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Your go-to tools

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
And who remembers those horrible Park spoke wrenches...do they still make them?
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
I've had a Spokey since something like 2000 that I've used to build probably 20 wheelsets or more...

I tried using those strange loopy park wrenches when I worked in a shop and that lasted about 5 seconds before I reached for the spokey.
 

DaveW

Space Monkey
Jul 2, 2001
11,161
2,686
The bunker at parliament
Feedback is local and I know a couple of those peeps. I'm a fan of all of their stuff, but haven't any of the hand tools.
Lifetime Warranty? What do you have to lose?
"limited" lifetime
the workshop manager's been using their T handle allen keys, really nice & seem to be lasting well.
The "Pro elite comercial clamp" for workstands is the shizzle!! best clamp ever...... the cheaper ones they do are shit however & I hate using them.

Birdmanz or what ever the company is called has some nice looking tools as well.
Birzman?
Nice gear, most of my workstand tools are Birzman, don't rate the ergonomics of the T handle allenkeys though, park is comfier.
But the rest of their gear is really good, well except the shock pumps which are crap which is odd, cause their other hand & track pumps are great.

Side note: Whoever invented ball end Allen drivers should be shot.
Ball end is fine as long as you don't go below 4mm, anything smaller is just asking for rounded out bolts.
There's a bunch of stuff on bikes where not being able to angle the tool really really sucks.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,480
4,720
Australia
Coming from an industrial electrical background, a lot of my bike tools are actually work tools that I've repurposed. All my circlip pliers and stuff are Knipex, allen keys are a mix of Bondhus, Park and JBS depending whether they're normal, Y-style or T-handle. Knipex do a lovely tiny little flush cut set of side cutters which is great for cable ties and not leaving sharp ends sticking out.

From work stuff I've actually got a Festo pneumatic hose cutter which consistently does the best cut on a hydraulic hose that I've ever achieved, far better than bike industry tools. My WAGO bootlace crimper does a super tidy job on cable ends as well.

I quite like my Park tools bike specific stuff like saw guides, chain whips and cable cutters. This rant here has me wanting to get a Unior or Cyclus saw guide though. I don't see the point in buying bike specific brands for common tools like hacksaws or sidecutters as bike brands normally aren't up to the quality of decent real-world tools.

Workstand is a P.O.S. Gripsport (aussie brand) and I'm currently on the lookout for a Park or Feedback stand to replace it.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
A plastic wrench? Fuck, no...
If you can break the plastic wrench, you've long ago stripped out your spoke. The "wrench" part is metal, the big plastic blade gives you a lot more gripping area and leverage and is just far more secure than the floppy Park version for quickly adjusting tension (like quickly giving each nipple 1/2 turn on the stand).

I quite like my Park tools bike specific stuff like saw guides, chain whips and cable cutters. This rant here has me wanting to get a Unior or Cyclus saw guide though. I don't see the point in buying bike specific brands for common tools like hacksaws or sidecutters as bike brands normally aren't up to the quality of decent real-world tools.
As far as guides, I got a nice pipe-cutter (as opposed to a shitty one) a few years back and haven't looked back, that thing makes quick work of steerer tubes and is super easy to use, then just bevel the end with a dremel. Way less mess than a hacksaw too.

I think Ultimate (who later became Feedback) was a wakeup call for Park in terms of stands. Park had that terrible 2-legged stand and Ultimate came out with the super-stable 3-legged thing that wouldn't fall over like the Park version. You could do all sorts of stuff with the feedback like turn your bike upside down and clamp it in place. Park eventually got on board with some decent stands, but the Ultimate really brought out how terrible the Park one was. The Park shop-heads were always really nice, but that's more for a fixed location with lots of space and then it's kind of permanent.
 
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Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,241
20,022
Sleazattle
Coming from an industrial electrical background, a lot of my bike tools are actually work tools that I've repurposed. All my circlip pliers and stuff are Knipex, allen keys are a mix of Bondhus, Park and JBS depending whether they're normal, Y-style or T-handle. Knipex do a lovely tiny little flush cut set of side cutters which is great for cable ties and not leaving sharp ends sticking out.

