Home mechanic tool brands

[Lookrider]

I am wanting to purchase a good selection of bike tools for my own use in tbe garage
I'm not a professional mechanic and will not be fixing other peoples bikes for profit
I am mechanically minded though

What brand of tools would perhaps a regular professional mechanic advise an unprofessional to buy for the home garage
Park tools would be overkill for me
At the other end I don't really want halford or decathlon range
If it helps I have lots of diy tools in dewalt and bosch range but these get used regular via work
The inbetweeners that I'm aware of are BBB ..birzman ..icetools ..Pedro's probike tools ...unior.. lifeline ...
I was thinking Pedro's but again curious if they are expensive for what I will use them
I am a believer in buy the best you can afford ...but also believe to buy what is the best value
I will only be buying as I need them and not the £50/100 starter kits that usually have things you already have or will never use anyways
Thanks gents

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I'm not a believer in sticking to one make of tools. I just buy the best I can afford when I need them. So over the last forty years or so, I've amassed many different brands for use in bike mechanics, cars, wood and metalwork. Difficult to explain how I come to my decisions.
I've also made several poor choices aswell, usually when I went off price alone.

Sorry not to be more helpful.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Lifeline - Jobsworth - Brand X etc all more than capable

 

[fossyant]

Buy what you need when you need them. Good quality torx and hex keys are the most important though.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Halfords (yes I know) but their Professional range is absolutely top notch quality and reasonable priced.

 

[weareHKR]

Park Tool... Think ahead what you're most likely to use, some items it doesn't matter a tinkers, personally I prefer to spend decent money for quality tools only once!
Cone spanners, BB tools, Head Set spanners etc, have a butchers at their Website or even Amozon!

 

[Milkfloat]

I spend big money on hex key, torx and cable cutters as it really does make a difference and they get used a lot. Everything else is mid range or even home made. Personally, I think Park is overpriced for what you get in the UK and they are just trading on their name.

 

[slowmotion]

I like good tools but I only buy expensive ones for woodwook, metalwork and electronics because they are the areas on which I spend most of my tinkering time. I can't justify Park Tools because I don't use bike tools day in, day out. I mainly get cheapo no-name bike tools on eBay, as long as they don't look like complete cheese. The only exception was a decent cable cutter (not a bike-specific one).

 

[guitarpete247]

+1 for the best cable cutters.
If you go for el cheapo the accuracy of Hex keys and spoke wrenches may damage components.

 

[Ajax Bay]

First: make a list. Then place them in order of likely frequency of use. Consider which ones have a small interface which therefore need to be higher quality. Then everyone's balance of criteria (and range especially age/vintage of bikes) are different so the OP's Q is one they really have to answer for themselves.
(Bound to have missed some ) For me in rough order:
Allen keys
Cable cutters
Cassette lockring tool (S)
Chain whip
Chain tool
Spoke key(s)
Pedal spanner
Crank extractor tool
Cone spanners
Hollowtech2 spanner (and converter)
BB tool - 20 spline
Valve key
Cassette lockring tool (C)
Freewheel tool
C-spanner
Pin spanner
Torque wrench
Have not included non-bike specific tools.

 

[tribanjules]

Got Aldi toolset for under £30 a few years ago as a go- to set and it’s still fine. Often see posts on the bargain thread on tools like an excellent torque wrench which I find great for bottle cages, handlebars etc.

 

[rogerzilla]

Cyclus.

 

[itboffin]

Park tools are by far the worst, normal branded commercial tools are the way forward although obviously some bike specific tools go for anything but the over priced park rubbish if you want it to last

 

[slowmotion]

These Draper cable cutters are good.....

About £12 on eBay.

 

[Big John]

If you work to a budget, like I have to since retiring last February, then you get the best for what you can afford. Saying that, and this is from personal experience, I find Park tools DO last and if I had the funds then I'd probably kit myself out with their stuff. In our workshop at the bike charity where I work we have surprisingly few Park tools but the ones we do have take one hell of a battering and still work, every time we use them. The pedal spanner, as an example, is beaten senseless almost on a daily basis (and often used in conjunction with a length of heavy duty pipe for extra leverage) and has the scars to prove it. It wins against the pedal every time. I also have a Park cable cutter (bought via the internet many years ago from the US) which still cuts gear/brake cable clean as a whistle as well as snipping bits off spokes when we have to cut them down to size and thread them on our machine. I've bought cheap, as I'm sure we all have at some time, but I think it's often true that buy cheap buy twice.