It's hard to say "that's my favorite bike tool", but it's right up there. Easily one of the best bike specific tools ever made. Worth every penny. For really stubborn pedals, I whack the end of it with a mallet. But, that is only very rarely necessary. The fact that the handle is long enough so that, if you grip the handle at the end, there is very little chance of impaling your knuckles on a chainring, makes this tool worth every penny.

All other pedal wrenches can only hope to pretend to be what the PW-4 is. For getting the best mechanical advantage, it has no equal.

It's also a very fine tool to have under the front seat in your car ;-)

Yeah, except it's useless on pedals like Egg Beaters that require a 10mm allen wrench.

For those I use a 10mm bit in a cheater bar; works every time.

+1
I always use that anti-sieze compound that looks like powdered aluminum mixed with oil. I put it on pedal threads and bottom brackets. I've never had a problem removing either.

Yes, I agree. But, recently I started using the Park HT-6/8/10 tools for pedals that don't have 15mm wrench flats and these tools are fantastic for this usage. If you have never tried them I highly recommend giving them a shot. You won't need a cheater bar again.

Once you break the pedal loose you flip the tool around and use the ball end to make a very quick removal of the pedal. Even if the pedal threads are a bit tight the handle gives plenty of torque to overcome it.

They look like a tool that may not get used much (wrong), but I love them. That being said, all pedals should have wrench flats ;-))))

http://www.parktool.com/products/det...at=7&item=HT-8

I've seen those and they are nice; the difference is I already own the cheater bar (a couple, actually) so that's what I use.

[edit] Actually, I use one of these:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...4363000P?mv=rr

with the 10mm bit and it works perfectly.

FWIW, I'm a tool guy.