New bike tool company - what tools do you want?

Questions about bike hire abroad and everything light bike related. No off-topic chat please

Moderators: robbosmans, Moderator Team

Rodrego Hernandez
Posts: 1227
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:11 pm
Location: Out there

by Rodrego Hernandez

It might be worth looking at the Bike Radar forums and seeing what 'newbie' cyclists need? Look at catering for the bottom of the pyramid as well as the top. Look at the basic mechanic features in bike mags and see which tools are most used.

I'd suggest a decent chain tool, 10 & 11 speed and cassette remover. Apart from allan keys and torx wrenches, these are probably the most needed by people who ride regularly. Bear in mind a chain lasts 6 months before being properly worn in most cases. The majority of newbies that I encounter just ride until failure then pay a shop to replace. Making this job easier by supplying decent tools at a good price would be ideal.

Look at engaging someone with an established supply chain into the cycling trade. You could co-brand the parts so that people see a recognisable name. Wiggle might be worth a try? Cover lots of Europe, good distribution and well known name.

Or look at a PR company like Shift Active Media who already look after lots of the cycling industry and do PR for amongst others Colnago, 3T, Giro d'Italia, Mekk, Fizik.

Good luck

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
giant man
Posts: 967
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 3:39 pm
Location: Essex / Lincs UK
Contact:

by giant man

There's already good 10 and 11 speed tools out there, and as far as a good cassette remover goes, the excellent Pedros Vise Whip is all you need.

Rodrego Hernandez
Posts: 1227
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:11 pm
Location: Out there

by Rodrego Hernandez

There are good tools out there for every job already, I thought the OP wanted to produce quality tools at a lower retail price?

mrfish
Posts: 1749
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:49 pm
Location: Near Horgen, Switzerland

by mrfish

Think about marketing / pricing interaction - the easiest way to signal better quality is to charge a higher price. It seems to work for most bike brands.

If we are talking about affordable luxury, I would like:
- A nicer version of a Rohloff revolver with chain checker in a proper wooden case for £30.
- Combination press set covering bbs, hubs, headsets including inserts at 1mm intervals to fit all bearing sizes, again in a nice wooden box
- Cruet set of thread locks / press fit / slip fit compounds plus primer and remover
- Properly rigid workstand with stainless parts and integral seatpost inner clamp
- Spoke tension gauge with tension chart, spoke diameter gauge, wheelbuilding wallchart
- Wheeljig with run out indicators, either dial or digital. A neat trick would be to add some sort of rotational sensor to the wheel, then show runout as a chart on a screen. Then the jig could pretty much tell you exactly where to tighten / loosen Not sure where the previous comment about rigidity came from - my tackx cheapo one works just fine and is not rigid at all.
- Quiet, cheap electric compressor which runs up to 150psi. One I've seen are very noisy.
- Foolproof track pump chuck. Something like that Japanese one which goes for £50.
- A track pump with a huge cast iron base wrapped in rubber shaped so it could never fall over (like those egg shaped kids toys with a weight in the bottom which right themselves when you push them over).

KWalker
Posts: 5722
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:30 pm
Location: Bay Area

by KWalker

A derailleur alignment gauge that doesn't cost a ridiculous amount of money. Park's price is so cost prohibitive for such an easy to make and simple tool.
Don't take me too seriously. The only person that doesn't hate Froome.
Gramz
Failed Custom Bike

User avatar
stella-azzurra
Posts: 5066
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:35 am
Location: New York

by stella-azzurra

mrfish wrote:
- A nicer version of a Rohloff revolver with chain checker in a proper wooden case for £30.
- Combination press set covering bbs, hubs, headsets including inserts at 1mm intervals to fit all bearing sizes, again in a nice wooden box

Make your own wooden case? :D

- Properly rigid workstand with stainless parts and integral seatpost inner clamp

I think you are looking the wrong work stand. Look at the bike shop work stands. Huge heavy steel base the one you can stand on.

