Cost of Tools and Home Repair
 

I was trying to keep the title short, but I'm not sure it really says what I'm trying to say.

There are some tools that I think it makes sense to buy bike specific tools. For example, Craftsman obviously doesn't make a crank puller. (Unless they do, in which case, I stand corrected and will buy one.) However, do I really need a Park or whatever brand cable and housing cutter? Can I just get a pair of snips from Sears, or does a Park cable cutter do something special? How about cone wrenches? Is there a toolbox equivalent to this, or do I need to spend the money on bicycle branded tools?

Thanks for all your help, everyone. This forum has already saved me a bunch of money in the past, and I really appreciate it.

I slowly ground an 8" adjustable wrench down from one side until there was only about 2.5 mm in thickness left. It makes a great cone wrench fully adjustable for all sizes.

I also made a torque wrench from a steel bar and a fisherman's scale. Check the scale for accuracy with a known weight and compensate by altering the distance between the point where the scale attaches and where the hex key is fitted to the bar. For example, my scale read six percent light. I would have over-torqued, so I reduced the 10" distance by six percent to compensate.

There is no good way to avoid buying a crank puller, unless you can borrow one from a friend. I also bought a tool for removing the locking nut on the bottom bracket and a tool to remove the retaining ring on the gear cluster.

A lot depends on what you want to do and how often you think you will do it. Other posts on this forum have described how people made their on presses for headset bearings or tools for removing headset bearings. The same goes for tools to install the frog nut inside the steerer tube. Some have made truing stands and work stands. Others true by using the brake pads as a guide. Some hang their bikes from the ceiling rather than use a work stand.

There is no substitute for cone wrenches. They are specific to bicycle applications. Even good ones aren't that costly and you really only need three sizes: 13, 14 and 15 mm. The locknuts on a lot of hubs are 17 mm but a cone wrench isn't needed for them. A regular open end or box will work.

Cables can be cut with side cutter pliers but they will leave the ends ragged. Same with housing. A Dremel with a cut-off wheel does work to cut both cables and housing but costs much more than the real thing. There are hardware store cutters made to cut wire cable and wire rope that will work but good ones of these aren't cheap either.

A crank puller is also bicycle specific and there is no suitable substitute. Same for bottom bracket installation/removal tools.

My take is that bike specific tools are expensive the first time you use them but free after that.

Search the forum for cable cutting, loads of previous, valuable discussion. many tools can be bought at non-bike specific shops (like Sears, Lowes, etc). There are a few bike specific ones like crank pullers, cone wrenches, cassettes tools, etc that can still be picked up from places like Nashbar and Performance Bike. I'd advise to buy what you need when you need it. Also check with riding mates to see if you can borrow seldom used tools, thereby saving some cash.

Well the right tool does make a big difference. Cone wrenches are probably essential and there will be lots of specific tools you'll discover you need (different crank pullers for new splined versus older square, BB tools, freewheel tools, etc). You can get by with those tiny multi-tools but they are a huge pain in the butt for quick and efficient work. I collected essential tools slowly as I discovered the need.

Park does make two different pullers specific to square taper or Octalink/ISIS cranks but the square taper version can work for either.

Shimano makes a very simple flanged plug (TL-FC15) that fills in the large hole in Octalink?ISIS spindles and gives the standard puller a flat surface to push against. The plug was included with every 105 Octalink crank set and I expect most LBS's have a handful of spares sitting in a drawer for give-away prices. I've heard that a nickel or a washer can be used too but I've never had to try that.

I bought this tool kit from PricePoint. Park may be better... but hard to beat the price ($99 bucks now I think).

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9...rxtoolsap0.jpg

Pretty good set.

Anybody else remember MacGyver?? :p

Buy the tools as you need them, before you know it you will have a good set of tools (if you buy the quality ones) and you wont feel the financial crunch that you get with a whole set purchase. For the money I save on service and pride in the do-it-yourself job well done more than make up for the cost of tools and equipment. Also these mechanical skills will role over to automotive and other repairs, so will good tools.

Echo this.. I just did my first proper bike tuneup; I need to purchase cone wrenches and BB tools; the tools cost less than a tuneup. Now I have the tools and I know how to adjust wheel cones.. Seems win-win to me.

This is a lesson hard learned from motorcycling for me. There are times when the right tool.. is the right tool End of story. Sounds to me like I need to buy a chain tool and a set of cone wrenches. ;-) As for when to buy them, over time is the best way. Buying single tools is a lot easier on the mind, and when you buy a tool, and use it, you can rest assured you bought the right tool.

