Bicycle tools

[Corey]

I am slowly building up my bike tools from many years ago.
I ran across this Park torque wrench video on MTBR's YouTube page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv2vz_ncSM4

This is the TW-6 in the pics below, but I ordered the TW-5, a smaller one.
I may get the TW-6 at a later date.

Another good video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlbfZfDma4w

I am building up my Park Tool collection.
Here is what I have so far, and coming in the mail still.

Park Tool TL-10 Shop Tire Lever - Printed Bag

Park Tool MW-SET Metric Wrench Set

Bike Tool - Park Tool - SBS-1 Socket and Bit Set 3/8" Drive

Park Tool PW-4 Professional Pedal Wrench

Park Tool SA-3 Deluxe Shop Apron (hey, gotta look the part)

Park Tool TW-5 Clicker Torque Wrench 26-132 Inch-Pounds, 1/4" Drive (I may get the TW-6 later too, but this one is for lower torque ratings)

Park Tool Master Chain Bicycle Tool - CT-4.2

Park PP-1 Hydraulic brake Piston Press

About half of this stuff has arrived.
I am digging Amazon, as they stock a lot of this stuff, and recently I became an Amazon Prime Member where on certain items they stock I get free two day shipping.
Other items they do not stock have to come from bike shops they deal with online.

Gotta buy a new tool box too just for the bike stuff to keep it separate from my other tools.

There are some good maintenance videos too on YouTube, but I may take a class or two too from my LBS.
A good one would be how to work on the hydraulic brakes such as changing the pads and bleeding the brake fluid.

While I will still have my LBS do some of the stuff on the bike, I want to learn as much as possible too so I can do it.

I like Park tools too, they seem to be on the cutting edge of staying on top of changing technologies of new bike components.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Park tools are definitely the Snap-on of bicycle tools. I have one of their workstands, a TS2 wheel truing/building stand, and a few odds and ends.

It's definitely nice to have bicycle-specific tools that don't get mixed up with the 4WD tools.

 

[Corey]

Exactly, I want to keep the bike tools separate from the rigs tools.
Called my local bike shop today and asked them if they will be having classes on brake bleeding, and they have been toying with the idea of having classes this winter.
Quite a bit involved on my type, here is a good one.

AVID Bleed Procedure

Here is a stand I picked up awhile back.
Has a built in digital scale too.
Topeak PrepStand Pro Bicycle Repair Stand

 

[Christophe Noel]

Be careful with that torque wrench!! Having worked in shops on and off for most of my life, I've seen as much damaged caused by a torque wrench than maybe any other tool. High end carbon bits really brought on the new trend to use a torque wrench and oddly enough, it's the dang torque wrench itself that has ruined many of those fancy bits. As an example, you might apply the proper torque to a stem, but completely crush the bars which DON'T mention a proper torque value. Or, joining components might express conflicting torque values and using the lesser value might be as unsafe as it gets. Or....I would see tons of people using a torque wrench on dry bolts!!!

Scary biz, that torque wrench biz.

You missed two of the most important tools made by anyone - The derailleur hanger alignment tool and the chain checker. No mechanic worth their salt would ever, ever, ever attemtp to adjust a rear derailleur without first checking (and adjusting) the alignment of the hanger. When I was a full time wrench, I used that tool 10 times a day.

 

[4x4mike]

I've been a mechanic for 12 years now and have lot of experience with Park tools. They are very good and will last a long time (but just like every thing they aren't the only ones o nthe block). As with all other handtools the quality has gone down and they tools are being made in cheaper factories using cheaper alloys.

A home mechanic doesn't need shop grade stuff as a lot of the tools will never see enough use to wear them out. By the looks of it you've dropped some money on the tools. Personally I would have gotten craftsman wrenches and sockets. As you work more on bikes you'll find you don't need a ton of tools you just have to know what you're doing.

 

[nautilus]

Is it just me, or does that hydraulic brake piston press picture look grossly out of scale?

 

[4x4mike]

You missed two of the most important tools made by anyone - The derailleur hanger alignment tool and the chain checker. No mechanic worth their salt would ever, ever, ever attemtp to adjust a rear derailleur without first checking (and adjusting) the alignment of the hanger. When I was a full time wrench, I used that tool 10 times a day.

