Show Us a Tool

[RandallS]

Here's a tool, a Kool Stop Bead Jack. It unfortunately doesn't work for my purposes. I think it would work on thinner tires, but I couldn't make it work with 2.6" MTB tires.
Minor investment from Amazon that I gave away to a "roadie" buddy who rides bikes with slimmer tires.

Others have posted on the product page that it worked for them on 2.8" tires - I struggle to believe that and I gave up on it.

Off topic - a bit.
The title sure caught my eye for a specific reason.

Not sure about the local colloquialisms, but where I grew up, a "tool" was also a person who you regarded as lacking in intelligence or common sense.
As in "what an absolute tool".
I think it was a bit more fun than just calling them a "fool".

I have, of course, many pictures of those "tools" I could post here, but that would of course hijack the thread, and probably break forum protocols in regards to politics and other such unsavoury topics.

 

[PedalUma]

Here is a multimeter for @tomjasz with two basic tools. A rubber mat and a rock.
For good routine practices and peace of mind, I normally charge with a battery on a thick rubber mat with a charger on a rock or brick to serve as a non-flammable heatsink.

 

[elliot friedman]

A few

 

[chunk]

I had a flat tire almost immediately after getting my new e bike. I t didn't take me long to figure a I needed a way of working on the bike, sometimes with it upside down. I made a couple of "V" blocks to fit under the grips to keep the display and controls safe. A cheapo bike stand I guess.

 

[Dallant]

I had a flat tire almost immediately after getting my new e bike. I t didn't take me long to figure a I needed a way of working on the bike, sometimes with it upside down. I made a couple of "V" blocks to fit under the grips to keep the display and controls safe. A cheapo bike stand I guess.
View attachment 89195

Yet another advantage of adding bar ends to your handlebars. They are there to help you when you're out in the field and you need to invert your bike.

 

[PedalUma]

I had a flat tire almost immediately after getting my new e bike. I t didn't take me long to figure a I needed a way of working on the bike, sometimes with it upside down. I made a couple of "V" blocks to fit under the grips to keep the display and controls safe. A cheapo bike stand I guess.
View attachment 89195

Good innovation and skillfully done. I will run across a 106 pound Grizzly fat bike with flats and they are too heavy for a bike stand. You created the answer.
Here is a tool I use to true disc brakes. It is important to true at the 'spokes' of a disc. This bike was not electric and had can't alive her brakes. Cantilever! Now it is electric and has huge 203's in the rear. It took a while but now the discs are true.

 

[RandallS]

I had a flat tire almost immediately after getting my new e bike. I t didn't take me long to figure a I needed a way of working on the bike, sometimes with it upside down. I made a couple of "V" blocks to fit under the grips to keep the display and controls safe. A cheapo bike stand I guess.
View attachment 89195

You know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - therefore consider yourself flattered!
Out to the garage/workshop to see what materials are in stock...

 

[m@Robertson]

Hah I just posted this somewhere else to help someone installing a 1-pc crown race (works for a Cane Creek 40 / 110, or a Ritchey etc. ... not the cheapies that have a split in the middle).

This is a crown race installation tool for a tapered steering tube. There's no crown race on the steerer. Its just the tool set on a fork I had sitting next to me at my desk.

If you read the label, its just a short length of Schedule 40 1.5" ID PVC pipe. Easily obtainable at your local hardware store. My local Ace Hardware sells the stuff in 2' lengths so there's not even any need to buy a long one and cut it.

To install a crown race with it,
1. Paint the bottom portion of the steerer with your favorite grease, and do the same with the interior of the race.
2. Drop the race down onto the steerer as far as it will go on its own.
3. Set the pipe over the steerer as shown, up against the race.
4. Holding the fork in one hand and the tube in the other, give the tube a couple of good bashes onto the race. When you look down to check your work after maybe the second bash, you'll find you are done.

1-1/4" Sch 40 works perfectly for a straight 1 1/8" steerer.

For the first one of these I used a few years back, I took the time to bevel the inside to better mate to a crown race. Don't bother. Just make sure you are using a straight machine-cut edge that is a proper perpendicular cut. If you have to buy a long length of tube, hardware stores will usually give you two free cuts on a band saw and you use that to get your usable length for this job.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Every ride carry:

The Lezyne Micro Floor Drive pump moves a lot of air, but it has a tendency to unscrew Presta valve cores if you aren't paying attention.

