iceBike* 2016: Park Tool, Saracen and DT Swiss

Feb 26, 2016
by Paul Aston  
icebike 2016



iceBike*

2016






Madison is a distribution giant in the UK that supplies bike shops nationwide with Shimano, Park Tool, Saracen, DT Swiss, as well as a huge range of other brands. Their tradeshow, iceBike*, heads into its fifth year of showcasing the products that they distribute, and 2016 is the first that the show opens its doors to the public. Unfortunately, due to a mass of interest, Saturday is fully booked, but tickets are still available for Sunday's show.



Park Tool


icebike 2016

The big, blue, American tool master is always adding new products to their massive line-up, and they had a whole bunch of new bearing presses and range of multi-tools on display. I wish they would add to their limited kitchenware lineup of mugs, pizza cutter, and spork, though. Let them know in the comments if you want more Park in your pantry.

icebike 2016

icebike 2016
If you're true to your wheel maintenance, you will want Park's Professional Truing Stand with the micro-gauge dial add-ons.

icebike 2016
The HBP-1 is Park's new hub bearing press kit.
icebike 2016
Park have also added a bottom bracket press to the line.

icebike 2016

icebike 2016
If you're into belt-driven bikes, Park has introduced a belt tensioning tool for a perfect set-up.

icebike 2016
New pre-set torque wrenches are colour coded at 4, 5 or 6Nm, and they have interchangeable heads.

icebike 2016
An addition to the existing saw guide is this WTB PadLoc insert

icebike 2016
If you ever need this tool, something has gone very wrong.

icebike 2016

icebike 2016
Park's new range of multi-tools, from the M10 to M40.

icebike 2016

icebike 2016
All of these tools feature a valve head to fit co2 cartridges.

icebike 2016



Saracen


icebike 2016
Before...
icebike 2016
... and after.


icebike 2016
The Kili-Flyer XC/trail bike is looking sharp for 2016, but no, they're not quite rainbow stripes.

icebike 2016
The cromo-framed CR2 and CR3 are staples in Saracen's range. The CR2 comes in at 549 GBP.



DT Swiss


icebike 2016

DT-Swiss didn't have anything new on display, but who can resist bike show promo pieces like cutaway hubs and perspex suspension stanchions? Not us.

icebike 2016
These cutaways show the inner workings of DT's Ratchet System

icebike 2016
icebike 2016
The ODL (Open, Drive, Lock) damper cartridge.

icebike 2016

icebike 2016
icebike 2016

Chris from DT Swiss sounded particularly upset after Mike Levy's review of the OPM fork recently; the fork took a hit for its expense on the US side of the pond, but he was keen to point out that in Europe the forks are much more competitively priced against Fox and RockShox due to differences in duties and shipping.

icebike 2016


icebike 2016
One for the weight weenies out there. The X313 Carbon is said to be the lightest shock on the market at just 145 grams. It even has a carbon knob! Ideally matched to the ODL Team Edition fork, which has a carbon crown/steerer assembly and weighs a meager 1460 grams. DT Swiss claim that the have a market leading 200-hour service interval on these forks thanks to custom SKF seals, all-metal internals, and the reverse arch that protects the seals aginst spray and mud. Chris says as an experiment they gave Nino Schurter a fresh pair of dampers in March of last year, and that he used them all the way to the finish line and gold medal in Andorra last September without a service. I wonder how many riders do as many off-road miles as the champ per year?

