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-   -   Should you throw away tools?! (https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1317533-should-you-throw-away-tools.html)

grumpus 12-29-25 12:00 PM


Originally Posted by Kontact (Post 23669637)
I don't know why people insist on using those flat fixed cup wrenches. A large adjustable works much better.

They're fine for their intended purpose but not if the cup is stubborn. That's why we used to have stuff like this:
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d7d74087b2.jpg

grumpus 12-29-25 12:03 PM


Originally Posted by cyccommute (Post 23669581)
I have replaced them several times. People keep losing them. At some point, you just have to go with the flow.

Red loctite or silver solder?

Dave Mayer 12-29-25 12:07 PM

At our big-city high-volume bike Co-op we go through a lot of tools. Constant use, and often by inexperienced volunteers and clients who strip the tools and their bike parts. We try and monitor the stands, but the experienced mechanics cannot monitor everything.

So the tools that suffer the most are screwdrivers, hex keys and freewheel removers. Actually most folks try and remove freewheels with cassette lockring tools, hence the one-per-week attrition rate there. Plus splined bottom bracket tools on seized BB cups. These tools go right to recycling, as the risk of wrecking a bike part does not justify using worn-out tools - false economics.

We get a lot of stuff donated to us, including good and sometimes broken/worn out tools. Please do not donate your knowingly broken tools to a Co-op; it just causes us to waste time assessing it and eventually binning it.

Same goes for worn-out chains and department store anything. And Imperial-spec hex keys, wrenches and sockets. We have to puzzle away as to why they don't fit bike nuts and bolts, while we risk stripping metric bike parts, and then they get binned. Now we are binning Imperial tools proactively: direct to steel recycling.

Kontact 12-29-25 02:10 PM


Originally Posted by grumpus (Post 23669672)
They're fine for their intended purpose but not if the cup is stubborn. That's why we used to have stuff like this:
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d7d74087b2.jpg

I disagree that the flat tool, on its own, grips the cup well or provides a hand hold that sufficient torque can be transmitted through. It exists because people assume there should be a basic wrench for it, but the design is stupid.

JohnDThompson 12-29-25 09:13 PM


Originally Posted by grumpus (Post 23669586)
Beat that wrench on an anvil with a big hammer to push some of the displaced metal back where it belongs, then remove any remaining burr with a file or dremel. It will be less likely to slip and distort when it's flat with crisp edges.

And the hammering will work-harden the metal, and make it less likely to be displaced in the future.


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