Originally Posted by
fietsbob
strip down the frame entirely, since square taper and external BB have nothing in common,
except they thread into the same frame threads.
then you are looking at 2 sets of tools to buy, one to remove, the other to install,
making the shop service labor rate a wash, unless you want to get the tools anyway..
For the first bike.
Even as a one-universal-bike guy additional bikes with traditional bottom brackets seem un-avoidable. You get a comfort bike for your previously non-cycling wife, you herniate L4-L5 in a horrible sneezing accident and get one to match until you recover well enough to ride a regular bike with some forward lean....
Bike-friendly cities also tend to have bike-cooperatives where you can use their tools.
Sometimes there's a shop where you can rent a stall (the Sports Garage in Boulder used to work like that)
The same workshop (Techshop) I pay monthly membership fees to access all sorts of big goodies (I couldn't buy a CNC router/mill/water jet/laser even if I had space for it) also has bike tools.