[jacksonpt]

Well, various family members have started asking me what I want for Christmas, and tools are at the top of the list. As a general rule, are Park tools all they are cracked up to be?

I know I want the Ultimate blah blah 80 repair stand. That's decided.

I know I need a good set of cable cutters, a decent bottom bracket tool and a decent crank puller. What do you recommend for those?

After that, is it safe for me to tell people anything made by park is a good gift idea?

 

[dh boyeee]

i hear Aireon and Lifu are TOP NOTCH...
get Park man, its excellent stuff, why do u think they are the industry standard?

 

[Zark]

As a general rule Park tool are what they're cracked up to be. Exceptions being Pedros making some damn fine Allen sets and DH tire levers.

Do you have a truing stand? If you don't, you want one and a dishing tool.

 

[dh boyeee]

pedros does make some good p-wrenches. i would love a truing stand and dishing tool, whirlybird too. my mom said shes gonna spend the extra $5 for the metallica edition...

 

[reflux]

I've used the cutters on pliers for the past 4 years and finally bought my first set of park cable/housing cutters. Dude, it is so far the best purchase I've made so far. A bb tool would be nice, but don't worry about it if you ahve a friend with one. A NICE set of allens is great to have, I wouldn't give mine up for the world. If you get one big purchase, go for the ultimate, I'd kill for one but I need to sell a frame first.

 

[reflux]

Oh yeah, forgot to ad, my old roommates were massive tools, but I think that's off topic.

 

[binary visions]

I think Pedros is pretty much equal in quality to Park. I've got some tools from both companies and they're both excellent. Most recently, I picked up the full set of Pedros L-handled allen wrenches and they're excellent - nice and comfortable in your hand, ball ends... No report on their durability as I only got them this week, but they do appear to be nice tools. I can't believe I've gone this long without a nice set of allen wrenches - makes a huge difference!

Also picked up a Pedros bottle opener but not much can be said about a bottle opener except that it looks like the same quality as everything else from Pedros - top notch.

Generally Pedros stuff is a little cheaper so that's why I buy it - same quality for less money. I told my family that anything made by Pedros is great and gave them a list of tools that I had, and tools that I wanted. I have a Pedros cable cutter and it works awesome.

I have an Ultimate Pro repair stand incidentally and it's fantastic. Much nicer than any other stand I've used.

 

[Zman]

the best out there are the pedros in my opinion, used them for teh past 3 years as a shop wrench and they work a hell fo a lot better than the park ones. also i think the pedros stand is a lot better than the ultimate. much more stable and adjustable. doesn;t flinch with a dh bike or trying to break pedals free, and i use one everyday for work with the demo truck i drive for c-dale. so i would say anything pedros is the way to go

 

[Mike B.]

like BV said, Pedros is right up there with Park. A truing stand is a great thing to have and the Park TS-2 is more than adequate for home use, I think they have a less expensive version as well, but I've been spoiled by the TS-3. I've never used the one that Ultimate sells. If you ask for a truing stand I'd also recommend the TM-1 Tension Meter, a trued wheel with bad tension won't stay true for long.

 

[BMXman]

I buy the no name stuff...all you have to do is make a good visual inspection and that should be enough...it's not rocket science to build a cassette lockring remover...plus with all the money you save not buying Park and Pedros you can buy even more tools.

I only have a few more tools to go and I will have a complete bike shop ....D

 

[gschuette]

Make sure you ask for the right crank puller. If you have splined cranks you will most likely need the ccp-4 puller. It is black. If you have square taper (which I hope you do not) then you need the ccp-2 which is blue. And I think that Park makes great bike tools. If it is a standard or non bike specific tool get Craftsmen so that you get a warranty and you can find a retailer anywhere rather easily.

 

[dh boyeee]

i thought pedros could be MORE expensive, but i never shop for that kinda stuff. you will be fine with either, if pedros is cheaper, thats what id get.

