Description:Every tool is custom designed to do its intended job and then manufactured to precise tolerances. Sette Torx tools are intended for use by home mechanics but they're good enough for professionals.
Submitted by
Mondoman1
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA USA Date Reviewed: September 9, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$35.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint.com
Strengths:
This kit includes most of the commonly-needed bike-specific tools. The Allen keys (by far the most frequently-used tool) are decent, with ball ends on the long shafts. The other tools also work well, with minor exceptions on the cassette and BB spline tools (see "weaknesses"). So far, in building one mountain bike and upgrading another, I've used all the tools in the kit except the cone wrenches and spoke tool.
Weaknesses:
The tube patch kit and the metal tire irons seem to be "padding" to up the tool count (especially as plastic tire irons are also included), but don't hurt.
Spline tools: both the Shimano cassette/rotor lockring tool and the cartridge BB installation tool have guide pins in the center to help align the tool to the correct axis. Unfortunately, in some cases the guide pin bottoms out before the tool is fully seated, preventing the tool from working. I've had to separately purchase no-guide-pin versions of these two tools because of this, but I use the guide-pin versions where possible.
Similar Products Used:
Standard auto mechanic's tools, misc Park tools
Bike Setup:
'08 Giant Yukon, mostly stock
'07 Columbia iron bike, upgraded
Bottom Line:
For the price, this is a great value for the home or part-time bike mechanic, with a good basic assortment of the most commonly-used bicycling-specific tools. Heavy tool users will likely want to invest in a higher-end line, but these tools work. In addition to the tools in this kit, I find it handy to have a pair of beam-type torque wrenches (low- and high- range), 3/8" and 1/2" drive socket wrenches, short and long metric 3/8" drive hex driver (Allen) sockets, a Torx T-25 driver socket, and misc short extensions and drive-size adapters.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Gary S
a Weekend Warrior
from Carlsbad, CA Date Reviewed: August 11, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Calavera, Flightline
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At:
Price Point
Strengths:
Lots of different tools that are needed for most any bike. Superbly priced!! Fit splines exceptionally well and work properly.
Weaknesses:
The wrenches are fairly thin causing some warpage, and if your bolts/nuts are too tight, they will leave tooling marks on them. The phillips screwdriver is pretty useless as it doesn't engage very well. Some of the tools are awesome, and others are cheap (cresent, screwdrivers, allen keys)
Similar Products Used:
My own personal tool set.
Bike Setup:
Jamis Eureka, Marzocchi DJ2's
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent product for the price. You get all the special tools you need in this kit. But may want to use some of your own wrenches in place of the thin combo ones included in this kit.
I'm a helicopter mechanic, so i have lots of tools in my garage that i can use. So, together with this kit maintenance is a snap.
Overall, this is a great buy for the price. But if you need a full set of the highest quality tools, you'll be spending quite a bit more for a Park set or similar.
$
Overall Rating:
