Is there a better chain tool on the market? Not that I know of. This thing is burly. And apparently they haven’t changed it 20 years or so, since they still make the CT-3. Works for 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 speed chains.
Used for: 20 years
Price paid: dunno
Purchased at: don’t remember
Rating: 5 stars!
This is the PW1. Park is now up to the PW3 and they have also added a Professional Pedal Wrench. It does seem to get kind of stuck on some pedals, though I don’t know if that’s the fault of the pedals or the wrench. Otherwise, seems to do the trick.
Used for: 20 years
Price paid: don’t remember
Purchased at: don’t remember
Rating: 4 stars!
Wow, people hate these on Amazon. I’ve been using them for 25+ years, never snapped one. They get the job done and are probably my favorite out of all the tire levers I’ve tried. I don’t really like metal levers and most of the other plastic ones I’ve used seem to bend easily. The little red case keeps them together in the tool box. I usually take two with me on the road.
Used for: 25+ years
Price paid: $5
Purchased at: don’t remember
Rating: 5 stars!
I didn’t even realize until recently that Park updated this tool. It always seemed pretty much perfect to me. When I worked in shops we always used to remove the sleeve on the 5, which helped to quickly identify the one you used most, and also made it easier to get in to tighten or loosen road brake levers. Of course I like to have the full slate of Bondhus allens, but these Park 3-way hex wrenches indispensable for the home or pro mechanic.
Used for: 20 years
Price paid: around $5
Purchased at: don’t remember
Rating: 5 stars!
To continue this week’s headset theme… I saw someone’s homemade headset press on the intertubes years ago and decided to make one for myself. A Park headset press is a no brainer if you work in a shop, but for the home mechanic who might only press in a headset every few years, building your own press makes a lot of sense. Just go down to your local hardware store, get a threaded rod, some nuts and a few washers. It will probably cost you around $3 (the Park is about $120). Works like a champ. Also, using one of these will slow you down a bit, unlike the Park, which allows you to slam it in, and possibly damage the headset or headtube if you aren’t paying attention. And the only way you can go cheaper is with a block of wood and a hammer.
Used for: 10 years
Price paid: $3
Purchased at: Home Depot
Rating: 5 stars!
I picked up this awesome Zog’s headset wrench at Interbike sometime in the mid-90s and had assumed the company had gone the way many of other small, US-based manufacturing companies. But no, these thin, laser cut tools are still being made in Oregon under the name Thinwrench. They don’t seem to make this particular headset wrench anymore, which was way thinner and more awesome than anything else available at the time (and makes for the perfect companion to the Park Professional Headset Locknut Wrench), but here are the bike tools they still make. The Headset Pedal Cone Take-Along Combo Wrench looks pretty sweet.
Used for: 15+ years
Price paid: don’t remember
Purchased at: directly from the Zog’s guys
Rating: 5 stars!
The Park Professional Headset Locknut Wrench is a work of art. It won’t bite into or round off the top nut of your spendy Chris King or Campy threaded headset. And unlike most of my other Park stuff, they haven’t change this one in 15 years. I guess you can’t mess with perfection.
Used for: 15+ years
Price paid: probably around $30
Purchased at: don’t remember
Rating: 5 stars!
I like this dishing tool because of the color, and because it works well with 26” and 700c wheels (I believe the Campy dishing tool still only works with 650c and 700c wheels). The Park dishing tool has gone through several permutations since I got this, but still isn’t nearly as elegant. I don’t know if you can get these anymore, and mine’s not for sale–sorry! More pics after the jump, including an image from the old Var catalog, via Sheldon Brown.
Used for: 15 years
Price paid: a lot
Purchased at: can’t remember
Rating: 5 stars!
If you have one of these you are old school. And if you still actually use one of these you are super old school.
Used for: 25 years
Price paid: dunno
Purchased at: can’t remember
Rating: 5 stars!
These are the best cable cutters on the market. They are standard in most shops, and they never seem to wear out. Buy a pair–they will last you a lifetime.
Keep in mind they are really just for brake and derailleur cables. They do work well on SIS housing but don’t work well with brake cable housing (I use diagonal cutters for that). You can use them to cut spokes out of wheels if you want, though.
Used for: 20 years
Price paid: a lot
Purchased at: can’t remember
Rating: 5 stars!
