For a some of us, working on our bikes can bring nearly as much happiness as actually riding them, and many home mechanics will have a favorite tool that's always within reach. For me, it's a digital pressure gauge that I don't think I could live without, especially now that the latest wide rims and proper tires allow for some seriously low air pressures. I suspect that many of you have a long loved folding hex key set or chain tool that you consider to be part of the family, but what about those who make a living spinning wrenches?
Factory mechanics often have access to the best tools in the biz but, as we find out below, it's not always the fanciest and most expensive tool that's closest to their heart.
Jan Wittmaack - Cube Action Team | My choice is the mini-tool because there are different options [on it] to repair the bikes. |
Nigel Reeve - Devinci Global Racing | My favorite tool today is my Knipex parallel pliers because you can use them for pretty much everything, including as a hammer, which is the best tool in the world. |
Allan Cooke - SRAM / Juliana | If I could have one tool with me at all times, it would be a T25. |
Jordi Cortes - Fox Racing Shox | My favorite tool is this cheap little Craftsman multi-driver that stores hex bits, torx bits, or screwdriver bits, and it auto-loads. I can set it up for tuning the DHX, I can set it up for a 40, and I can carry everything with me without having to have multiple tools. |
Kolja Schmitt - Fox Racing Shox | My favorite tool at the moment is the big Knipex pliers. They're made in Germany and are useful for everything. |
Mark Maurissen - GT Factory Racing | My favorite tool is my Michelin tire lever because it's the best bottle opener in the world. |
Keaton Ward - SRAM / RockShox | These are my Knipex adjustable pliers. They work for so many different things, and I like the way they feel it my hand - it makes me happy. |
Tim Flooks - SRAM / RockShox | My favorite tool is a 5mm T-bar hex wrench which I've had since 1995. It undoes the lower bolts on pretty much every RockShox fork, so it's been used a million times. |
Jacy Shumilak - CRC PayPal Nukeproof Team | My favorite tool today is the Abbey Bike Tools rotor truing tool, just in case we get a bent rotor. It also doubles as a bottle opener, because we all need a beer every now and then. |
Matteo Nati - Cannondale Enduro Team | I'll choose the Leatherman Sidekick because there's a lot of tools in one, from pliers to blades and stuff. It has helped me out in a lot of different situations. |
Mathieu Gallean - Lapierre Gravity Republic | My favorite tool is the hammer because I can work on every bike, and on the pits and everything. |
Ray Waxham - Trek Factory Enduro Team | I pick the Skyroam 3G [wireless router]. It doesn't matter where we are so far on the circuit; it has worked for me. South America, Ireland, and here. |
Craig Miller - Canyon Factory Enduro Team | The top tool for me would be the Wheels Manufacturing Bearing Press. It means that I can put bearings in nice and smoothly, and in a straight line without any force on them from tapping them with a hammer. |
Larry Hartwich - Canyon Factory Enduro Team | One of my favorite tools is this pick. I clean screws with it; I get into tires - if there are small holes, I can see how deep they are; I can open bearings to clean them. All with one tool, which is why I love it. |
Member since Oct 18, 2005
Source: I use them all day every day.
Get 7 and 10" Cobra, 7 and 10 parallel pliers, sidecut cutters, cable cutters and linesman pliers. Everything else is cheese.
Great stuff indeed.
Get the tool designed to do the job you're doing.
I wouldn't use it to break free a frozen bolt, but I'd take this tool over some of the crappier socket/ratchet sets out there. I'm sure these pro mechanics aren't rounding off loads of parts with these things....
@mikelevy: Just got all of my tools stolen from my shed, so this is probably the greatest timed thread. Ironically, 6 bikes including my custom painted Turner with I9 wheels just leaned there all untouched.
I don't like to use a crescent wrench on my bike. The only time i use one is when I'm lazy and use them to hold my casette tool or to true rotors.
No, they're just like a cresent wrench. There are 2 versions of the adjustable pliers. There is a normal adjustable set that's awesome for adjustable pliers.
There is also a version shown here that grip 2 flat parallel surfaces like a crescent wrench. Yeah, they're better than a cheap, worn out crescent wrench but so is an air hammer.
One good use that i didn't think of for them would be pressing shock bushings, other than that it's the wrong tool for the job on a bike.... just like a crescent wrench
If I'm in a light acft stuck in some crevice of Alaska or somehow stuck on a desert island and just need to limp home, sure, adjustables all the way. Hell Ill bang a socket out of a coconut if I have to but outside of something dire where the reward outweighs the risk there is just no way. I just don't see that kind of risk/reward situation existing when it comes to bike mx (especially at a pro level). Unless you're schlepping a pair around in your camel back that is.