 

[-dustin]

i only buy Park. they've been good to me, so i see no reason to try anything else. i have lost 3 AWS-11s, though, and that sucks.

i use a the Ultimate Pro stand. love it. used a Park prior (not sure which), but in my opinion, the Ultimate is far better.

CCP-4
BBT-2

i think those are the 2 you're looking for.

 

[jacksonpt]

Thanks everyone. Here's what I'm asking for specifically...

Ultimate 80 Repair Stand

Pedros T-handle hex keys (I have a set of craftsman keys which are OK, but I definitely want a good set of T-handles with the ball end.)

or

Cable cutters (Park or Pedros)

ISIS and Square Taper crank pullers (I have both) and a BB tool.

anything else by park or pedros.

Thanks for the help guys - I didn't realize Pedros gear was that good. And any time a company gets as much hype as Park does I tend to worry.

 

[binary visions]

Good choices! Just FYI, Pedros makes a universal crank puller for both square and ISIS cranks.

 

[Wumpus]

ISIS and Square Taper crank pullers (I have both) and a BB tool.

Crank Wrench and Puller
CWP-6

Comes with both tips for isis and square. You can just buy an extra tip if you like the ones with handles.

and make sure they get an isis BB tool. I have an older one that won't work(not deep enough) on some of the isis BBs.

 

[Wumpus]

Don't forget the tp holder:

 

[JRB]

I have some cheap nashbar cutters that are the same as shimano. I like them a bunch. Park and Pedros are both great. The pedros wrenches seem to be harder and don't tend to have the corners roll like my park 3 way wrenchs have.

 

[Ian F]

Mmmm... tools...

A few things I've learned in my 20 years of collecting bike tools and DIY wrenching on bikes (some may or may not apply to you):

Bondaus hex wrenches: excellent. compact. ball-end on the long side. Pedros are nice, but the Bondaus pack easier. I also have a set of t-handle wrenches that stay in the garage. It's also usefull to keep a folding SAE set in the box for rare occasions. Especially if you or your friends run Profiles.

Get a torx socket and a 1/4" drive flex head for installing/removing Hayes rotors.

The $20+ Park blue-handle Chain Tool is worth every penny. Leave the compact versions in you bike-bag for emergency on-trail use.

I have the Shimano cable cutters. ONLY use them for cutting cables and cable-housing... and maybe zip-ties...

Cassette lock-ring tools, freewheel tools, and chain-whips are absolutely neccessary items. I have a couple of freewheel tools from 1982.

A good quality 10mm combination wrench.

Pedal wrench (I've had an old chrome Park model for over a decade)

Cone wrenches are nice to have, but I don't use them much.

Pliers: 6" needle-nose & slip-joint. 8" diagonal cutters. 8" and/or 10" crescent wrench.

Screwdrivers: I used to carry a few, but now have a $4 4-way driver from Home Depot - takes up less room. I also have two micro-screwdrivers for the tiny screws on derailleurs and on Shimano shifter pod cable covers.

A set of dental-style picks for cleaning stuff and cleaning up the inside of cable housing after cutting.

Headset tools are very useful if you build a lot of bikes. The start-nut setter and cup remover are simple tools that make those operations go so much easier it's not even funny. Headset presses are expensive but worth it, IMO. I use a 7/8" bolt, washers & nut with a set of Chris King cup adapters - takes up less space in the toolbox.

1/2" drive ratchet and selected sockets for my headset press and also for the thru-axle nut that my old M-1 had.

Full set of spoke wrenches in all sizes.

Grease, anti-sieze or loc-tite on everything. Never dry. Keep these items in the toolbox always.

Toolbox: Resist the urge to get a huge box. If you're like some of us, you'll want to bring your tools with you on mutli-day trips. I have a 22" 2-drawer box that I've used for over 10 years. While it's literally packed to the gills, I've resisted replacing it since I move it around a lot. I have a couple of small parts boxes that fit in the top section for misc. small parts.

I have many tools that are doubles of my automotive set. Keep your bike tools separate from other tools. It's very annoying to be at a race and need something and realize you left it on the work bench after wrenching on the car.

 

[Clark Kent]

Park.....