From work stuff I've actually got a Festo pneumatic hose cutter which consistently does the best cut on a hydraulic hose that I've ever achieved, far better than bike industry tools. My WAGO bootlace crimper does a super tidy job on cable ends as well.

I quite like my Park tools bike specific stuff like saw guides, chain whips and cable cutters. This rant here has me wanting to get a Unior or Cyclus saw guide though. I don't see the point in buying bike specific brands for common tools like hacksaws or sidecutters as bike brands normally aren't up to the quality of decent real-world tools.

Workstand is a P.O.S. Gripsport (aussie brand) and I'm currently on the lookout for a Park or Feedback stand to replace it.

When I wrenched on CNC machines for a living my Bondhus ball end T-handles were priceless. They survived 5 years of daily professional use when I regularly put a pipe on the handle and applied more torque than they were ever able to handle. They worked flawlessly. Their retirement years working on bikes has been cush. Considering the shit I put them through I scratch my head when people complain about them exclusively working on things made of aluminium and composites.
 

Sandro

Terrified of Cucumbers
Nov 12, 2006
3,224
2,537
The old world
It isn't plastic. The business interface is metal, hugging nipples from three sides. It is super comfortable to use, compared to the Park Tools wrench.
Good to hear that you like it, my dad designed the Spokey over 30 years ago and we are still making them. If this site still had enough members I'd be totally down with producing a RM edition Spokey, but I doubt we could get enough people together for this to be feasible.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,195
4,419
Good to hear that you like it, my dad designed the Spokey over 30 years ago and we are still making them. If this site still had enough members I'd be totally down with producing a RM edition Spokey, but I doubt we could get enough people together for this to be feasible.
Spokey is the bomb. Love that spoke wrench. Have a dt-swiss branded version atm.

I don't know how many RM members build wheels anymore. Seems like folks are more into buying complete... like complete e-bikes. :P
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,057
1,298
Styria
Spokey is the bomb. Love that spoke wrench. Have a dt-swiss branded version atm.

I don't know how many RM members build wheels anymore. Seems like folks are more into buying complete... like complete e-bikes. :P
Here is one, also using a Spokey since 2002.
 

amishmatt

Turbo Monkey
Sep 21, 2005
1,263
396
Lancaster, PA
Never bought a pre-built wheel, can't see why I ever would. I have a friend who builds awesome wheels for me for spare parts or beer. I'd be down for an RM Spokey if it happened.

My favorite tool is my shock bushing tool that @4130biker (I think? It's been a while, sorry) made for me for RMSS.

Felco cable cutters are awesome as are Knipex cable tie cutters (so unnecessary, but so worth it).

Lezyne Dirt Drive floor pump has set up every tubeless tire I've ever mounted without a fuss. No need for a compressor.

I resisted buying master link pliers for a long time, but they sure are handy. Those are Park, because I bought them from a bike shop, which is petty much the only reason to ever buy Park. I also have a Park big blue toolbox that was a gift and is fucking sweet.

Oh, and I'm with @jonKranked on beer. Fuck the corporate overlords.
 

CheetaMike

Monkey
Jul 17, 2016
229
57
Whonnock BC Canada
When I wrenched on CNC machines for a living my Bondhus ball end T-handles were priceless. They survived 5 years of daily professional use when I regularly put a pipe on the handle and applied more torque than they were ever able to handle. They worked flawlessly. Their retirement years working on bikes has been cush. Considering the shit I put them through I scratch my head when people complain about them exclusively working on things made of aluminium and composites.
We go thru them like candies at a fat camp . Wera holds up better. Non ball end last the longest with these hardware damage.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
I love a certain set of cheap wire strippers/cutters I have. It turns out the jaws are spaced just right to grab chain links and squeeze master links to remove them.