A Pro Bike Mechanics 18 Favourite Tools (You Need)

Pro bike mechanic Scott Jones shows us what essential tools cyclists need from beginner to advanced.

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[indiebikes]

As a fellow fully trained bike mechanic myself, it’s great to see pro mechanic tool choices. Park seem to be the favourite for a lot of people, and I’ve got some great ones, but I’ve found Unior tools to be excellent especially their Pro wheel truing stand as the guides also give great rim dish alignment as well as where to spoke tension. Always looking to see what’s missing from my collection. Pro level tools can last decades. I’ve got a Campag 15mm pedal spanner from 1988 still going strong!

[hansschotterradler]

If you check your chain with a chain checker too often, you're gonna wear out your chain checker; so you really need a chain checker checker to make sure your chain checker is still checking chains correctly.

[markianross]

Using the derailleur alignment tool, I don't think it matters if your wheels isn't completely true if you use the same reference point on on the wheel (e.g. the valve) and rotate the wheel with the alignment tool. That's what Park Tool recommend in their instruction video anyway.

[nickk]

Causes me physical pain when a professional bike mechanic recommends a Phillips-head screwdriver for derailleur limit screws. Most bikes use Shimano. Get a good JIS screwdriver. And PLEASE tell people to invest in quality hex keys. There's nothing worse than crap/incorrect tools.

[PatsPurposefulPutzing]

Perhaps I am not sufficiently sophisticated (I work on walmart-grade bikes) but a set of cone wrenches comes in handy should an axle have too much play (or a bent one needs to be replaced) or if bearing regrease is needed.

[HabaneroTi]

There's not a lot but still some crossover with certain automotive tools that can save you some money or give you more options, like with torque wrenches, allen sockets on ratchets (better leverage) and various kinds of drivers with the right bits. My 1/4" Tekton torque wrench cost way less than the Park Tool one.

And, I'll admit to the cardinal sin of using a power tool on a bike, specifically to remove a really tight crank arm using a standard crank arm removal tool and impact wrench on its lowest setting and blipped briefly to prevent stripping the threads (after applying penetrating oil). That think one on for years and no amount of manual effort was getting it off so I had no choice. Came up instantly and no damage.

I noticed the wheel truing tool at the far end of the bench that, while a bit more advanced, might have been worth a quick discussion. I've had a very basic one for over 20 years but have never needed to use it as my Mavic Cosmos wheels were built like tanks and have never gone out of true.

[Scott-so]

It was great to see a bike mechanic where not every tool was a Park Tool.

The rear derailleur alignment tool was a CRC brand. Also noticed the CRC truing stand in the background. I have the same equipment at home.

Yes I have Park Tools and love them. The Park Tool truing stand and hanger alignment tool are not cheap and made for the professional bike mechanic.

The secret to smooth gear changing is a straight rear wheel and the rear Derailleur hanger must be aligned to the rear wheel.

[dizzydeckdog]

Scott is a good lad. Him and Ben did a lot of work for me in the Williams cycles days in Cheltenham. Funny to see him on YouTube videos

[strikeIII]

You'll need a torx set now too manufacturers are starting sneaking in torx screws in there too.

[garyrowe]

As a kid, I got a second hand bike and rode it for years, as it was how all my mates got around too, every day. I toured Scotland on it, 50m a day in mostly rainy weather!
But, check chain wear, and replace chain?? Everyone's bike, when it eventually fell apart/gave up the ghost, went to the dump still with its original chain!

[StanEby]

Well done! I picked up a few useful bits of knowledge I did not know. All the best.😊

[bmxscape]

aligning the bent pad spreader was funny

[JoeMoutard]

When I bought a new bike last year, I was surprised at how many fasteners had gone from Allen to Torx.

[ridefast]

Good tools - I would add a crank puller and a bottom bracket bearing tool to suit your own particular setup. And don't use the ball-end hex tools on tight fasteners!

[hatbpto]

After working on my bikes for decades, getting a bicycle cable cutter changed my life.

[lennartulenberg]

Lowest torque I've seen is 0.8 Nm on Specialized TCU Display Unit and the highest at 80 Nm on the Enviolo Brake Adapter

[Arkonzm]

I know that most people who tryvto fix their bike can "feel" what torque they apply. But you sometimes need to retighten your screws and doing that with the wrong torque can get expensive real fast. I know people who would never change their chain but have gladly invested in a torque wrench (not an expensive one, only to get the torque +/-1 nm correct).

[wrcompositi]

That kind of chain checker which pushes rollers in opposite directions such as the Park CC-2 shown here 1:50, can't differentiate between pin wear (which is what actually matters and affects chainrings and cassettes) and roller wear (which usually has detrimental effect only on 11T sprocket). If the chain rollers are soft and wear prematurely, Park CC-2 will show an exaggerated wear reading. Chain checker such as Park CC-4/Pedros/SRAM are much more accurate and save the cost of replacing chains too early.

[JockyT]

All good advice. Ive been doing my own maintenance for many years and gradually built up a decent tool kit. My advice is to really invest in good quality tools - they will pay you back many times over. You can do damage with cheap, poor quality tools. Finally, the chain wear tool shown is the best type (as is the Park CC-4).

[josephhaddakin]

I finally got the nice park chain breaker after 50 years of cycling to replace all my cheap breakers. I don't even use it now that all new chains come with quick links. So my quick link tool gets all the work nowadays. I'm surprised you didn't have cone wrenches in the list.