[Closed] Bike tools you should have bought long ago....

one day ill buy a torque wrench

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Split link pliars

Just ordered a park workstand, rotor turning tool and chain link pliers.
I know I can do without all of these but - hey, I'm not a barbarian.

A few spring to mind:
A track pump - Why did I struggle for years using a mini-pump?
Repair stand - Not sure of this counts but it makes working on the bike so, so much easier.
Good cable cutters - Through cables like a hot knife through butter. Far better than any bodged methods.
A good torque wrench. Note the word "good", had an old X-Tools one and had no confidence in it, my new Norbar one is much, much better.

Not a tool per se but [url= http://www.screwfix.com/p/hilka-pro-craft-mechanics-seat-with-storage-380-x-380mm/3693J?kpid=3693J&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&gclid=CMrCjKao0s8CFUlmGwodNS4IQQ ]Mechanics seat[/url] with a tool tray, really handy when the bike isn' up,on a work stand

The little blue anodised Park Tool gizmo for removing the core from tubeless valves (with removable cores). Brilliant thing if you run tubeless and 100 times better than the rest of the plastic rubbish out there:

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Also, the awesome Park Tool pliers for undoing chain quick-links.

I want that hydraulic hose doofer.

Just received a longer handled chainwhip, I've been using a lifeline one I got right when I started riding, in their big cheap toolkit they used to do, it's perfectly good at the job but I'm a bit puny 😆

BadlyWiredDog - Member

The little blue anodised Park Tool gizmo for removing the core from tubeless valves (with removable cores).

There's a spoke key that's exactly the right size for this- can't remember which size though.

Decent quality set of ball headed hex keys.

Dualco grease gun.

I really want this oil gun/ gizmo thing this hunk uses at 3:20

Good thread. Could get expensive though.

The tool in the OP looks way better than the awkward, short-handled one I have. Also want that hose tool.

Had this a couple of years now, but it's still my favourite tool...
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Could get expensive though.

**goes off to google an array of tools...**

I am now slightly regretting starting it 😉

Where'd you get that chainring bolt tool BTW?

Headset press. Still haven't got one.

I've not owned a multi tool for the last 4 or 5 years which annoys me regularly but still I don't sort it out

Where'd you get that chainring bolt tool BTW?

it's FWE - evans own brand. Click the pic to take you to the evans page

Cheers cp.

If we're also doing tools we should really have, but don't yet...

[img] https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcQm_9d144p7yB6MIRDK5y5WJeC519-msT-GxtOvpWjHdNbT1e0bj4X_CDYt28yEz15Ip_Z8L2P1&usqp=CAE [/img]

Headset press. Still haven't got one

Get one - very satisfying and removes all the drama/worry of the hammer/wood technique.

Think the main game-changer for me was a workstand. Everything is better when the bike is the right way up and at eye height.

I've got a headset press. I use a rubber hammer.

Wheel Truing stand.... so much so that i may actually buy one today actually.

I'm debating the Park Tools TS-8 if anyone has any experiences with one.

Why is that then? - @northwind

I've fitted many with a mallet/hammer/wood in the past, and none have ever gone wrong. But the headset press is many times quicker and the cup goes in perfectly straight every time.

Workstands are brilliant. I did make that investment pretty early on, a Minoura one which is still going strong. The rotating head is great not just for holding frames/bikes but also for holding suspension forks when servicing them.. particularly as you can hold vertically to remove lowers/drain and then rotate horizontally for reassembly of lowers and dribbling lower leg oil bath in.

I've got nearly all of the stuff listed so far (the Jagwire brake hose tool is a favourite) but the Hilka mechanics seat is a genius idea.

Must resist...must resist...oh go on then 🙂

Wheel Truing stand.... so much so that i may actually buy one today actually.

I'm still holding off that... I'm still happy using frame/fork as the jig, with a ruler blu-tacked on as a guide 🙂 I may change my mind if I ever use a proper jig

Small lathe. Useful for making tools as needed. Want a a bigger lathe now and a mill!

the awesome Park Tool pliers for undoing chain quick-links

Game-changing, and gratifyingly cheap! 🙂

Just bought a Park handlebar holder. Been meaning to get one for years as everytime I build a bike I curse at the bloody handle bars swinging around.

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Just ordered a Park RT2 for oversize headsets.

RT1 is awesome, but I now have bigger cups to whack.

One day I wish my shed would burn down and all my tools backed so I have an excuse to buy a full Park tool kit.

A quality T25 torx tool. Better quality than the B&Q one which rounded off a disc bolt last week d'oh!