icebike 2016


Posted In:
Reviews and Tech DT Swiss Saracen


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80 Comments
  • 35 3
 Eye Candy article...I want it all, except for that frame/fork straightener tool. That's a wild piece of equipment, though if my bike is ever that jacked up it's going straight to my LBS! Can't wait til I move out of this small apt in June and get my home 'shop' space a bigger setup. 3 bikes jammed into the corner of my living room with a stand and piles of tools, yeah first world problem, but still a problem.
  • 13 1
 I have one of those tools at the shop I work at. We have never used it. And probably never will.
  • 10 0
 Too funny, I used to use it all the time on steel road bikes and an occasional mt, bike after hard get offs. And Billjohn6, as soon as you get a shop area, life will be complete ! Nothing like having a dedicated area for your rigs and wrenching!
  • 5 0
 That straightener looks like something used in Children of the Corn.
  • 1 0
 Believe me, when using it I felt like I was in the stalks. It does the trick though if you mangle some steel.
  • 12 3
 BYU Students and Mormon Missionaries are some of the cheapest people I've ever met...so yeah you bet I've used that frame straightener on a handful of walmart bikes!
  • 2 0
 I've used that tool as well on steel bikes. We had a Cannodale in the shop in the late 80's that had been struck by a car. Fork was done and a new one installed but the Park frame measuring jig put the rear triangle out. The jig sat beside the head tube along to the seat tube and an adjustable feeler measured the rear dropout. We had a long hunk of pipe on the frame straightener and three mechanics pushing and holding but it would not move. We put the wheels in and they looked lined up so one of test road it and you could no hands and it went dead straight. We figured it was built wither seat tube off by a good cm.
  • 2 0
 I have used the frame tool a few times, but only on dirt bikes.
  • 2 0
 The FFS 2!
  • 4 2
 @Twallywilly They are cheap because they live an entire month on like $140. I luckily had my own tools and a good bike to start with when I was one in Minnesota.
  • 2 0
 used the frame tool a lot working on cheep bike that get used for stuff they are not made for-fantastic tool
  • 2 0
 My shop's frame straightener gets used pretty regularly getting forks back into shape on super cheap little kid's bikes!
  • 1 0
 Used those tools on Road Bikes that were "slightly" tweeked
  • 21 0
 More Park tools for the kitchen please, otherwise the Mrs will run out of random stocking fillers for Xmas. Got the full range so far including the BBC set that I had to import from France as no sets left in the UK.
  • 9 2
 Auto correct meant to type BBQ tools not BBC!
  • 3 0
 What's BBC lol
  • 33 0
 big black c@ck
  • 9 0
 I always wanted the toilet paper holder they used to make. Pity I never got one.
tinyurl.com/zfegm9n
  • 6 0
 I want an ashtray.
  • 4 0
 @chezotron found one in the back of my shop and mounted it, customers ask where they can get it all the time now haha
  • 3 1
 Shh the kids could be watching ????
  • 2 0
 They do an ash tray, the TBCO-1
  • 1 0
 Oh snap,,,that's fire 1st time I've seen it .....just shot to the top of my must have list . I'm doing the bathroom in the man cave this is the only ACCEPTABLE doo-doo paper holder !!!!!!!!
  • 3 1
 @DABIGSEAT you could always try a spesh frame...you'll get loads of rolls on that.
  • 1 0
 @ithomas I was hoping it wouldnt need to be said but thanks for taking the bait lmao
  • 1 0
 No thanks, I will only use a titanium spork!
  • 1 0
 My lbs has one
  • 13 2
 I can't believe that people are entertaining WTB's ridiculous angled bar cut idea and now making tools to go with it, please let these bars die in a corner somewhere, alone. And the pre-set torque wrench? For the guy who does not know how to use common sense - a different torque wrench for every occasion.
  • 3 0
 The handlebar, stem and seatpost are all pretty close to the same torque spec. So if you don't have the $100+ to shell out they are better than nothing. They also fit in a travel tool-box really well if you want to keep a separate kit for the car. I own 2 pro-level torque wrenches but would consider the 6nm one for the reasons above.
  • 5 0
 Personally, I like the preset torque wrenches. When it's the middle of summer and you're busy as hell it's nice to be able to just pick up a wrench and use it without redialing it for a different torque spec. For home use, I can't see the need, but when you're building and fixing bikes as fast as you can little things like this add up.
  • 1 0
 For guys at shops you save time by not have to adjust the correct torque. Especially building and fitting. Most bikes in the industry have a common 4,5 or 6nm spec for bars, controls, seatpost and stems. Just lay these bad boys on the bench and time is saved. Regular adjustable torque wrenches are great, I use one 6 days a week. These might not be for the average Joe who has plenty of time to tinker. More for the shop guys who have many repairs, fits or builds in the daily routine.
  • 1 1
 Fair point guys, it was only a take the piss post what are you doing bringing your logic to the table!
  • 3 0
 Had to use the Frame & Fork Straightener twice for separate instances at the shop. The acronym/part number is true in multiple senses. When I saw the bikes needing it a different version of FFS came to mind.

