Review: Granite Design Stash RCX Multitool

Granite Design Stash RCX Multitool £49.95

Aside from being satisfyingly gadgety, a multitool that’s hidden inside your bike is unobtrusive and impossible to forget. But it still has to work properly and not rattle or jam when stowed. Granite Design’s Stash RCX meets all these requirements.

It fits in a threadless steerer inside a compartment shaped like an upside-down top hat. This compartment functions like a stem top cap: the Allen bolt in the base screws into a fork bung underneath just like a top cap’s bolt screws into any  other fork bung or star nut. The difference is that the bung fits much lower down inside the steerer.

The original Granite Design Stash (still available) employs a ‘bottom cap’ underneath the crown of a fork with an opening there. The newer Stash RCX is more versatile as it also fits forks with no such opening, such as many carbon fibre forks. As long as the steerer’s inner diameter is 23.5-27mm and there’s at least 100mm steerer depth, the RCX tool compartment should fit.

So I was disappointed when it wouldn’t fit my mountain bike’s Travers Prong fork. The fault wasn’t Granite Design’s; the fork had plastic stuck inside, left over from when it was made, and this obstructed the tool compartment. I fitted the Stash RCX to my Genesis Vagabond instead.

The multitool has eight fold-out functions: 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6mm Allen keys; T25 Torx; and a flathead screwdriver. While it’s necessarily small, the flat shape of the tool body means that it doesn’t hurt your hand when you torque bolts tightly. There’s also a spoke key, which attaches magnetically to the multitool when stored.

There are Park Tool spoke gauges 0, 1, 2, and 3 – corresponding to nipple sizes of 3.23, 3.30, 3.45, and 3.96mm – plus a valve core remover. They’re fiddlier to use than the main multitool but are nevertheless functional.

It’s easy to get the RCX in and out of its compartment, yet I can’t see it coming out by accident unless the bike is flipped upside down in a crash. Multitool and spoke key combined weigh 60g, the tool compartment and bung another 51g.

Verdict

I like it. It’s a stealth multitool that is easy to install and works better than its size suggests. Granite Design also makes tools that fit in the bar ends: a tyre plug kit and a chain breaker.

Other options

Specialized Swat Conceal Carry MTB Tool £90 at the time of writing

Clamps inside the steerer from fork crown to top, like the original Granite Stash. Has 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8mm Allen keys, T25 Torx, and a chain tool. Expensive.

One Up EDC V2 Tool £54

2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8mm Allen, T25 Torx, flat-head screwdriver, plus a chain breaker, tyre lever, spoke keys, and more. But you must tap a thread into an aluminium steerer to fit it.