Star fangled nut installer
Crown race remover
Dremel
Decent spoke key for the correct size.
I have a quick link tool but i have the the inverted quick link tool on its way.

Yak - Member

Why is that then? - @northwind

I've fitted many with a mallet/hammer/wood in the past, and none have ever gone wrong. But the headset press is many times quicker and the cup goes in perfectly straight every time.

Cup goes in perfectly straight with a mallet too, if you're any good. Main difference is rotating/alignment, that's annoying with logos but a real issue with angle headsets and often with presses you get a wee bit of movement as you fit it.

There's a spoke key that's exactly the right size for this- can't remember which size though.

Yeah, but the Park Tool one also removes the inner core from Schrader valves using the other end. Great for fork and shock servicing.

The tool I really, really want, but can't justify buying is the Shimano pedal cone adjusting one for tweaking the bearings of SPD pedals. RRP of £50 ffs and still 43 quid at CRC for something you can do with a couple of spanners.

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Bought some split link pliers recently, and a 3rd hand tool. Just so much easier to have to do stuff with. Really wanting a wheel building stand, probably going to ask Santa for a Park TS2.2 for xmas. And having recently lost my valve core remover dustcap (from Halfords), that Park VC-1 looks very tempting indeed.

Stuff like headset presses are only worth getting if you run a bike workshop. For occasional use, the bit of threaded bar and large washers/old headset cups thing works perfectly.

Considering how to make some alignment gauges/dishing tools at home. Very simple tools, which are relatively very expensive. Will be so satisfying to have a set I've made myself, for buttons.

A vice that actually fits my bench.

I want a bench that fits my vice

I should have bought a work stand years ago.

+1 bench and vice. Really want a universal bearing puller/press as I'm so cackhanded I can never take out/refit bearings without a sweaty panic moment

PDF link to Park Tools catalog

"I want a bench that fits my vice"

This is the correct way round. 🙂

Split link pliers, and a set of bearing pullers like these:

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Made, not bought a fire-extinguisher tubeless tyre inflator. So satisfying to use, I inflate tube'd tyres with it, just because. Only thing it's lacking is a pressure gauge.

A vice that actually fits my bench.

I want a bench that fits my vice

I want an income that fits my vice!

[i] A vice that actually fits my bench.

I want a bench that fits my vice

I want an income that fits my vice! [/i]

I want a vice that doesn't fall under the misuse of drugs act.

Oh, hang on, I may have misunderstood.

I was about to buy some cheap £8 cable cutters a few weeks ago & then went bananas and treated myself to £22 Park ones, and my aren't they wonderful - I now can happily throw away the 3 foot pile of cheap shitty misaligned/bent ones that are lying in a corner of the loft... 8)

I have those bearing puller/slide hammer ^^. Well actually I bought them for a mate who fixes my bikes without complaint after he spent a long time trying to extract bearings that have an inside tab so you can't know them out. The puller is ace, fixed loads of stuff (BB cups frame bearings, etc) with it.

I also like my two cheap jobsworth tools - the disc brake straightener / pad pusher back and the universal pedal spanner. Total cost £15

Anther one, a good workshop quality chain tool. So much nicer than messing around with little multi-tool jobs.
Also, a Park Dummy Hub/chain keeper. Awesome little thing for cleaning and prepping chains without the wheel in.
And finally, a head torch. Yes, I perhaps should just have better lighting in my garage, but I don't so head torch is invaluable.

I know they're overpriced and worryingly hub-specific, but the proper Hope bearing tools make me feel like a happy toddler thwacking wooden blocks.

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And I can't remember where I heard about these, but a pair of them is definitely going on the shopping list. Wheel truing is enough of an arse without having to hunt around for the correct QR adapter.

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Pedros Vice-Whip
http://andrewhowett.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/the-right-tools-for-bodge.html
Yes, a normal chain-whip will do but...

I've got the Aldi/Lidl bike tool set which was great value and has helped with a few little jobs - they're not great but they're there when I need them

I had quite a lot of tools from other hobbies so haven't really bought that much. In fact my chain whip in a oil filter removal tool!

But I did buy some nice draper cable cutters, which are very handy for cables and hoses

I also now have a big pair of the Knipex plier wrenches, which hasn't found a use for the bike but plenty of other uses

I know they're overpriced and worryingly hub-specific, but the proper Hope bearing tools make me feel like a happy toddler thwacking wooden blocks.

Very true. Thing is, any decent bearing press kit will do what that small set does and as well as every other hub you're ever likely to come across. The Wheels Manufacting large bearing press is eye wateringly expensive but utterly addictive. Once you've used one it's hard to go back....

