Tool Time!!

In my earlier posts, I mentioned that there are some bike-specific tools that are highly recommended and in some cases required to assemble a bike yourself without the use of your local bike shop. I have made and purchased a few so far. Here are my thoughts...

Headset Press: Park Tool makes 2 different models costing roughly $75 and $150. This tool is used to press the headset cups into the head tube of the frame. With very little searching online, I found many DIY pages on how to make one yourself using hardware from Lowe's. All in all, it ended up costing me around $20 to make. Not bad. If you really want to cheap out, I have actually had luck using a piece of 2x4 and a mallet. I did this back in college with my old Iron Horse bike. However, I really don't recommend this...especially if your going with a high end frame and a costly headset. If your spending good money on quality parts, only to use the cheapest methods/tools, it really makes little sense. The press I made, worked pretty well, but not perfect. It did get the job done and was easy to buy the parts and make. I recommend the DIY route if your only building one bike and most likely will not do it again....but after doing both of the cheaper methods, I have to admit, it seems like it would be worth just buying the Park Tool press if you plan on doing several bikes over time.

Crown Race Setter: Again, Park Tool makes one of these as well as other companies. It is essentially a pipe with one end closed and it slips over the fork tube. You slip on the crown race, then the pipe and with a hammer, tap and press the crown bearing race down to the crown of the fork. In this case, I went the DIY route as well. In the past, the standard has been 1-1/8" steerers. If your bike has one, you can simply go out and purchase a piece of 1-1/4" pvc pipe. In this case, my Yelli like many new mountainbikes, is using a tapered tube with a 1.5" dia crown. For this, I purchased a 2ft piece of 1.5" schedule 40 pvc. Just like the higher end tools, you slip it over and hit it with a hammer until the crown race is seated. Worked like a charm! For the $2 or so it cost for the pvc, I highly recommend this over buying the specific tool.

Bottom Bracket Tool: Next up is the socket specific to threaded bottom bracket cups. This tool is somewhat unavoidable. For a threaded BB, you simply thread the drive-side and non drive-side cups into the frame by hand until they are snug, then you put the said socket on your rachet (or torque wrench in my case) and torque it down the required specs. Now, I've heard of people using a rag and channel-locks to torque it down, but that really doesn't sit right with me. Again, if your buying higher-end parts, why marr it with the wrong tool. In my case, I'm using a SRAM GXP BB, which similar to Shimano, has 19 splines around the circumference. This socket is precision machined and slips nicely over the cups and snugs them down to spec with my torque wrench. The socket cost me around $20, so not super expensive. Worth it in my eyes. (Part# BBT-19)

**If your bike/frame uses a press-fit bottom bracket, you will not need this socket and instead, use a headset press discussed above.

Star Fangled Nut Setter: This one, I just purchased. A lot of people simply install the star nut with a screw-driver. Your really just driving a one-way nut down into the steer tube. Is this tool necessary....not really, but for $20 it gives me piece of mind as it hammers the nut in exactly 15mm from where you cut the tube. This one is really up to you. If your like me and precision allows you to sleep better at night...just buy it. It's something you'll probably use again if you buy other forks. (Part# TNS-1)

Pipe Cutter: This is needed for cutting down the steerer tube, handlebars, and seat tube if necessary. The other option would be to use a hack-saw and cutting guide. In my experience, it is very difficult to make a nice clean STRAIGHT cut using a hacksaw without a guide. So, you can buy Park Tool's cutting guide...or just buy a pipe cutter. I chose the latter, as I had it laying around from when I cut down the steer tube on my Iron Horse a few years ago.

Chain Whip: This is really only needed for install/removal of your cassette from the free-wheel/hub. Looks like a flat handle with a short length of chain attached. The chain grips the cogs on the cassette to keep it from spinning and allowing you to tighten/loosten the cassette. Handy to have in your tool kit.

Chain link Tools: I'm putting these together, but there are two separate tools here. One is a chain-breaker. This is used to install/remove the rivets/pins in the chain links to break a chain or assemble it again. It is essentially a small press that presses the pin in or out of the links. The second tool is a set of master-link pliers. Most branded chains now use a "quick-link" and have their own marketing name for it, but essentially there is one "master link" in the chain that is the point to disconnect or connect the chain. I purchased Park Tool's version (MLP-1.2) that makes quick work of breaking the chain for removal/cleaning. You can get buy without these and use a pair of needle-nose pliers to squeeze the link, but for the $14 or so I paid for the pliers, it just works better.

Allen Key Set: For most, Allen keys or wrenches are something you most likely already have. I wasn't sure if it was worth mentioning, but if your new to biking, you NEED to get a set. They don't have to be fancy or expensive either. Most local hardware store's should have a set of METRIC allen keys ("L" shaped). You can also get them with handles or a set of Allen sockets to be used with a ratchet. Just about every part of a bike has allen-head bolts. You can pretty much remove, adjust, install 95% of a bike with these and they are a must if you plan on doing any maintenance.

Unless I'm forgetting something...that should really be the minimum required/recommended tools. Feel free to drop me a message if you feel I should add something. Thanks for reading!