As a former (14 years) shop mechanic at numerous shops, I've had a chance to use a range of tools. Some of my favorites that haven't been mentioned are: -Most mechanics who I know (myself included) prefer Felco cable/housing cutters over Park. If any of you are gardeners, you might be familiar with their pruning shears. -For a while Trek marketed a pedal wrench under their Wrench Force brand. I believe that it was made by Snap-On, and it was(is) fabulous...quite a bit thicker than others and, most importantly, built with an offset bend so that your knuckles stayed clear of the chainrings. -The Park PTS-1 tire seating tool, while a little expensive for home use, becomes a invaluable after one or two problem tires (Col de Vie's come to mind!). -Although traditional spanner wrenches have been largely replaced by Allen wrenches (++ on the Bondhus recommendations, in a number of configurations), I still love a high-quality set of metric spanner/box wrenches (6mm--19mm). Sure you can mostly get by with just a 8, 10, 14, and 15, but they look great lined-up hanging from the pegboard! Look for quality castings that are longer than the common Craftsman sets. I prefer a satin grip finish over that pebbly finish that you find on cheaper sets. -Wiha screwdrivers with a rubber grip. -And finally, the ubiquitous sharpened spoke! Snip the threads off (don't use those expensive Felco cutters, though!) and sharpen on a grinding wheel. I always kept several different lengths and bends on hand. The most common use is for opening the lining in housing after cutting, but they have a multitude of other uses.
**special bonus 6th tool: Axle vice. Once you've used one, nothing is worse than chasing your tail to get a hub adjustment perfect without an axle vice. That was fun, and somewhat nostalgic! Once I got going, it was hard to stop at five (I guess that I didn't). And I didn't even get into wheelbuilding tools, which each have their own specialized niche of efficiency. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/M1WyHVj0NOcJ. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
