mapleleafs-13 

ok well here's the scenario.

I've wanted to buy a full set of cone wrenches for a while now. i've just been doing hubs with some makeshift tools i have and well i want a proper set now.

I work on older road bikes mainly, anything from 1995 and before.

what are the most common sizes i will need to have. I was debating buying the set but there sizes in the park tool line around 24mm and a few other big sizes, will i ever need those or should i just buy a few of them and save some money.

dddd

Front cones are almost universally 13mm, but rear cones can be anything, with 15mm/14mm seemingly most common.

For lock nuts, 16mm and 17mm Combination wrenches are good to have around, plus the 8" adjustable wrench is always handy.

For years I got by with two 13X14's and two 15X16's.

zukahn1 

The most common are 13 and 15 mm often labled DCW-4 second most are 14 and 16 mm DCW-5. You can get pretty cheap set that will work on 90 percent for about $10 bucks.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/290627123078...84.m1497.l2649

WNG

Double-ended cone wrenches will be cheaper and cover most of the sizes you're likely to encounter. But Their shorter length has less leverage and can be uncomfortable with stubborn old locknuts and cones. If you are going to be doing a lot of hub work, the longer single-ended models are sweeter to use. I own both, but if I were to do it again, two long single-ends of each common size.

Bill Kapaun

I find 13-17 covers everything I've ran into so far.
I have one each of the good (blue handle) Park wrenches and 3-4? of the DCW series to cover the same range.
A 17MM Box end wrench is also very handy + another "strong" 17MM wrench for loosening those hubs with super tight lock nuts.

3alarmer 

99% of what I've encountered can be done nicely with
a set of two 13/14mm, and two more 15/16mm cone wrenches.
Thus I use the double ended ones. (Hozan makes a good one.)

I also have a set of Craftsman box/open end metrics that go up
to 18mm that come in handy on the axle and cone lock nuts.

Otherwise, I think I've run into one thing that used a 17 or 18mm
cone, and nothing else would do.

That's maybe a couple thousand bikes over the last 30 years, on
and off, mine and other people's. Almost all pre mid 90's stuff.

zukahn1 

+ 1 Good 17mm wrench for the lock nuts is a must have and can be had at almost any harware or auto store for $5 or so.

jimmuller 

No matter what sizes you buy, you will encounter a bike for which you need two of something when you have only one.

Charles Wahl

S--tmano hubs often have 17 mm locknuts, which I didn't need until I (unfortunately) needed to work on them. Despite the greater leverage, I find that using the Park wrenches is a much less esthetic experience than work with Campagnolo cone wrenches, or copies of them.

mparker326

I use a combo 11/12 for brake adjusting as well.

I say just get them all. Cone wrenches aren't that expensive. Or you could buy the most common and wait for some to come up on CL. I got lucky and found practically every size that way.

dddd

Sharing the wheel hub axle service dept experience:

neurocop

This is especially true for cone wrenches. That's why I have a set of the double-ended and a set of the longer/sturdier single-ended Park wrenches to cover the 13-18mm range. A good set of thin-wallws metric deep sockets is also needed to work on those really stubborn axle nuts...

wrk101

You can either buy non-Park ones new at an attractive price (I picked up a set of Sette cone wrenches, Pricepoint house brand, on sale for something like 99 cents each, and they are just fine), or pick up a set used. I recently picked up quite a few tools from a bike shop going out of business (thats pretty common around here).

Either choice works fine.

You should also have a ratchet with a 16, 17, and 18mm socket as a minimum to tighten or remove lock nuts.

dddd

I've come across several French bikes with pedals that needed 1 or two (side by side) 15mm or 16mm cone wrenches to remove or install.
Both Park Professional and Cyclo pedal wrenches were both just too thick.

Yes, especially after some beer, the four-letter words were flyin', indirectly at "this French...", followed by "where's my *****n' hammer".

Captain Blight

12/13/14/15 for the cones and your medium Crescent wrench for the locknuts.