The most used things I've got are:
Bontrager (or similar) preset torque key. I do up every single 4mm Allen bolt with one.
Park TM-1 spoke tension meter. Removes all doubt about the quality of the wheel I've just built.
Ratchet spanners. So fast, lots less fiddly.
Grease gun. Clean, no waste and grease where you want it, not where it wants to be.

One day I wish my shed would burn down and all my tools backed so I have an excuse to buy a full Park tool kit.

"Yes Mr Insurance. Full Park kit. Everything. Which pieces in particular went up in flames? All of them. All of them!"

got pretty much all the tools i need to work on a bike. but i only bought a work stand earlier this year. didnt need one prior to that as our old house had a big garage so i always work on the bike by hanging it by the saddle off one of the steel beams.
what i still need to get round to buying:
headset press
torque wrench
wheel truing stand
split link/circlip pliers
bearing removal/installation tools

what i also need is a bigger house so i can have a mancave again with a workbench and vice and a place to hang all my tools...that way i dont have to make a mess of the living room/kitchen

mcj78 - Member
I was about to buy some cheap £8 cable cutters a few weeks ago & then went bananas and treated myself to £22 Park ones, and my aren't they wonderful - I now can happily throw away the 3 foot pile of cheap shitty misaligned/bent ones that are lying in a corner of the loft...

Don't count your chickens too soon - I broke a Park Tool cable cutter just cutting brake cable!

I'm an unashamed tool whore. I have a Facom Jet roller cab with the plastic "mod" inserts with lots and lots of wonderful things in them. Still deciding on bike specific tools, I have a mixture of park and unior. The two most satisfying ones I think are the Unior chain tool, which doesn't push the pin all the way out so you can push it back in, and the unior bearing press kit which makes me disproportionately happy (having previously tried the threaded bar/washers/sockets bodge). The foam tray liners are very difficult to cut tool shapes out neatly (I have failed miserably)
I still need a compressor (just about to push the button on a SGS job) and a few other bits such as an extractor set. Kukko looking favorite for that one.

The Park tool internal routing tool just makes life so much easier.
My last build was a dream 😀

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Real pleasure to open this up today for a screwdriver
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Though I fancy one of those tools the op started this with!

The cutter and driver that WWASWAS posted.

I'm an unashamed tool whore

Yep, same here.
Got a roll-cab + top box rammed full of decent mechanical tools from my car-fettling/Engineering days, and now slowly adding bike specific stuff as/when I need it.

I do like the Park missing-link tool..

mcj78 - Member

I was about to buy some cheap £8 cable cutters a few weeks ago & then went bananas and treated myself to £22 Park ones, and my aren't they wonderful - I now can happily throw away the 3 foot pile of cheap shitty misaligned/bent ones that are lying in a corner of the loft...

My Park ones are the worst cable cutters I've owned- they blunted ridiculously fast. They do have a nice cable ferrule squisher though. The legendary Ebay Wire Rope Cutters are a far better tool ime.

The little blue anodised Park Tool gizmo for removing the core from tubeless valves (with removable cores). Brilliant thing if you run tubeless and 100 times better than the rest of the plastic rubbish out there:

Try these, so much easier for puncture repairs trailside

[url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15-METAL-SCHRADER-VALVE-CORE-REMOVER-TOOLS-VALVE-KEY-CAPS-NEW-/391559910753?hash=item5b2aca1561:g:tqsAAOSw~uhUnW1m ]Valve cap core removerer[/url]

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Anyone with gears on their bike should buy one of these.

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The amount of times I hear "I replaced my hanger, so I KNOW that is straight" or "why do my gears not index properly?"

Just buy a DAG tool.

The little blue anodised Park Tool gizmo for removing the core from tubeless valves (with removable cores). Brilliant thing if you run tubeless and 100 times better than the rest of the plastic rubbish out there:

Metal valve core removers £1 from wiggle so next time you're ordering your Shimano, DHB, Speedo, whatever cack from them, chuck in a couple of valve core removers as you will lose them.

Waswaswas wins thread IMHO!

Park spoke tension gauge. Built lots of wheels without it but you get a much better result with

Cup goes in perfectly straight with a mallet too, if you're any good. Main difference is rotating/alignment, that's annoying with logos but a real issue with angle headsets and often with presses you get a wee bit of movement as you fit it.

I have a dura ace headset cup that cracked all way round its base from hitting it with a percussive wrench

Derailleur alignment tool

Oooh, can I include this?

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Basically a trailbuilding multiplier, I get so much more done with this thing than I used to with mattock and macleod. Mint.

joshvegas - Member

I have a dura ace headset cup that cracked all way round its base from hitting it with a percussive wrench

I have a giant headset cup that bent under the pressure of the headset press...