These are good tools but not ones that a starting mechanic NEEDS. Experience will take you pretty far and if you're working on your own bike you don't necessarily need them. For example: Most bikes have replaceable hangers that aren't adjustable so there is no need to have a tool to properly realign them. If you are familiar with your bike and where things need to be and how to make proper adjustments you don't need a hanger tool and will know when it's out and needs to be adjusted. Talk about torque wrenches messing things up give a hanger tool to a new mechanic they'll put it on every bike they see and I give them 2 days before the snap the hanger off a carbon frame. I don't crash much or lay my bikes down on the drive side so. I would also notice damage to a derailleur that would bend a hanger. If you're working on other bikes with unknow usage it is a useful tool to at least "check" the alignment and go from there. In my experience more than half the hangers I've adjusted work better if they are a little off from perfectly straight. This can be explained by frame manufacturer variances.

As for a chain checker, use a ruler. If it's your bike and you care you know how many miles are on your chain, you don't cross chain and you replace it every year anyways. On my bikes that get ridden more I replace the chain twice a year. I've had high and low end cassettes last thousands of miles due to replacing the chain on regular intervals. If you wait too long you've got to replace the chain, cassette and maybe a chainring. After a year or so anyways a new clean chain is easier to deal with than an old and dirty one. I always recommend using the cheapest chain that you're bike will except. IMO opinion there is no since in buying a highend chain for your 105 or Deore drivetrain. The high end chain will wear out the drive train faster and you'll end up replacing parts anyways. For some reason on of my road bikes will only shift correctly and remain quiet with a Dure Ace chain. One of my other ones does great with a 10sp 105 chain so that's what it gets.

IMO the tools to have (if you're going to pretend to work on bikes) are cone wrenches. You don't need great ones but ones that fit properly (keep in mind cheaper hubs have a greater tolerance in the wrench flats than the cheap wrenches). I think that proper hub adjustment and being able to do it consistantly is key and would impress me. This, good wheel truing and front derailleur adjustment were the hardest to train mechs on.

 

[ThomD]

Y'all forgot the most important Park tool.

 

[Christophe Noel]

For example: Most bikes have replaceable hangers that aren't adjustable so there is no need to have a tool to properly realign them. .

Replaceable hangers are in fact adjustable and will need to be adjusted. Or, I should say, they're equally prone to get mal-adjusted, maybe even more so. The hanger on my Ridley Damocles is made of goo. I bumped it on a doorway and bent it. I've worked in two seperate shops rated in Bicycle Retailer's Top Ten in the US and all of us routinely used alignment tools on nearly every bike brought in for derailleur adjustments. As one of the first mechanics for the Saturn Cycling pro team, we again used them regularly. In a shop setting, I'd wager half of the bikes we touched needed a little nudge. If nothing else, there's no sense dinkering around with the rest of the system without knowing whether or not the foundation to the system is sound.

Hangers are so easily bent it's ridiculous. They get bent when a bike falls over, clips the der in a doorway, etc.

Lastly, and aligned hanger is hard to notice. A mal-aligned hanger, as you know, can send a derailleur into the wheel causing hundreds of dollars in damages.

A torque wrench is nice as is a disc brake widgety-thingy, but most mechanics going beyond basic allens and spanners really should have something as basic as a hanger tool.

I also agree with you that a ruler is the best chain checker, but not all home mechanics seem to be able to read a worn chain that way properly.

 

[4x4mike]

I agree with you that a derailleur alignment gague is a useful tool and should be used. In my experience I have not needed one as much as you. I'm not saying I am better than you, etc but just giving a picture of my happenings. Anyone who rides a bike should have a basic understanding of how to maintain one and have an idea of how everything works. Buying the correct tools is a big step forward (my dad always used an adjustable wrench and flat blade screwdriver) and learning how to use them is the next step.

Props to Corey for wanting to learn and plopping down the cash for tools.

I also agree with you that a ruler is the best chain checker, but not all home mechanics seem to be able to read a worn chain that way properly.

