Those Go-to bike tools

David9694 wrote:

Here's an item I think you don't need - spoke tension meter.  

Now, there's a parallel to gardening here, which I've attempted to do this year for the first time really since childhood.  We wanted to do a wild flower patch. The instructions for the so-called wild flowers said you had to prepare a seed bed, fine tilth.
Yeah, right, they're wild, so I just sprinkled them around the grass, didn't mow it and waited. Well, that went well - a patch of long grass.  

So it goes with wheel building and spoke tensions.  "Ping" on the drive side, "pong" on the non-drive - or the other way around - but the point it's simple and instinctive.  Wheel build instructions sound like such a bunch of old women some times.  In my case, it's been 5 happy years since my first wheel build, so that must count for something - right?

I've got one of those and only used it once or twice. I found it fiddly to measure each spoke and slightly unnecessary as I tend to go by the feel/sound of the spoke. When building/trueing, it's easy enough to figure out which spokes need adjusting to move the rim where you want it.

Maybe I should dig out my various spoke keys as I swear they must be breeding.

I've got one of those, but don't know where it came from.

Here's the spoke tools I could find easily. I've included the rubbish one you get with the Park Tools tensionometer and also an aero spoke holder (expensive piece of black plastic with slots in it). I'm sure I've got a long nipple driver (missus!) somewhere, but can't find it and it's easier to just use a normal spoke key in my opinion.

I also found an NBT2 cassette lockring remover (https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m13b0s72p595/NBT2-%28Next-Best-Thing%29-Cassette-lockring-remover) so that's in the photo too. Never used it as it looks like it'd trash a frame in my careless hands.

David9694 wrote:

I've got one Mavic wheelset with aero spokes - do they twist more than round ones, or is it that you can have a holder for them? 

The problem is that twisted aero spokes look bad and defeat the whole purpose of them. Also, being straight pull spokes, they will twist more than J-spokes as they can pivot all the way round.

As for a suitable tool, you could easily just make a slot in a bit of wood that would work as well. Pliers would work, but you'd want to protect the spoke a bit.

There's a mavic tool for that

Yes and as much as I like a Park Tool product and Calvin's videos, I also couldn't bring myself to pay the blue tax on a rubber mallet - this £1.50 from Halfords camping gear section:

Wrong caption? Isn't that the Schwalbe "high protection level" tyre removal kit? You use the claw hammer to try to pop the first/last bit of bead, then the other parts are the captive bolt gun for someone to put you out of your misery.

Not only does David9694 prove once again he can come up with a fine forum topic and show that the forum is far from dead, but he has a cracking selection of tools.

Though the better than most bike shop mechanics peg board that featured on something a few weeks back was really magnificent.

ktache wrote:

Though the better than most bike shop mechanics peg board that featured on something a few weeks back was really magnificent.

Ahem, yes. We all need a hobby don't we? Thank you!

David9694 wrote:

Are you sure that's not another headset press? It looks enormous.

if it really is a b/b press then my comment was going to be "unlike the clunk you get pedalling"😉

Mine wouldn't cope with a head tube you might get at over 24" size. 

It's a Park Tool HHP-2 headset and bottom bracket press https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/bearing-cup-press-hhp-2

And yes, it's fairly enormous.

David9694 wrote:

And it's definitely not the gun that Cyril Cusack makes for Edward Fox in Day of the Jackal? 

Possibly, though it could probably benefit from not being solid if you wanted to get a bullet through it. More useful as some kind of club, I'd guess.

But it is very satisfying spinning the handles to get it to tighten up.

IanMSpencer wrote:

But it is very satisfying spinning the handles to get it to tighten up.

Most definitely. Very smooth action and with the mass of the handles, angular momentum wins over the friction.

mark1a wrote:

Here's a nice one for anyone running disc brakes and can't sort out rubbing after several attempts at caliper alignment. Works like feeler gauges between disc and pads when loosening / tightening calipers. Noise gone. https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-pro-disc-brake-caliper-alignment-tool

I've got a cheaper version of that tool - clips that you put on the rotor. Can't be bothered to dig mine out, so here's a generic pic.

Can you let the pro mechanics know please so Froome et al can stop their moaning.

I do like this tool though. Normally I just loosen the capiler, squeeze the lever and then tighten up the bolts but this looks much better.

samuri wrote:

Can you let the pro mechanics know please so Froome et al can stop their moaning.

 

I do like this tool though. Normally I just loosen the capiler, squeeze the lever and then tighten up the bolts but this looks much better.

There's a tool for this?

Nice to see I'm not alone in thinking Park Tools are not all that their marketing and fanbois claim. Worst tools I've had the pleasure of working with and poor after sales/sales support/retail support.

don simon fbpe wrote:

Nice to see I'm not alone in thinking Park Tools are not all that their marketing and fanbois claim. Worst tools I've had the pleasure of working with and poor after sales/sales support/retail support.

I'm quite disturbed to see how many Park Tools I've accumulated over the years - I'm no fanboi of them and usually have a look round for cheaper alternatives, but somehow I've ended up with lots of them.

don simon fbpe wrote:

samuri wrote:

Can you let the pro mechanics know please so Froome et al can stop their moaning.

 

I do like this tool though. Normally I just loosen the capiler, squeeze the lever and then tighten up the bolts but this looks much better.

There's a tool for this?

Nice to see I'm not alone in thinking Park Tools are not all that their marketing and fanbois claim. Worst tools I've had the pleasure of working with and poor after sales/sales support/retail support.

No, the tool doesn't replace the loosing off, squeeze lever, tighten up again. One part of it separates the pads, the other sits between pads & disc while squeezing & tightening to increase the gap by a fraction of a millimetre. It's not Park Tool, it's Lifeline by Wiggle/CRC and at a tenner, worth it to get the pads gapped first time.