Originally Posted by
prj71
Most everything from Park Tool is cost prohibitive in my opinion. As I stated early on in this thread they are living on a name.
For the majority of work we perform on bikes we are talking non-specialty tools like allen wrenches, torx/star wrenches and few other miscellaneous tools etc. All of which can be purchased from another brand that is much cheaper and equal or same quality. There is no advantage to Park's non-specialty tools that I'm aware of except that they are blue. So if you like to have everything on your workbench in matching color...then go for it!!!
For bike specific tools, Park has a fairly complete lineup...But so do other companies at much cheaper price.
You are completely correct, which was my point in an earlier post as well. Even some of the specialty tools you can find another bicycle tool maker that will offer a less expensive one.
Keep in mind, bicycle tools will not see the kind of force, or pressure, applied to them as an automotive tool will see.
The other thing too when it comes to tools, is never buy a tool kit, this is true for bicycles as it is for cars or home repair tools. You only buy the tool you need when you need it, that way you're not paying for tools you might already have or paying for tools you might never use. Home power tools are the same thing, when you buy a bundled power tool "to save money", they provide you with an inferior power tools vs buying the "same" looking tool individually, that's how they can sell 2 or 3 or 4 items in a package deal. If you look at the model numbers of a packaged tools vs an individual ones, they are usually off by one or two numbers and/or letters. I have a feeling, though I'm not sure since they don't put individual model numbers on each hand tool, but I have heard from pros this is true, that when you buy a bicycle tool kit, or a car tool kit they cheapen the quality of the tools to offer you the package deal. So just buy a tool when you need it; in the long run it will not only save you money but you won't have a lot of wasted tools that you never used, or wasted money on redundant tools.