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I may be a bad workman but I’m going to blame my tools. Every time I work on a fork, seatpost, brake, hub, whatever that has a circlip it can feel a little like I’m using one of those amusement arcade toy grabbing things. I don’t know where I got my circlip pliers but the tips don’t look like the most precise of instruments and I want better.
Do I get Knipex because they make good pliers, Park because they make good bike tools or something else? What is working well for you?
Thanks in advance
I've got the cheap type like these. Not sure I got them from Halfords. Might have come out of a Christmas cracker they're so cheap feeling 😄
They are seemingly cheap quality, but they work. The only issue is the interchangeable bits are a bit wobbly if used at the wrong angle. However it's very useful to have the different bits as circlips vary or the access to them does. That would be my advice, to look for ones with many options even if they're more pricey ones. The bent over ends for example won't fit into some spaces (circlips in a Reverb or fork for example) and you need straight ends. External circlips are backwards and need opposite direction pliers.
To be honest I have managed 30 odd years in the motor trade with a pair that has interchangeable ends. And every time I use them I swear blind to bin them but never have 🙄
I’m not keen on the interchangeable tip jobs. Maybe they have improved since I had some in my late teens (thirty odd years ago) but I don’t remember them being good and then a tip snapped off. Then again I was probably hamfistedly trying to get some baffles out of a Fresco
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/312952707175
I have the above and a comprehensive set of knipex because I'm a tool snob
Which so I reach for.....
The above. As the tips may be more fragile as there's less material....this means that they are much better for access on bike parts.....things like hope master cylinder circlips...... None of my knipexes come close to fitting.
Interchangable tips are a pain in the hoop on bikes.
The Park tool ones I have are garbage. Had them replaced under warranty 3 times as the tips break off. I've got to the point I stopped claiming replacements under warranty as they keep breaking.
Trailrat +1 a couple of knipex ones that do 90% of jobs and remain as good as new.
I tend to bodge the rest but I'll order that set I think. Nice tools are nicer, but the right cheap one is good enough for occasional jobs.
That's not to say I don't use my knipex.... I use them for the car work I do. I do also.have a big set of hd ratcheting ID and OD with interchangable tips .... But the tips are more like Allen keys that go in for doing things like wheel bearing circlips and diff crown wheels.
The Park tool ones I have are garbage
That is what worried me, Park is always premium price but not always premium quality
Which so I reach for…..
Thanks, at that price I’ve ordered them. Hopefully STW even got a kickback thanks to the link
Nice tools are nicer, but the right cheap one is good enough for occasional jobs.
Exactly. I just want something that will work on the odd occasion it is needed Without a load of cursing
I have some knipex ones where the tips broke within a few uses. I use the cheap interchangeable tips ones now. They are not as nice but work just fine
I had some cheap (poss Silverline) interchangable....they were truly horrible.
I picked up some inexpensive ones in Halfords on a whim. (may have been reduced) first time I used them on an airshaft I chucked the interchangable...
Just make sure the tips are small enough. I assumed they were all the same and bought a 'nice set' to replace the e-bay special swappable ones that had lasted several years.
Turns out the tips that go into the circlip itself are too large, so they are pretty useless for mountain bike style stuff.
They probably work fine on larger circlips, but I've not found a large enough circlip yet...
A bench Grinder soon gets then the right size!!
I have a generic cheap interchangeable tip pair. Not great, but does the job. Some tools are all 'oooh, this is nice'. This is just 'meh', then I do the job and forget about it.
I think mine are Amtool- chunky, cheaply made, but nice to use.
Having asked for advice I thought I’d give some feedback on the results. I bought that cheapo set trail_rat suggested and they really are nasty, if you are any kind of tool snob you will have to wash your hands after touching these😀
But....they did the job and I think I will stick with them. They are made of badly cut, badly shaped pressed steel inaccurately held together with a thumbscrew that allows you to shift the pivot and alternate between internal and external clips. After a bit of tweaking to get the tips lined up they are easier to use than the more chunky circlip pliers I was struggling with before. Their advantage is they are so skinny I can better see what I am doing and the material so poor they are easy to bend and file into shape. Great on my bike stuff that is relatively light weight
Haha yeah for sure. They hide in the bottom.of the tool box not on show
Don't want anyone seeing these 🙂
Good to hear you thought same as me.
Ive a set of these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-PIECE-7-CIRCLIP-PLIER-SET-INTERNAL-EXTERNAL/312969894704?hash=item48de759b30:g:RZgAAOSwmXteLsqS
Been very good for the last 10 years. And a set of the smaller one with the red handle and the interchangeable top basically as they do very small clips and the other set doesnt. 20 quid outlay and you can tackle anything.
I also bought the Laser ones from Halfords stevextc mentioned.
https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-tools/all-hand-tools/laser-circlip-pliers---internal-686919.html
Knipex I have are faultless.