Wolf Tooth 8-Bit Upgraded With New Functions

12 October 2021

By Tom Ballard

The Wolf Tooth 8-Bit tools family grows with chainbreaking, tyre levering, rim dent removal and tyre plugging added to the innovative roadside-repair masterpiece.

When Wolf Tooth launched the 8-Bit Pack Pliers in 2020, it caused something of a mini-revolution among cyclists who care about having the right tool for the job – whenever or wherever they ride. Now that experience is amplified with two new additions that turn the 8-Bit system into an even more capable toolset.

The original Wolf Tooth 8-Bit Pack Pliers feature 17 functions while their slim profile made it an easy fit in everything from a jersey pocket to a saddlebag or even a tri bike aero box. Machined in the USA from 7075-T6 aluminium, it’s not just practical and strong but beautifully made, too. Wolf Tooth even went as far as accenting the design in a choice of anodised colours to match the rest of its range.

Now, the 8-Bit family has grown thanks to two new additions that connect directly to the 8-Bit Pack pliers via magnets and pins, making the system more indispensable than ever.

First up there’s the Wolf Tooth 8-Bit Chainbreaker and Utility Knife Multi-Tool. An addition made directly due to rider feedback, the chainbreaker is essential to get yourself riding again if a chain splits.

Should that happen – either from hitting an obstacle or through the sheer force of your insane watts ripping apart the metal – it’s a simple case of turning the tool’s pivoting head, aligning with the chain pin and using the included 3mm hex key to wind in the breaker until you get that most satisfying pop of a freed link.

On the other end of that 3mm key are the distinctive dual prongs of a tyre plug tool. Familiar to mountain bikers, gravel goers and a growing number of tubeless-adopting road riders and triathletes, this tool allows you to use bacon strips – thin pieces of vulcanised butyl rubber – to reseal larger holes in tubeless tyres that sealant alone can’t fill.

The tyre plug locks into place within the handle for precision application of the strip while additional stability comes from the ridged thumb grip on the other side of the tool. It’s details like these that really back up Wolf Tooth’s 'for-riders-by-riders' credentials.

For trimming the bacon strips, the tool’s built-in mini utility knife is essential. Hidden safely within the handle, this versatile blade is also perfect for trimming cable-tie ends. The 8-Bit Chainbreaker and Utility Knife Multi-Tool also features storage space for an additional blade, bacon strips and an extra valve core – all easily accessible thanks to Wolf Tooth’s unique pivoting design.

The other new addition is no less essential. With the 8-Bit Tyre Lever and Rim Dent Remover Multi-tool, Wolf Tooth has reimagined the tyre lever into a strong, practical part of the 8-Bit range.

The thin, but broad, nylon-composite tyre lever features a perfectly shaped hook to get under tricky tyre-rim combinations. This more forgiving material is reinforced by the metal body of the tool’s handle, giving superior strength while ensuring that your prized rims are protected thanks to the plastic contact points.

Having tested thoroughly in the harshest conditions Minnesota can throw at the Wolf Tooth team, the tyre lever is ideal for knobbies to road race tyres and everything in between – the superior construction meaning one lever is all you need.

At the tool’s other end is a rim dent remover that’s specially shaped to fit snugly over the lip of metal rims. Making use of the 8-Bit’s length, there’s plenty of leverage to help restore your dinged rim to rideable condition if you get a little too friendly with rock gardens or potholes.

All three Wolf Tooth 8-Bit tools are available individually or as a pack – known as the Wolf Tooth 8-Bit Kit One. Each tool snaps together with a reassuring click and stays locked in place until you’re ready to use it, so there’s no rattling of tools to contend with.

The Wolf Tooth 8-Bit range truly reinvents the cycling multi-tool. With so many functions covered, it’s almost like riding around with a tiny workshop in your saddlebag – making it perfect for everything from bike packing to long triathlon training days.

Ultra-versatile, practical and beautifully made, what makes it even more appealing is that the modular design means there could be even more to come from the Wolf Tooth team in the future.