Who makes a good adjustable wrench? I know it's not the tool of choice but sometimes you need one and my ghetto 12" adjustable totally seized up and the little 6 inch one is too wobbly to work with. Usually when I replace tools, I like to buy good ones.

Anyone recommend one that has jaws that don't wobble and resize themselves leading you to strip the nut?

Just buy a ratchet and choice set of sockets. No more stripped track nuts.

I've got a 15mm peanut butter wrench for track nuts and a socket set, it's for all that other little crap where you don't have the right size wrench and don't want to drag out a complete set of metric and sae wrenches or sockets, like adjusting the basket on my beater bike.

Well to be honest asking for adjustable wrench reviews is a little nitpicky . I'd think every hardware place is just going to have generic stuff which you could always try first, and then maybe you could buy a name-brand Craftsman one or something at Sears.

It's better to spend the money up front on a snap-on or craftsman than to deal with ghetto tools that strip your hardware.

Just buy the best you can afford. Snap-Ons or most any other American made ones are best.

The best adjustable wrench known to me is made by Facom (makes tools for Ferrari F1). I have a few of them and the thumb screw has ZERO slop and locks up instantly. They have tapered ends so they can fit into more places, and they are precision ground so the two adjustable "ends" are exactly parallel.

https://www.toolstop.co.uk/facom-113-...wrench-8-p4158

I paid $30 for my 6" which is not too bad. My Craftsman Professional combination wrench set was about $80, so you make the call.

vs

It's sad that Europeans even design their tools with more style than we could ever.

my dad told me, even when i was a little guy with a 24" wheel "dirt bike" that a crescent wrench (brand name version of an adjustable wrench) has no business touching a bike. i still practice this to this day. maybe in a pinch, but seriously... use the right tools if you respect your bike at all. if we're talking about a Magna, though, then go ahead.

My three Craftsman monkey wrenches have no business near any of my bikes.

like i said though, in a pinch... i did use a big fat heavy duty pipe wrench (monkey wrench!) to remove a bb cup from an '83 univega for a friend. but thats because it was a univega (just a viva sport nothing fancy folks).

I think the exception to the "no adjustable wrench" rule is for bottom bracket removers. Obviously you're never going to flat them. There are a few other misc. things like that.

TIP: if you hold your thumb on the adjuster-wheel-thing to keep the wrench tight on the bolt then you greatly reduce the risk of stripping it.

not that i advocate using the wrong tool for the job, its just that sometimes you dont have a choice.

i'm bumping this thread because a friend of mine just lost my favorite adjustable wrench, so now i'm in the market for one. the one i had was bought from harris cyclery 4 years ago. i am blanking on the brand, but it was probably about 5 inches long, but had an extra wide mouth, so it was great for carrying around. if anyone can remember what this is, or has a recommendation for a similar wrench, let me know. it was pretty sweet.

i'm answering my own question here. i had emailed harris and they got back to me right away. the wrench, made by great neck, is sold on amazon, so here's the link.
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Neck-958...0652721&sr=1-1

despite the one star review from some other reviewer, i had a great experience using this for the past four years. i think it's really well made and super small, which is nice for carrying in my bag or on tour.

try to avoid adjustable wrenches.

i use a ratchet with socket set too. best choice imo.

i carry my ratchet with 15mm socket with me all the time

husky

The key to using an adjustable wrench is using it properly and appropriately. Whenever you have another option, take it. If you do need to use an adjustable wrench (hopefully it is on something relatively large), the fixed plate should do the pulling, and the adjustable plate should do the pushing. This reduces the risk of stripping and increases the life of the wrench.

I like to Olympia tool adjustable wrench. It is easy to handle it. Its nice feature and effective work.

Go big or go home

I don't know what's more ridiculous, the fact that someone needed to crowdsource recommendations for a wrench, or the fact that someone else need to revive the thread 10 years later.

In all fairness you've got to admit that if one does not pay close attention - the new forum format makes it very easy to miss how old a thread is...