The Blackburn Wayside Multi-tool has pretty much everything you'd need and a few things you probably won't. It does have a tendency to rust if it gets wet so it is carried in a ziplock bag in the frame bag.

The Park Tool VP-1 Patch Kit is nice and compact, but I replace the patches with the superior patches from a Rema Tip-Top Patch Kit.

The Knipex Mini Pliers are perfect.

 

[PedalUma]

Every ride carry:

View attachment 89306

The Lezyne Micro Floor Drive pump moves a lot of air, but it has a tendency to unscrew Presta valve cores if you aren't paying attention.

The Blackburn Wayside Multi-tool has pretty much everything you'd need and a few things you probably won't. It does have a tendency to rust if it gets wet so it is carried in a ziplock bag in the frame bag.

The Park Tool VP-1 Patch Kit is nice and compact, but I replace the patches with the superior patches from a Rema Tip-Top Patch Kit.

The Knipex Mini Pliers are perfect.

Nice.
This is a favorite. It is just a $12 yard sprayer that has water in it. I rinse bikes with it after spraying them with soapy water. Works great on drivetrains too. Because it is low pressure it does not damage bearings or connections.

 

[fooferdoggie]

had a guy who was a great welder give me his tool he made. feels good in your hand =and its great to remove cassettes and center lock brake rings.

 

[m@Robertson]

... It is just a $12 yard sprayer that has water in it. I rinse bikes with it after spraying them with soapy water. Works great on drivetrains too. Because it is low pressure it does not damage bearings or connections.

Another ebike essential. I totally depend on these for washing ebikes. Just hosed off a bike yesterday. I don't use soap, though. Just the water as down here in the Central Valley of California I'm riding on dusty trails. No mud and nothing stuck on. But even if there is mud, a nozzle choice will give you enough pressure to kick the mud off and never so much it affects your electric bits.

 

[Dallant]

Nice.
This is a favorite. It is just a $12 yard sprayer that has water in it. I rinse bikes with it after spraying them with soapy water. Works great on drivetrains too. Because it is low pressure it does not damage bearings or connections.

Do you use a soft brush also?

 

[Gionnirocket]

Do you use a soft brush also?

I use some simple green and a toothbrush to get in nooks and crannies... But the modern garden hose is adjustable and a low pressure rinse is easily achieved.

 

[Prairie Dog]

The drive train cleaning tools that I use for both light and intense cleaning.

 

[Gionnirocket]

The drive train cleaning tools that I use for both light and intense cleaning.
View attachment 89670

I don't keep my hands that clean

 

[Taylor57]

Park Tool Chain Gang Chain Cleaning System - CG-2.4 - Bike

Buy the Park Tool Chain Gang Chain Cleaning System - CG-2.4 online or shop all Bike from Backcountry.com.

www.backcountry.com

 

[Prairie Dog]

Park Tool Chain Gang Chain Cleaning System - CG-2.4 - Bike

Buy the Park Tool Chain Gang Chain Cleaning System - CG-2.4 online or shop all Bike from Backcountry.com.

www.backcountry.com

The chain scrubber with its rotating brushes is a handy device and teamed up with a chain keeper is a quick and easy method to brighten a chain and conveniently unclog the pulley/tensioner between rides. The Park Dummy Hub, for instance, can be fastened directly to a bike drop-out or can also be slipped onto a thru axle up to 12mm.

 

[PedalUma]

I use a heat gun to seal connections and to cover wires. A build I am working on will have white cable housings so the wires will match after being covered with white shrink tubes. They come in a bunch of sizes and colors. Go for adhesive ones for connections.

Last night I was working on a bike with a freehub that really needed to be replaced. But that is a pain. So from reading on EBR about Canadian bikes in the Winter with big temperature swing related problems I came up with the easy answer. I heated the freehub with an oil pool on the top. Air bubbles were forced up through the seal and when it cooled the oil was sucked inside, fixing the problem.

 

[Prairie Dog]

A couple of additions to the cabinet.

Shimano TL LR10 – Cassette lock ring tool with adapter to fit the 3/8” drive Park Tool torque wrench

Park Tool BBT 69.2 – Lock ring tool for external notched center lock rings with 3/8” wrench compatible drive