I am in no way saying they are a bad tool, my point is solely that they are a Band-Aid bridge between much more specific and better tools. If you're going into BFE and can only carry X amount of weight in X amount of space I'm sure they can flll that niche like a champ.
this is one of our workstations in our bike shop
ep1.pinkbike.org/p6pb12529829/p5pb12529829.jpg
we have needle nose, side cutters, cable cutters, combi pliers as well as lots of circlip pliers and other specialist pieces for particular jobs
cheers!
The torque wrench on the bench is 3-15nm 1/4" covers most bicycle build/repair jobs
we have 12-60nm 3/8" under each bench for crank bolts, BB cups - you can see the tool bits on the far left of the back board
PS: you really do have nice calves. Moisturise?
And there are a many, many uses around the house. If you do not get it, you do not work on anything mechanical.
I prefer to use a multitasker if it can do the job well. Certain things have no substitute, but there's a lot of stuff that's overly specialized too.
You imbeciles arguing about that in an article where pro mechanics claim just that. And people with a clue explain it to you. But it does not sink through, apparently.
The fact is yes, pro bike mechanics use them and recommend them. Chances are, that's because it's a 'get you out the shit' tool, good when the actual Allen keys and bike specific tools just won't do it, but every single mechanic I've met will laugh at anyone taking an adjustable tool to anything. Stop being an arse, atm there's more people saying a proper tool is a better option, so you're in the minority, and that makes you the moron right now.
I'm a mechanic.
And adjustable wrenches are some of the most useful everyday tools I've got.
I have 4 of them.
I don't feel like I'm missing out not having any knipex stuff.
Once again. Just like anything. It's the Indian not the arrow.
But any good Indian has a few different arrows.
And he can make a questionable one do a better job than most people can using the "proper" tool.
As far as this aaaaxxxxe guy.
The fact that you've suggested using the knipex on spoke nipples leaves me a bit worried.
Pro bike mechanics choose tools that allow them to travel light and still get the job done. Therefore a tool that serves many uses is better than the right tool. And what they use really has little bearing on what a real shop should be doing, because really they're not fixing bikes they're just keeping them clean and bolting perfect new parts on and off.
Proof of all of this?
The fact that none of them mentioned a dérailleur hanger alignment tool.
Which is the most important tool in a tool box.
There a gazzilion of uses for a non-marring parallel adjustable pliers, that was the point. They are indeed superior to every other adjustable wrench design out there.
Love my DAG-2. Saved my friends countless visits to bike shops.
So you can watch YouTube videos on how to fix bikes?
That is just my opinion though.
Whilst I am clarification mode, my 2nd comment about YouTube video's was not a negative swipe at anyone's tech skills, the dudes an EWS Wrench, he no doubt knows more about his trade than I could ever hope to. I in fact watch YouTube videos on how to fix my bike
Always seems like there's something else next the fastener that the other 2 keys hit when I use the Y-type. So I opt for the P-handle almost all the time.
1) always use the correct tools for the job
2) a hammer is the correct tool for the job
3) anything can be used as a hammer
These are meant to be used where the best tool isn't available or didn't get packed because two sets of pliers wrenches replace an entire socket set plus half a dozen other tools that the travelling mechanic left at home to save weight.
Knipex plier wrenches are amazing. I have the 10" and 7" models which multiply the amount of force you exert times 60. You could easily crush someones finger using the 10" ones. They don't wiggle and nothing about the construction is loose. I also have their 7" Cobra pliers which are an elegant replacement for channel locks.
If you are putting down these wrenches then you have never had to go on the road with your tools. Can't bring them all and these pliers can replace a bunch of different heavy tools.
Cassette remover tool is a hex, something like 1", who wants to carry a 1" crescent wrench.
Lots of new bikes have machined wrench flats on the alloy pivot bolts, so you can keep them from spinning while you thread a bolt into them.
Could also use them for hubs.
I've seen small bearing presses with wrench flats instead of handles.
Etc.
Just throwing down ideas because many people asked what they are used for.
www.lunarbikes.com/tools.htm
toolguyd.com/knipex-mini-pliers-wrench-cobra-pliers-edc
or if/when you're too lazy to go get the proper wrench or socket.
as an example, this would be better for removing fork top caps than a normal chamfered socket. I could also see using this on a nut that has the corners stripped, but intact faces.
Not that water pump pliers aren't great for their original usage. great for plumbing.
I will say that using a torque wrench is almost always more accurate and consistent. Where it can become inaccurate is when fasteners have been previously over-torqued, or like you mentioned, a lubed bolt is torqued to a dry torque spec or vice versa. A given torque spec is relying on that value corresponding to a certain clamp load being created. There are many variables which can skew the clamp load created higher or lower for a given torque. The manufacturer's spec *should* take into acount the type of fastener being used and whether or not the assembly calls for lubed threads.
Plier wrench? Give me a good set of spanners any day.
Congrats on the reading comprehension.