When you purchase an electric bike from a company that sells direct to consumer there are going to be at least a few parts of the bike you are going to put together. Of course you can always opt to have a bike shop assemble your electric bike but in many cases it isn’t difficult to do it yourself. Rad Power Bikes is one company where the bike comes mostly assembled, but you will have to put on the front wheel, fenders, pedals, handlebars and perhaps a few other things depending on the model you purchased.
Rad Power Bikes also has a video on the assembly of every electric bike they sell. Included in your box will be a set of tools. While handy to have the tools you need, they are not the highest of quality tools. This is common for ebike brands. I view the provided tools as sufficient to assemble the bike but after that they will quickly deteriorate with use. Instead I recommend purchasing a multi-tool. Multi-tools are affordable and it is nice to have all of the tools you need together. No more guessing which size and digging through your tools. Recently I decided to purchase the Crankbrothers M19 multi-tool and I was not disappointed. The “19” describes the number of tools it comes with and Crankbrothers sells other options with fewer tools depending on your needs. Crankbrothers is a well known brand in the bike industry.
One of benefits of the Crankbrothers M19 is that beyond all of the hex wrenches, it also includes a spoke wrench, the exact size that you’ll need to adjust the 12 gauge spokes on your Rad Power Bikes. Be sure to check your spoke gauges on the ebike you ordered to make sure this tool will work for you. I paid around $22 for the Crankbrothers M19 and when you consider a spoke wrench is about $9, the multi-tool is a no brainer. In this video I review the Crankbrothers M19. It is definitely a tool you may want to consider for not only assembling your electric bike but also for maintenance in the years to come. Scroll down past the specs to get a closer look at this quality multi-tool for your electric bike.
Crankbrothers M19 Specs
| chain tool | 8/9/10/11/12 speed compatible |
| hex wrenches | #2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 |
| length | 89mm |
| open wrench | 8mm, 10mm |
| screwdrivers | Phillips #1, phillips #2, flat #2 |
| spoke wrench | #0, 1, 2, 3 |
| torx | T-10, t-25 |
| warranty | Lifetime |
| weight | 175g |