[quote=Northwind ]I've got a headset press. I use a rubber hammer.

I've got a headset press:
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I try and press the cups on the bearing seats - if they break from being pressed there they're unlikely to be up to the job (and with appropriate use of washers the cups shouldn't rotate on installation).

I have Park cable cutters and a (very cheap) wheel truing stand, but the only expensive specific tools I have is the toolset for DT hubs. Otherwise definitely the king of homemade tools - I'd hesitate to describe it as bodging as I tend to do it properly, for example a headset cup remover made from an old frame tube cut into quarters and splayed.

Park Tools PF30 remover / installation cups.

Lessens the pain of owning a bike with a PF30 bottom bracket. Two hits and the old one are out, put the cups on a a quick tighten of a headset press and the new ones are in.

Lessens the pain of owning a bike with a PF30 bottom bracket.

I think I see the bigger problem here. 😉

A real headset press has bearings and race to stop cup rotating as you fit it....ie to isolate it from the rotating motion.

Mines work real well.

A million miles away from a threaded rod tbh.

Also I don't really rate park tools. Their own tools are pretty pish.back when they used the snap on model or rebranding the best of best and were expensive they were good. These days they know a fool and his money are easily parted by some blue rubber.

Long live the days when the hex keys were rebranded bondhaus and lasted ages in a workshop environment.

a few years ago i allowed myself to drop 30/40 odd quid a month on some tools. well its cheaper than smoking isn't it. i would sit with the laptop whilst the wife was watching whatever it is she watches on the telly, perusing ebay and the various tool purveyors until i found something i probably need. I have run out of things to get now...
only things i don't have that i could probably justify are bottom bracket taps (already got pedal taps and repair kit) and i even looked into a nitrogen needle for recharging rear shocks but decided it was a silly idea.
already have a couple of lathes, one cnc, couple of mills, one cnc, welders and so on. the triple stack tool box is full. i try not to look for tools any more as everything i need/want is [i]way [/i]more than 30 odd quid 🙁

however, i haven't seen that chainring bolt device before so i can get one of those!

Also I don't really rate park tools.

I didn't particularly while monkeying in a shop. Actually, that's a lie - some were very good (I am in love with the workshop pedal spanner) while others were merely average and a bit plasticky. They do have a very strong market presence though, which helps massively. There also appears to be a lot of rebranded generic stuff, such as adjustable spanners and scales. They also have clever tools for a multitude of little jobs, sort of like the IKEA of bike tools (see above valve nipple tool).

FWIW I am a Park tart, but do try and buy their workshop stuff (as opposed to the 'home mechanic' kit) when I can afford/justify it. But there are plenty of other very good tools out there, often for less cash too.

"A real headset press has bearings and race to stop cup rotating as you fit it....ie to isolate it from the rotating motion.

Mines work real well.

A million miles away from a threaded rod tbh."

Realy? Which one is that? Just because neither of these have any bearings, and the second one isn't actually a million miles away from a threaded rod. In fact, it actually [i]is[/i] a threaded rod! 😆

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Over 2 decades of bike mechanicking, including working professionally, has taught me that some tools are invaluable, and there really isn't any decent substitute, some tools are great to have if you're doing the same jobs day in day out, and some tools are a waste of money. If you're only ever occasionally fitting a headset at home, then spending £45+ on something that is essentially a bit of threaded rod and some nuts and washers, is a waste of money. My DIY headset press is as good as, if not better than the Park 'home mechanic' version, and cost nothing. Park Tools are generally pretty good, but often overpriced, but some of their kit really is well worth the money. I'll be splashing out on a TS2.2 at some stage soon, as I have a few wheels needing trued/rebuilt, want to build a few more, and in my experience, it's simply much better than anything else bar one or two stupidly expensive ones.

I wish I'd spent extra on the Park Tools versions recently, when buying a set of headset spanners, as the Ice Toolz ones I 'saved' money on, turned out to be poorly made, necessitating some judicious filing to actually make them fit ('36mm' one actually measured up as 35.2mm, and didn't fit a headset lockring which was 35.8mm). The Park Tools cone spanners are much better quality than any of the cheap ones I've seen.

The Shimano adapter for the road BBs, which is meant to fit the larger BB cup spanner, was such a tight fit that I had to tap it in with a mallet, then snapped in use. Absolute rubbish. Didn't fit Shimano's own tool!

"I've got a headset press. I use a rubber hammer."

Great example of using the wrong tool for the job. 😆

Thankfully you'll never go near any of my bikes.