Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - A little tool talk

I know this topic comes up pretty regularly. Tools. But, I've been on a bit of a buying binge lately so it's on my mind. I'm building up as my custom will be here within weeks. That has taken awhile. I've always done a certain amount of my own maintenance but have gotten by with mostly lower end stuff. To that end I want to say that cheap tools are not worth it. They really aren't. It is my opinion that the shade-tree guy actually needs better tools than the professional. The pro can make most anything work. The shade-tree guy needs all the help he can get. So, my latest purchases and my opinions of the tools are:

Zog 13, 14, 15 wrenches (x2) - totally hot stuff. These cone wrenches look and feel great. Nice, long handles too

Park SR-2 chainwhip - a total class product. long, heavy and the chain is easily swapped out. I changed mine over to 1/8 and threw the 3/32 chains in my tool box. Easy. The Izumi 1/8 chain I used was a sickening pain in the ass to get the rollers out of.

Pedro crank puller - does its' job. I pulled a crank off one of my kids bikes to give the tool a go and it worked well. No muss, no fuss. The yellow stands out. That could matter.

youre tool isnt too small. shes just ungrateful.

http://imgur.com/vP7F8.jpg

OHH HOO HOOOOOOO

Nice. I just bought myself a park CNW-2 chainring wrench, FR-6C freewheel remover, CT-3 chain breaker, and the SR-1 chainwhip.

I'm excited; my tool collection is amassing a great quantity of park tools.

I used to work with a car tech that would say, "I dont need any special tools, I just need to use the tools I already have in special ways".

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/tool-734840.jpg

I like my Park lockring tool a lot. I've also got a Topeak hex-key set that I use very frequently. My chain tool is not park, and it's awful. Last time I waste 10 bucks on a shoddy chain breaker.

I would get a more cone wrenches. I bought a set of Parktool wrenches; I was thinking I'd only need the 13, 14, and 15 but I ended up needing the 17 for my brand new wheels and the 16 for some old hubs.

http://www.realclearsports.com/blog/tim-taylor-aus-tool-time.jpg

I love my (Tim) Allen Wrenches. bwohoho.

http://www.wchstv.com/abc/homeimprov/earlhindman.jpg

hairnet,

Yes, I thought about grabbing some 16's and 17's. I have a couple of the 2 sided Park's in those sizes (15/16 and 17/18). The difference between the Park's and the Zog's is incredible. Now, my Park's are the $3.95 double sided ones. They are both inexpensive and cheap. The Zog's ran about $8 a piece (double sided available but I went dedicated) and the difference in quality is difficult exaggerate. Night and day. One thing I really don't like about the double sided wrenches is they make my hands hurt. They do the job and all but they feel flimsy and not well thought out somehow. I'll keep the Park stuff and see what I use. I knew 13, 14, 15 were tools that got used for the bikes at my house. I don't want my tool box to unnecessarily bloat. If I had a dedicated work area I'd feel differently but everything is stored in a tool box and pulled out as needed.

I'm on a quality kick though and plan to create a smaller tool box with my throw aways for my 15 year old son. Fixing bikes is one of those dad and son things and at his age keeping those bonds is a bit of a struggle. The chick is preparing to leave the nest and is building strength. The old rooster knows there are both challenges and good times ahead. A bike can be a positive. Fixing a bike with dad can be the difference.

yep I agree -currently looking for a craigslist project to work on with my 15 year old

RW Cook,

I'm also thinking about something like that. I'd like to do a sort of "whatever he wants to build" project. My only areas of concern are the headset and bottom bracket. The skills and tools needed are a challenge. On the other hand, it's not a bad object lesson to show that there are times when taking something to the folks who do it for a living is the smart way to go. Maybe in June. Until then, we're ski/snowboard people.

Tools? I love my tools. I love them even more in an organized accessible manner. I made a tool roll to keep them all handy.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Ap9ocfKtkI8/SQ8b_lIlstI/AAAAAAAAAH0/MCxK0dbISpI/s1600/Toolroll.jpg
I tailored it around each specific tool, so they all fit in snugly. The quality of the stitches is a little shoddy as I killed the sewing machine about halfway into the project. The rest I had to hand stitch, which took for-ev-er! I can hang it on the door of my bike shed for instant access while wrenching. I can roll it up and throw it in the car on bike vacations and it takes up like NO space but I still have my "workshop" with me. It holds everything I have every really needed for any scale of bike project, from simple maintinence to full teardowns and buildups. Minus the hammer and hacksaw of course!

full set of allens
full set of screwdrivers
every size cone wrench ive ever needed from 8mm to 40mm
pliers
cable cutters
spanner
chain whip
bunch of spoke wrenches
chain tool
crank puller
big leatherman (for taking on trips, mostly for non-bike uses)
ratchet with some handy sized sockets
cassette cleaner brush thingy (great for cleaning the hard to get to side of track cogs)
patch kit
tire levers
cassette/bb lockring spline tools
hot chocolate dispenser... I wish!

I'm building up as my custom will be here within weeks. .

Don't forget, you promised pics:thumb: