The right tool for the job

[Cubist]

It can be a bloody, sweary strugglefest if you don't cover the chainset.

Here's a tip.


Turn the crank so it points forward of the chainrings, horizontal, then put the spanner on so it sits above the crank arm with the handle towards the back of the bike, leaving a gap of a couple of inches. You can now take hold of the spanner and the crank arm and squeeze them together with one hand. No danger of skidding off and skinning your knuckles, and as long as you always point the crank forwards the same orientation works for both sides.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Here's a tip.


Turn the crank so it points forward of the chainrings, horizontal, then put the spanner on so it sits above the crank arm with the handle towards the back of the bike, leaving a gap of a couple of inches. You can now take hold of the spanner and the crank arm and squeeze them together with one hand. No danger of skidding off and skinning your knuckles, and as long as you always point the crank forwards the same orientation works for both sides.

Or get Hollowtech

 

[Fiona N]

I definitely agree with the wire cutters - I smile everytime I see someone with the spare cable wound into a little curl at the derailleur.

Pedal spanners (I have a beauty - 12 inches of Shimano steel) are great but sadly Crank Bros eschew such things in favour of Allen key holes in the axles. It's not and but only Allen key. Which is a blow as it's more awkward working from the back of the pedal not to mention I've never come across a 12 inch 6mm or even 8mm Allen key mind you I can bend the 6mm one on a tight pedal - it's about 5 inches - so I'd be able to snap a 12 inch long one As it is, I use an old ice screw to elongate the 8mm key to get sufficient leverage but with the 6mm one, it has to be clamped in a bench vice with just the end poking up and you have to remove the crank/chainset and bring the mountain to Moses as it were. I do sometimes wish Crank Bros weren't quite so purist and put some flats on the pedal axles like any other company

 

[brockers]

.... but sadly Crank Bros eschew such things in favour of Allen key holes in the axles. It's not and but only Allen key. Which is a blow as it's more awkward working from the back of the pedal not to mention I've never come across a 12 inch 6mm or even 8mm Allen key

I had similar woes with a set of Time Impact titanium/magnesiums (or titimags as I liked to call them). No flats for spanners, only an Allen key hole on the inside of the cranks. To remove the pedals, I had to take the cranks to my local car mechanic workshop where they'd attack the problem with proper hard-core Snap-On Allen keys held in a vice, while they jiggled the crank.

I find a pro-level truing stand is a godsend.

 

[Red Light]

A Campag corkscrew. No use for fixing the bike but a thing of beauty and a real pleasure to use and enjoy the results.

 

[battered]

I prefer a chisel for cable cutting. Use the side of a big hammer as an anvil, and a small one to hit the chisel, you get a clean cut immediately. My wire cuters are worn and chew the cables.

 

[Amanda P]

My Helper Instruments Matchbox is pretty much the only tool for one job. They're like hens' teeth, though.

Oh sorry, did it have to be a cycling tool?

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

I prefer a chisel for cable cutting. Use the side of a big hammer as an anvil, and a small one to hit the chisel, you get a clean cut immediately. My wire cuters are worn and chew the cables.

I must say I am curious how do you position said big hammer close to the brakes or mechs for the snip, and how often do you have to sharpen the said chisel...

 

[srw]

Slightly off-topic, but why do people find pedals a struggle? A little dab of grease as you put them on, a bog-standard spanner or allen key to tighten - I've never had a problem whipping them off when I need to, and I've never had a problem with them coming loose.

 

[battered]

I must say I am curious how do you position said big hammer close to the brakes or mechs for the snip, and how often do you have to sharpen the said chisel...

You can stand the hammer on a wooden block, edge of a bench, put the bike on its side, any of the above. At a push I have even been known to balance the big hammer on my thigh, press down on the chisel and give it a single sharp blow. It's only a little uncomfortable. As for the chisel, you use the *side* surface of the hammer as an anvil and this is softer than a chisel edge, so the chisel stays sharp. The hammer collects score marks on its side, I'm relaxed about that as I'm only really interested in the striking surface.

It's a trick I learned from my Dad, he's a retired craft teacher and learned it himself as an apprentice in the coal mines. A favourite anvil in his case is the jaws of a closed vice, these are hardened so it's tougher on the chisel but a cable between a hardened vice jaw and a hammer-driven chisel is never going to resist for long, even the meaty stuff he used to deal with.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

You can stand the hammer on a wooden block, edge of a bench, put the bike on its side, any of the above. At a push I have even been known to balance the big hammer on my thigh, press down on the chisel and give it a single sharp blow. It's only a little uncomfortable. As for the chisel, you use the *side* surface of the hammer as an anvil and this is softer than a chisel edge, so the chisel stays sharp. The hammer collects score marks on its side, I'm relaxed about that as I'm only really interested in the striking surface.

It's a trick I learned from my Dad, he's a retired craft teacher and learned it himself as an apprentice in the coal mines. A favourite anvil in his case is the jaws of a closed vice, these are hardened so it's tougher on the chisel but a cable between a hardened vice jaw and a hammer-driven chisel is never going to resist for long, even the meaty stuff he used to deal with.

I like that idea. A lot cheaper than cable cutters as well!

 

[jay clock]

I recently bought a pair of Park cable cutters. EXCELLENT. Also a high quality Halfords 1/4in drive socket set. Really useful and high quality. And a mole wrench from a Belgian DIY store when I was about 16 (god knows why!)

 

[gbb]

You can stand the hammer on a wooden block, edge of a bench, put the bike on its side, any of the above. At a push I have even been known to balance the big hammer on my thigh, press down on the chisel and give it a single sharp blow. It's only a little uncomfortable. As for the chisel, you use the *side* surface of the hammer as an anvil and this is softer than a chisel edge, so the chisel stays sharp. The hammer collects score marks on its side, I'm relaxed about that as I'm only really interested in the striking surface.

It's a trick I learned from my Dad, he's a retired craft teacher and learned it himself as an apprentice in the coal mines. A favourite anvil in his case is the jaws of a closed vice, these are hardened so it's tougher on the chisel but a cable between a hardened vice jaw and a hammer-driven chisel is never going to resist for long, even the meaty stuff he used to deal with.

I dont know why, but this tale reminds me of how i used to break chains as a kid.
Lay the bike on its side, place a small nut under the pin in the chain you're going to drive out (this was lonnnng before quick links) and use a hammer and a good nail to drive out the pin.
Eeee, when we wur kids, we didnt even have pin punches, yoo had to mek do

 

[Cubist]

You can stand the hammer on a wooden block, edge of a bench, put the bike on its side, any of the above. At a push I have even been known to balance the big hammer on my thigh, press down on the chisel and give it a single sharp blow. It's only a little uncomfortable. As for the chisel, you use the *side* surface of the hammer as an anvil and this is softer than a chisel edge, so the chisel stays sharp. The hammer collects score marks on its side, I'm relaxed about that as I'm only really interested in the striking surface.

It's a trick I learned from my Dad, he's a retired craft teacher and learned it himself as an apprentice in the coal mines. A favourite anvil in his case is the jaws of a closed vice, these are hardened so it's tougher on the chisel but a cable between a hardened vice jaw and a hammer-driven chisel is never going to resist for long, even the meaty stuff he used to deal with.

Great tip!





Can anyone point to where I can buy a workbench, a hammer and chisel plus a decent vice for less than the price of a cable-cutter please?

 

[battered]

My workbench is homemade from offcuts and some poor-man's-Dexion steel shelving. Cost about a tenner. Hammer £5, chisel £1, my vice (a dirty great prewar thing that weighs more than I do) was rescued from the scrap heap at work for nowt. £16 all up. How much is a Park Tools cable cutter?

The sad thing is that I have nowhere to put my workbench and vice and it lives in a mate's garage. The only happy news is that he does use it, last time I was there it was covered in bits of junk and there was a sawn-off bit of wood in the vice.