Thanks to the versatile nature of Otso’s range of bikes, they’re great for going off grid. That usually means you’ll want to bring all your own tools to fix almost any mechanical you could think of. Which is where the idea for Otso’s latest addition apparently originated. According to Otso, they noticed their riders were sharing photos of their bikepacking tool kits which often included a small 20mm wrench. With the Tuning Chip Stem Cap Tool though, you can leave the wrench at home.
To be fair, this isn’t a new concept. Salsa has offered their Split Pivot Dropout Tool Cap for the same reasons. Only, it has a 22mm socket for use with their Split Pivot full suspension frames. The Otso cap on the other hand includes a 20mm socket to remove their Tuning Chip dropout system. This would allow you to replace the derailleur hanger in the field, or even adjust the chainstay position if needed – say you encountered a particularly muddy section and wanted to move the wheel back for the most tire clearance possible.
Once you remove the cap from the headset (leaving the stem bolts tight to preserve the adjustment), the cap can then be placed over the 20mm nuts on either side of the dropouts. From there, simply use your 6mm Allen wrench to tighten or loosen the Tuning Chip Nut. Otso recommends re-torquing the nut to 18Nm once you get back to civilization, but this tool should allow you to make the necessary adjustments in the field.
The cap includes an integrated 5mm spacer, and is machined from aluminum with an aluminum pre-load bolt included. That makes for a feathery 13.5g or 16g with the included bolt, so it’s not like the addition of the tool will add much weight. The tool will work with all Otso Tuning Chip dropouts, and sells for $14.95.