This is one of the reason I bring up the hanger adjustment and buying a hanger tool. Let's keep Park in the picture here. If you use a DAG-2, for instance, to check the the alignment and or make an adjustment you have to know a little about wheels. You have to know that your rear wheel is in proper true laterially. Hell I had customers who didn't even know how to install their rear wheel correctly let alone know if it's true (enough to use the DAG). If it's not true (within a tight tolerance) your reading on the DAG will be off and you'd be making an incorrect adjustment or break a hanger trying to make a small adjustment.

I guess now I will agree with you about being worth your salt and making a derailleur adjustment. Proper use of the DAG requires knowledge and ability to achieve proper rear hub adjustment, proper quick release setting, wheel true, wheel installation and use of the DAG itself. A home mechanic can achieve this but the time, knowledge, tools and experience maybe hard to come by that's why there is your LBS or even the internet.

 

[thecriscokid]

I'm on the 15+ yr program as well. I would be carefull with that piston tool. Either use it with an old set of pads or be really really careful not to contaminate those fresh pads. I will always pull my pads and use a good 'ol 8mm wrench to press the piston in.
As far as Der hangers go: Every time you do a der adjustment or replace a hanger. make sure you have a true rear wheel and then align that hanger every time against that true wheel. Very subtle, soft movements with the alignment tool as to not break anything. You would be surprised to see how many "new" hangers are not aligned and cause way too many issues.
I would just go ahead and send that tire lever thing back. what is that?

 

[4x4mike]

They're funky. The blue park levers are the only levers I use. I've only broke one. For the price of the big silver one you could buy the blue ones and stock your tool box, apron and camelback/seat bag.

 

[Corey]

You missed two of the most important tools made by anyone - The derailleur hanger alignment tool and the chain checker. No mechanic worth their salt would ever, ever, ever attemtp to adjust a rear derailleur without first checking (and adjusting) the alignment of the hanger. When I was a full time wrench, I used that tool 10 times a day.

Thanks, I will more than likely get those later.
I have free tow day shipping via Amazon.

By the looks of it you've dropped some money on the tools. Personally I would have gotten craftsman wrenches and sockets. As you work more on bikes you'll find you don't need a ton of tools you just have to know what you're doing.

Dropped some serious coin this past weekend, but I wanted these for future use.
As far as Craftsman, already own two nice sets.
One HUGE metric/standard set in my home I have had for some twenty or more years, and a smaller all metric one out in my FJ in the cargobox for working on the rig in the field.

I like to keep my tools separate and not have to grab from one area to go to another area.
A man can never have enough tools.
With this Park set now, I will not have to dig through the other tools.

The Park P handled hex wrenches and metric wrench showed up today, they look pretty nice.

 

[Christophe Noel]

You would be surprised to see how many "new" hangers are not aligned and cause way too many issues.

I managed a shop with 11 full time wrenches and one of our new guys with over 9 years on his resume grabbed a hanger alignment tool and said, "what the heck is this thing?" You should have seen the looks of shame, amazement, confusion and laughter on the faces in the room. The first thing someone said in response was, "Dude, do you know how few hangers ever make it out of the box with any sort of alignment at all! Get to know that thing!"

All mechanics have their loves and hates. I did a summer wrenching for the Citroen-Citer pro team in France and our head mechanic would thump you with a pedal wrench if he saw you with a three-way allen. Now that I think about it he never said why.

 

[Corey]

Amazon orders have all shown up, the last of the Park tools came in today.
From the left:
Shop tire tool
Set of metric open/closed wrenches
Torque wrench 26-132 Inch-Pounds, 1/4" Drive
socket/torx/allan wrench set for the torque wrench
P handle allan/torx wrenches
Disc brake tool
Compact allan wrench set for the hydro pack (also have one in the Topeak bag made by Topeak
15 mm pedal changing wrench

Not sure if I will need the bigger torque wrench or not.
This should keep me busy for awhile

Also got a nice Craftsman three drawer tool box to keep it all in.
Need to line the drawers and top area first with non slip padding so nothing rolls around.