Originally Posted by
Burton
I'd judge leverage by the length of the lever arm - center of rotation to end of arm. On a Shimano Pro that's 1 5/8 inches. On a Pedros Pro Chain Tool 2.0 that's 2 1/2 inches. On a Pedros Tutto that's 1 7/8 inches. All the handles on those are fixed.
Conversely, on a Park Tool CT-5, if you slide the leverage arm to one side, its 2 1/2 inches, and a Pedros Tulio, using the chain tool and the supplied extension, its 2 1/4 inches. For the particular tool that started this thread, its apparently 3 1/2 inches.
The shop tools can be more convenient, but not always. I prefer to use a CT-5 in the shop myself - the feedback through the tool is better. But if you have your own preferences - whatever works for you is fine with me.
There are two levers involved and they experience opposite and equal torques, the lever turning the pin and the lever holding the anvil. The shorter one requires the most force to hold. In the case of most mini-tools, the lever on the pin is reasonably long but the lever on the anvil is short.