger alignment gauge, around CHF 19

A hanger gauge threads into the derailleur hanger and rotates a pointer around the rim, so you can see exactly how far the hanger is bent and bend it back.

This is the tool that earns its money after one crash or (more likely) once you nicked your bike and it fell over - don't ask me how many times that happens in my small apartment. A bent hanger makes shifting feel vague, and left alone it can take the derailleur into the spokes. It is essential if you ride gravel or have ever knocked your hanger, and it saves a shop visit every time you use it.

At around CHF 19 it is one of the dearer tools on this list, and it is the one most people own the least. Check what it is going for, since it was half price when I looked.

Buy it if you have a bike with a derailleur, so not the SRAM Transmission.

The chain wear checker, around CHF 6

A small steel gauge that drops into the chain and tells you whether it is time for a new one. That is all it does. However, this one is very well made, does not get your fingers dirty and it is a pleasure to use!

It takes two seconds to use, and it is much cheaper than replacing a worn cassette because you did not check in time. A chain is a consumable. A cassette and chainrings are not, and riding a stretched chain turns the cheap part into the expensive part.

It costs about as much as a coffee. There is no reason not to own one.

Buy it if you own a bike with a chain.

The digital caliper, around CHF 22

A 0 to 150 mm stainless digital caliper. Not a bike tool as such, which is exactly why it is useful.

I use mine for checking brake pad wear, measuring bolt sizes before ordering, and checking seatpost and steerer diameters without guessing. It is surprisingly accurate for the price, and it gets used for plenty of jobs that have nothing to do with bikes.

This is not a laboratory instrument and I would not pretend otherwise. For the measurements a home mechanic makes, it has never let me down. Current price here.

Buy it if you order parts online and are tired of guessing a size, which might in return help save you money in the long run!

The Torx key set, around CHF 12 to 16

Torx turns up on disc rotor bolts and on some chainrings, and a hex key will not turn either of them properly.

The set I use is an L shaped Torx set. The same listing sells it in a long and a short version, alongside hex sets and a folding wrench, and the price follows the choice: the short Torx set was around CHF 12 and the long one around CHF 16 when I looked. Check the sizes listed for the version you pick before you order.

L keys are cheaper and reach into tight spaces where a T handle will not, which makes this a good partner for the hex set above.

Buy it if your bike has disc brakes, since the rotor bolts are normally Torx.

What this adds up to

All five together land around CHF 80, which is less than one visit to a shop for a service. That is the actual argument for AliExpress tools. A hanger gauge you own and use twice a year beats a perfect one you never bought.

The honest caveat is that none of these will feel like Park Tool in the hand. The finish is rougher, and the steel is softer. For tools that get used a handful of times a year in a home workshop, that difference has never cost me anything.