Lindarets Terske Travel 6/8/16mm Hex Tool For Cinch Cranksets

The Lindarets Terske Travel 6/8/16mm Hex Tool For Cinch Cranksets is a clever way to get heavy torque onto large hex fasteners without being being huge – it uses your 12mm through-axle as its handle. It's an artisan-grade chunk of design for remote-trail fettling, though not cheap given its niche useage. Also, if you get too enthusiastic you could end up fixing your crank but bending your axle...

Every now and then a genuinely innovative tool comes along that makes you slap your forehead and ask, 'why didn't I think of that?'. This thing wins that prize, as well as the one for Possibly The Longest Tool Name In Cycling, by using an existing part of your bike as its lever to save both space and weight.

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Lindarets is a US design firm, and often partners with bigger brands like Wolf Tooth - if you ride a Goat Link, for instance, that's a Lindarets design. As with all Lindarets stuff the quality is top-notch. This is beautifully machined from stainless steel, and finished with laser-etched graphics.

Most multitools have 6mm and 8mm hex bolts covered, but the challenge comes when you need to apply serious welly – short tool bodies or soft metals can fail you – or need something larger still. If you have a crankset that takes a 16mm hex (such as the non-drive side bolt and self-extraction caps on RaceFace and Easton Cinch cranks) your ride is over.

Now that's a pretty niche use case, and I'd imagine the Venn diagram of people who ride such cranks and have middle-of-nowhere issues is pretty darn small. But it's clearly not so small it doesn't exist.

For the vast majority of cyclists the interesting bits here are the 6 and 8mm hexes for pedals or cranks, and possibly saddle rail clamps / through axles themselves, and the opportunity to get borderline medieval levels of torque. Being so compact it will disappear into the smallest space in a framebag or seatpack, ready to save the day when needed.

> 11 of the best cycling multi tools — get the right bits to fix your bike's bits

But there's then the concern that you might be left with a tight fastener but a bent axle. Lindarets recommends checking the thickness of your axle walls is at least 3mm, and only using your hands – you shouldn't use a foot and really crank on it, for instance. Relatively high torques are safely do-able without risk to your axle; I tested this on fasteners done up to 40Nm, loosening and tightening them without issue.

One drawback is that you obviously can't install both your own axles with it, as you need one to tighten the other.

Value

This is a clever and easy-to-pack tool that could, in very limited circumstances, save the day. The only things it really offers over a decent multi-tool, however, are a 16mm hex key and some easy leverage. You can get the first and most of the second for less cash with a regular hex key such as this £12 one from Facom, though at 370g and 154mm long, it'll hardly go unnoticed.

Alternatively, the Race Face Hex Adaptor Tool slots onto an 8mm key to make it 16mm, is very small and light and costs £6.95.

Overall

If you're planning a huge tour, an overseas trip or just don't like going unprepared for anything and everything – and you ride 12mm through-axles – this could be a ride-saver.

Verdict

Clever and easily-stashed way of carrying a 16mm hex key almost unnoticeably – so long as you have 12mm axles