I really want the new bearing press though!
  • 3 0
 Its great to see Saracen producing such quality rides and achieving world champ results these days. Totally deserved. They used to do some really nice steel hard tails in the mid 90's and then some questionable full sussers and tank like 'DJ' bikes into the 2000's. Their current output is barely recognisable. Bit of an underappreciated Brit success story in my opinion.
  • 2 0
 Why doesn't park make a pipe cutter for cutting down steerer tubes, handlebars etc? You get a WAY squarer, cleaner & easier cut with a pipe cutter vs a hack saw & doubt it would cost anymore then that stupid guide. I don't get it.
  • 2 0
 Park Tool really needs to bring back the TS3. It was simple, reliable, perfect. It was the pefect truing stand... then they mucked it up by offering the TS2.2 and a bunch of strap-on accessories. Just my opinion.
  • 1 0
 Surprised that still make the FFS-2, I have it and really it isn't the best tool for frames, but works well on forks, but then you need the discontinued FT4 or FCG-1 to actually utilize it. You need a F@G-1 to align a frame also and a 2x4 and milk crate fork better for that than the FFS-2. But really these are just quick fix shop tools and for a nice frame you'd want to go to a frame builder for more precise alignment.
  • 1 0
 How come no photo or captions for those nice Hee Ooo Kah? Don't look sharp enough though. What are they for?

schicksalgemeinschaft.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/cats-cradle-kurt-vonnegut-1963
  • 2 0
 I looked while snack at the DT Swiss front and rear shock but remote lockout currently available was told why I stuck to Rockshox atleast its hydraulic
  • 1 0
 Looks like dt Swiss did what rockshox said was pointless and made that carbon can. That 15 g weight saving must have been more valuable than rockshox thought lol
  • 4 0
 Park tool air powered egg beater, please.
  • 2 1
 I have a serious soft spot for the DT Swiss forks. I always want them. Then I wonder is 32mm a bit noodly or not.

Also, I can't be the only one to have noticed that the close up photos in this article are all a bit shoddy?!
  • 1 0
 I like Park tools metal parts, but they have so much shrinkage in their plastic parts, they seem warped. perhapse they could use a little GF in their polymers.
  • 2 0
 I spoke to my LBS about micro gauges being overkill and they said it was true.
  • 3 1
 Like the Park stuff though.
  • 1 1
 Park tool in the kitchen I'm all in. Got the bottle opener...don't use it enough! Like the pizza cutter too. As for their real tools, top notch!
  • 2 0
 I won a park tool pizza cutter at a race the other day and the name of the race series just happened to be called mountain cross LOL

bedfordtrails.wordpress.com/2010-bedford-county-mountain-cross-championships
  • 2 0
 The Park pizza cutter is the best I have ever used! Well worth it.
  • 1 0
 if that "service interval" is full service
lefty has it to,for the past two years i think
  • 2 0
 Parktool PIZZA TOOL ? I want it !!!!
  • 1 0
 I bet that cutaway DT hub as is, is more reliable than 1/3 of the competition!! lol
  • 1 0
 DT Swiss has a new 27.5+ rim - the XM 551, with 40mm internal width. Has that already been covered?
  • 2 2
 Like the Maxxis gum wall tires though - do they make them in a High Roller?
  • 1 1
 Disc Brake Mount Facing Tool: Have any of you been OCD'd enough to use one?
  • 1 0
 what does it even mean i stared at those tools for a while and couldnt figure it out.
  • 1 0
 Yup. Have one of the older Hope ones back when IS mounts were standard and used it on all my frames and forks. Massively heavy tool, as it was a big hunk of steel with holes for the axle and tap.
  • 1 2
 Back when International Standard mounts were standard!? You are an oldfut, that must have been '76
  • 1 0
 @da-yeti its used to produce a perfectly flush hand machined interface on frame/fork disk mounts to ensure perfect alignment of the calliper to promote better braking. mis alignment can cause uneven wear and noise. Ive never had cause to use one but its definitely the right thing to do. Same thing with Headsets and BB's - same principal.
  • 2 0
 Yes, but not because of OCD. It's usually due to paint on the mounting tabs making it impossible to properly align or center the caliper.
  • 1 0
 i think i might need to use one of these on my old 575 those brakes are always making noise no matter what i do. or maybe i should get rid of the cheap ass rotors. I like buying expensive tools that i use once so ill try the tool first.
  • 1 2
 Smart move with the kitchen utensils Park Tools. That garbage doesn't belong in the garage or near my bike. Stay in the kitchen.
  • 1 0
 Killi flyer colors scheme so on point.
  • 2 1
 cool stuff
  • 3 4
 Skinwalls making a come back ? I wonder if they will do a 29+ and go full hipster ?? That would be cool right ?
  • 1 0
 Tanwalls have been around for many years.
  • 1 1
 IceBike? Sounds like a blatant copy of QBP's FrostBike.
  • 1 0
 I love cutwaways!
  • 1 0
 A carbon knob????????
  • 1 1
 NO, haha, kidding
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