The Crankbrothers M19 and the Ride That Sold Me

The ride that sold me on the Crankbrothers M19 was not the one where everything went wrong. It was a plain Tuesday in April, 38 miles out of Prescott, when my seatpost started slipping. I pulled over, pulled the M19 out of my seat bag, tightened the clamp with the 5 mm hex, and was rolling again before my riding partner Ed caught up. That is the whole story. No drama. Just a tool that was there and did the job.

The ride where everything went wrong came earlier. One 80 mile loop in the fall, about two and a half years ago, left me with a flat I fought for twenty minutes and a wrong turn on the way home. My seat bag held a loose handful of Allen keys and no chain tool. I limped home sore and irritated, and I decided my kit was the problem, not my legs.

That winter I replaced the whole mess. In the first week of March, about two years ago, I bought the Crankbrothers M19 and four other pieces of gear I had been putting off. Nobody gave me any of it. I bought it myself, and I have used it for roughly 8,000 miles since. The M19 is the piece I touch most, because it is the one that handles the small adjustments that keep a long day from turning into a short one.

The M19 is a folding multitool made from chromium-molybdenum steel. It weighs 175 grams and folds to about 3.5 by 2 by 0.5 inches. The tool list is the reason I bought it: hex wrenches in 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 mm, a chain tool that fits 8 to 12 speed chains, spoke wrenches in 0, 1, 2, and 3, Phillips and flat screwdrivers, 8 mm and 10 mm open wrenches, and Torx. The side grips give you something to hold when your hands are sweaty or gloved. Crankbrothers backs it with a lifetime warranty.

What I noticed first was the feel. The hinges are tight, the steel does not flex when you lean on it, and the side grips keep your palm from sliding off. My old loose keys would round off a bolt head if I was not careful. The M19 has not done that. It is also chunky enough that it does not belong in a jersey pocket. Mine lives in the seat bag, in the same pocket as the spare tube, and it stays there.

The M19 has come out of my seat bag for a slipping seatpost, a loose bottle cage, and one chain pin. That is the whole test.

The chain tool has come out exactly once on the road. It was a cold morning outside Chino Valley, and a pin started to walk on a climb. I got the chain apart, set the pin, and finished the loop. The tool was fiddly with cold hands, and I would not want to do it in the dark. But I would rather have it and fuss than walk five miles in cycling shoes. That is the trade.

I have used the hex wrenches far more. Seatpost clamp, bottle cage bolts, brake pad adjustments, the bolt on my seat bag bracket. The 4 and 5 mm get the most work. The 8 mm and 10 mm open wrenches have come out less often. The spoke wrenches are there, though I have only used one to check a loose spoke, not to true a wheel on the road. It is a folding tool, not a shop bench.

There are things I do not like. The M19 has no tire levers and no pliers, so those still live in my seat bag. The chain tool is the fussiest part of the tool, and cold hands make it worse. It is heavy enough that I notice it in a jersey pocket, which is why it stays in the bag. If you want a tool that disappears in a pocket, this is not that tool. If you want one that covers the work, it is.

I judge a multitool by three things now. Does it fit the bike I actually ride. Does it hold up when I lean on it. And does it have the one tool I am most likely to need on a long day. For my 9 speed touring bike, the M19 answers all three. The chain tool is the one I hope not to use. The 5 mm hex is the one I use most. The side grips matter more than I expected when my hands are tired or the weather has turned.

Who is it for. Riders who do their own small adjustments and want one piece of steel in the seat bag instead of a drawer's worth of loose keys. Riders on 8 to 12 speed bikes. Riders who would rather carry 175 grams and know the chain tool is there. Who should skip it. Weight focused riders who count grams. Riders who need pliers or tire levers in the same tool. Riders who want a shop quality chain tool for a workbench. It is a road tool, not a shop kit.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

I would tell you to buy the tool you will carry. A shop tool in the garage does nothing at mile 50. The Crankbrothers M19 is not the lightest, and it will not replace a bench chain tool. But it is the one I have carried for two years and 8,000 miles, and it has done every job I have asked of it. If your seat bag is a mess of loose keys, start there. Put the M19 in the bag, learn what each piece does before you need it, and check the chain tool once so you are not learning it in the cold.