Full Windsor The Nutter Cycle Multi Tool

The Nutter tool came about from a crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter, the same process that launched Full Windsor's successful range of flat-packed, foldable mudguards.

For a pocketable bike tool costing £39.99, you want something a bit special and the leather carry pouch adds just that, a bit of luxury and greater satisfaction to your purchase. The pouch is available in a tan or black leather and is like a mini tool roll, bound closed with a popper and a couple of Velcro straps. The straps can thread through your saddle rails or bag slots (old school) and are even long enough to hang the pouch from your top tube making it very portable which is a good job as the tool is pretty hefty at 224 grams including the case (115 grams for just the tool body).

The re-constituted leather pouch does more than just house the tool, it stores all the bits that plug into the tool's body and it holds all those bits in using the rubber from bicycle inner tubes, a nice bit of thoughtful up-cycling and design.

The Nutter is different from the more common multi-tool Swiss Army knife type affair; it is essentially a ring spanner into which you mount a selection of driver bits. The provided bits are 8, 6, 5, 4, 3mm allen heads, a T25 Torx head and two screw driver bits, a Phillips No 2 and a flat head 3, there is even an extension.

The cast stainless steel body of the tool has a 15mm ring spanner at one end and a plastic coated tyre lever on the other. It is super strong and long enough to apply enough torque to tighten your back wheel nuts firmly in place on your fixed gear bike. Further integrated in the tool body is a spoke key and as is obligatory on every cool bicycle tool, a bottle opener.

Before using the tool, my first thought was that the long body may get in the way. The tool bits locate perpendicular to the body and only at one end so you can take full advantage of the leverage the long body provides.That's great for tightening a seat bolt but a bit clumsy for minor tweaks like adjusting the limit screws on your mech. It isn't enough to moan about, but a second bit holder would be nice at the tip of the tool for light, precision work and twiddling.

A magnetic bit holder in the body allows you to have the most commonly used tools like the 4 and 5mm allen keys without faffing about popping them in and out of the rubber bit holder in the tool case which really comes in useful if you are giving your bike an overhaul.

The tool bits are pretty good quality and last well. They are easily replaced if they do get rounded off or misplaced as they are standard hex fitting. I swapped out the flat head for a slightly larger one; you could customise what bits you carry from what you have in your tool box.

The quality of manufacture is good and being able to use the tool as a big handle to apply lots of torque is great, especially tightening up wheel nuts and loosening stubborn bolts that feel like they are welded in. That's something very few multi-tools can manage without bending out of shape or breaking.

The plastic tipped tyre lever is excellent. The strong, long metal body is able to prize off the most stubborn tyre and the softer tip is gentle on anodized rims, preventing any gouging and allowing the lever to slide around the rim so you can show off your prowess in removing a tyre swiftly.

What I wasn't so happy with was the spoke key, especially on tight alloy nipples. It's best reserved for real emergencies as it's a bit loose and can easily round off a nipple.

In all, the Full Windsor Nutter is of a quality that could be used in a workshop, apart from the spoke key. It would probably prove to be good value just as a tyre lever over time; a long period of time admittedly. Just because it has a wheel nut spanner doesn't mean it's just for fixie riders. After all, it is lacking a lock ring tightener and if it were just intended for fixie crowd, it was it wouldn't need half the other bits.

No, the Full Windsor is for people who tinker with all types of bikes, old and new. You only need to add a 15mm pedal spanner and a chain splitter and you are able to tackle most minor bike services. I like the design and how it works in your hand, but most of all I like the way it can actually be used to do real jobs on your bike and isn't something that just packs away into the size of a matchbox and is as robust as a meringue.

Available from the road.cc web shop shop.road.cc

Verdict

The Nutter is a cracker of a multi-tool that is 'en point' with any bike fettler's needs.