I do all of my own work. Even given my extensive investment in tools, I still come out ahead if you consider shop rates.

That's really just a long winded way of saying.. listen to these guys :-)

I just ordered the Spin Doctor Pro tool Kit from performance. I know....their not Park Tools, but they will serve my needs. Anyway, The original price was 199.99, on sale for 149.99. Since I'm a Team Performance menber, the price was reduced to 129.96. Since I ordered it yesterday, they took and additional 15% off the original sales price of 149.99. Add in free 2 day shipping, and the total cost of the complete took kit was $94.48. Not a bad score for the amount of tools.

Assuming you know you need all those tools in there.

If your bike isn't a recent 10-speed, this Lifu kit is cost effective:

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...+Tool+Kit.aspx

I got this set from pricepoint.com:

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/145...--14-Tools.htm

I got it for less than $20 when it was on sale a few months ago. It's not everything you need, but it's a good, cheap beginning.

I think this is the best advice. If you're not planning on doing this for a living you don't need a full kit of tools. Just get the ones that you need, when you need them. Occasionally a job will come along that requires extremely expensive tools that you rarely use - let a shop do that job. Pressing in headset cups is the only job like that that comes to mind.

I've been wrenching on bikes for years including some time as a pro, so I do have a pretty complete set of tools. But I just built up a new mountain bike and I think I used two special tools. I was putting my old fork in it so it already had the star nut set and I had a shop swap my headset cups in. I used two sets of allen wrenches ("L" style and socket style with my torque wrench) - really just three or four sizes. Other than the cups and star nut a threadless headset only requires allen wrenches. I have the integrated BB XT cranks, so I have a tool for the cups and preload plastic bolt - that was like $15 for the Spin Doctor version. Then I put a new cassette on my old wheel using the cassette tool - oh, and a chain whip to take off the old one, so that's three special tools. What, $20 or $25 for both of those? Oh, then a spoke tool to replace some spokes in my old rear wheel and true it up. $5 so that's four. I did use my truing stand, but I could've used the frame and brakes for that.

So that's $45 in special tools. I used a $20 Craftsman torque wrench. I used my big Snap-On "click" type torque wrench for the cassette but I could've used the Craftsman beam. I think the Craftsman allen-socket set was $20 and the "L"s $10. Oh, and a $20 wire cutter/crimper tool for the cables. So a grand total of $110 in tools, most of which I also use on my cars and motorcycles - and computers and whatever else I do around the house. If I'd rebuilt my hubs I would've used my cone wrenches. Not a lot invested there, either.

edit: forgot my chain tool for sizing the chain - I used the one on my Ritchey multi-tool I carry in my bag.

Bike cable cutters are really worth it. I used to cut my cables with whatever wire cutters I had in my tool box. The ends would be smashed, and there would be no way to get it into one of those little crimpable ends. I bought some cable cutters from Nashbar, on sale, and a couple bottles of those little crimpable ends (is there a proper term?). Now all of my cable ends are clean, and I never poke myself on the little frayed wires coming out of the cables.

I look on tools as investments. To me, purchasing a good tool is never a problem, as long as I can afford it. I feel satisfaction, knowing that the next time I'll have the tool already. I like tools.

Even though I call them the Evil Empire, this set is a good deal and will fill almost all your bike maintenance needs.

I usually do most of my own wrenching and was getting tired of using *regular* tools for the job, so for me, it was worth the investment.

I've worked on cars, race cars, and motorcycles, and now on bicycles. It would be interesting to go through my toolboxes some time and pick out all of the tools that I bought for a particular job I was doing and used exactly once for that job. I'm not making any particular point here, but I'll bet a lot of you are in the same boat when buying a special tool for a one-time repair job!

I think the only one time tools I have are the freewheel tools. Did not need to do them very often and I only have one freewheel bike left. I do have a fourth hand but I think I have used it 3 times in 15 years :rolleyes:.

I recently purchased a separate tool box for my as yet little but growing set of bike tools. Most recent additions were a cassette tool and whip.

Just buy what you need WHEN you need it.

I replaced my chain and decided to make a chain whip from the old chain and a steel bar. The only tools needed were a drill, a chain tool, and a hacksaw.

And wait the 3-5 days for it to show up, or pay the $10 extra for it to show up tomorrow.

I have a low end kit. As tools wear out, I'll buy higher quality versions that will last longer--but I should have advanced warning about that tool wearing out, so I can shop around and still get my repair done. [LBS didn't appear to have tools, and I don't patronize them anyhow. Next one is 45 minutes away, and not open at 9pm either.]