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review
2021 Topeak Shuttle Levers 1.2.jpg£7.99
VERDICT:
A great bet for wrangling tough-ish tyres, in a nice package
Fine-tipped to get under tight beads
Long, broad lever for the tight bits
Click together for storage
Schrader release indentation
Price – £2 more than Lezyne equivalent
Weight:
50g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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These Topeak Shuttle Levers 1.2 are a simple, effective answer to a universal problem – getting tyres on and off rims with minimal fuss. While they aren't for super-tough jobs, the design means they will do most tyres on most rims.
A good tyre lever is a trusted friend, one you can rely on to get you out of a pinch and who removes the beads of sweat often associated with tight-fitting tyres...
> Find your nearest dealer here
The Shuttle 1.2 levers have been around for over a decade, remaining unchanged in design over that time as tyre trends have come and gone. Made of 'high strength matrix polymer and engineering grade reinforced plastic', they certainly feel stiff in the hand and up for a proper wrestle with a recalcitrant tyre bead.
Clipping together into a neat set, they pop easily into a saddlebag or hang on a toolboard. The larger black lever is a good 15cm long, so not a contender for a small saddlebag – but that huge leverage spread across the broad, rounded hand-end is very welcome when things need to get 'persuasive'.
The tips of both levers are finely pointed, with a nice curvature perfect for getting between a tight-fitting bead and rim. It's important to pick the bead up as soon as possible, to prevent gouging the rim tape which can lead to wearing holes in tubes or letting air out of tubeless setups. The Shuttle levers do this perfectly.
The shorter yellow lever has a spoke holder, allowing it to stay in place while you work at the second point with the black one. It also includes an indentation in the back for releasing the pressure out of a Schrader valve before a tube repair.
At £8 the set is less than half the money of the top-spec carbon-rim-friendly Silca Tyre Lever Premio Set, but £2 more than the five-star and now six-quid-for-two Lezyne Power Lever XL. Incidentally the length of the black lever exactly matches the Lezyne XL offering – the Goldilocks of pocketable leverage, perhaps?
> Buyer’s Guide: 8 of the best tyre levers
The lack of a steel core means these aren't the lever for mega-tight mountain bike tyres, but for most road and gravel setups they should do the trick.
Overall, Topeak does a great job in the long-handled plastic lever stakes, and for £8 with a two-year warranty, the venerable Shuttle 1.2 levers are a good bet.
Verdict
A great bet for wrangling tough-ish tyres, in a nice package
road.cc test report
Make and model: Topeak Shuttle Levers 1.2
Size tested: 15x2.6x1.65cm
Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
They are for people wanting to manage moderately tough tyres.
Topeak says: 'Made from high strength matrix polymer and engineering grade reinforced plastic. Rigid, strong and durable.'
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Topeak's UK distributor, Extra, lists:
Smooth, thin tip for quick insertion and tube protection
Ergonomic shape
Nested design for compact storage
15x2.6x1.65cm
50g
Rate the product for quality of construction:
8/10
Well made, with a solid feel.
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
They get pretty tight tyres off with minimal force.
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
The tips look barely worn after decent use.
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
8/10
50g is OK; they have a good heft to them.
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
10/10
The comfort of the rounded handles is excellent.
Rate the product for value:
5/10
Cheaper than the luxury options but more than the budget. A great mid-range performer.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
They work really well to get tyres moving. Don't feel like the rim tape is at risk.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The tips. Nicely shaped, no digging needed.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing, really.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
They're very good. Really only a markdown on price, being a couple of quid more than the competition – although at the commonly found £6 they are a cracking deal.
About the tester
Age: 47
I usually ride: Sonder Camino Gravelaxe My best bike is: Nah bro that's it
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: A few times a week I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, general fitness riding, mtb, G-R-A-V-E-L
Living in the Highlands, Mike is constantly finding innovative and usually cold/wet ways to accelerate the degradation of cycling kit. At his happiest in a warm workshop holding an anodised tool of high repute, Mike's been taking bikes apart and (mostly) putting them back together for forty years. With a day job in global IT (he's not completely sure what that means either) and having run a boutique cycle service business on the side for a decade, bikes are his escape into the practical and life-changing for his customers.
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