Originally Posted by
Harold74
I'm not sure if you were referring to me but it's less of an objection and more of an inquiry. Purpose made headset wrenches have worked great for me in the past. Crescent wrenches... obviously not, especially on black locknuts. Not having tried an adjustable hex wrench, I wasn't sure where that would fall on the continuum. If the use of such wrenches is common practice, that will be an attractive option for me.
Is there a particular wrench that you've had good experiences with? Amazon has three versions, in order of price (CAD):
Max Power @ $29
Rigid Tools @ $58
Milwaukee Tool @ $58
All seem to be rated about the same. That said, I imagine that bicycle work is not the most common usage for these things.
An adjustable wrench is always going to do the least amount of damage when used properly. It has more surface area than a flat wrench and should be tightened to the nut before it is turned.
I would consider Rigid, but I don't think it matters. The other two aren't known for wrenches. Go to Lowe's and buy whatever is on sale. "Crescent" is a brand. So is "Channel Lock" or "Erwin". The one I have been using for 35 years is marked "Popular Mechanics", works perfectly and still looks new. Speaking of which:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/hom...cent-wrenches/
Personally, I looked for a wrench that would open wide enough to also work on the 36mm locknuts of 1 1/8" threaded headsets, but those might not be something you care about.