- Spoke tension gauge with tension chart, spoke diameter gauge, wheelbuilding wallchart

Park Tool tension meter has the tension chart and spoke diameter gauge of which you will use to look up the spoke diamer for the right tension.

- Wheeljig with run out indicators, either dial or digital. A neat trick would be to add some sort of rotational sensor to the wheel, then show runout as a chart on a screen. Then the jig could pretty much tell you exactly where to tighten / loosen Not sure where the previous comment about rigidity came from - my tackx cheapo one works just fine and is not rigid at all.

Err you don't need one if you know how to build wheels in the first place.?

- Quiet, cheap electric compressor which runs up to 150psi. One I've seen are very noisy.


Good luck with that one. Buy one that runs with oil rather than no oil. Put it in an out of the way room and get a long air line.

- Foolproof track pump chuck. Something like that Japanese one which goes for £50.
- A track pump with a huge cast iron base wrapped in rubber shaped so it could never fall over (like those egg shaped kids toys with a weight in the bottom which right themselves when you push them over).

Strap a 50 lb. weight to it. That will go no where. But who want to lug that to the track.

I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

User avatar
Rick
Posts: 2034
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 4:30 pm

by Rick

KWalker wrote:A derailleur alignment gauge that doesn't cost a ridiculous amount of money. Park's price is so cost prohibitive for such an easy to make and simple tool.

The Park tool is also an alignment adjuster, so it has to be sturdy enough to bend the d-hanger while threaded into the d-mounting hole.
I just bought one a few months back. I am all for cheaper, but $60 didn't seem all that bad.

KWalker
Posts: 5722
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:30 pm
Location: Bay Area

by KWalker

You can make one for under $20 if you have the right tools. Its quite the rip. Same with a bb30 press.
Don't take me too seriously. The only person that doesn't hate Froome.
Gramz
Failed Custom Bike

Pharmstrong
Posts: 328
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:17 pm

by Pharmstrong

I second a cheaper hanger alignment tool. The Park one sells for ~$85 in the UK which is just too much for a tool used so sparingly.

eric
Posts: 2196
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 9:47 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, California, USA
Contact:

by eric

A good lightweight multi-tool. I have a couple of these 46g Ritchey CPR-9s:

Image
(text at
http://www.bikepro.com/products/chains/chaintools.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

They're no longer in production and I didn't stock up when Performance was selling them for $5. Nothing else is as light and has all the allens and a chain tool. Most tools weigh 2-4x as much. A modern version, with a 10sp chain tool and slot that forms a spoke wrench, would be really nice. I have yet to need the chain tool myself but it's saved other rider's rides. The only problem I've had with it is that the spoke 'wrench' slot is a bit loose on my Sapim nipples and has rounded out some with use.

thisisatest
Shop Owner
Posts: 1980
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 4:02 am
Location: NoVA/DC

by thisisatest

Hanger alignment gauge- for an alignment gauge, $80 or whatever is not a lot, if it did its job well. Park's doesn't. The threaded part bends, when you unscrew it you can see it oscillate. You want quality? It'll be expensive. Look at Efficient Velo Tools. Expensive, but most of his tools are perfect or nearly so. Also, he doesn't make anything just for the sake of making a me-too product.
I'd like to see certain things:
Bb bearing alignment gauges. FSA makes them, almost never available.
A high quality, adjustable torque key shaped like the cheap plastic CDI ones. PBswiss makes the closest thing, it's $280 with bits.
A fork/stem alignment gauge.
A dishing tool similar to Var, but readily available.
A 4th hand tool like the hozan, but with a clamp part shaped so it doesn't try to jam the cable into the tool.
A 14/15mm ratchet like the hozan one that is reasonably priced.
Parallel jaw pliers like Knipex, adapted to keep spokes from twisting.
A set of torx "ballstar" (see bondhus) wrenches with pistol grip handles.
I'm sure there's more, but that's all I got for now.
Greg

crohnsy
Posts: 399
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 6:43 pm
Location: Canada

by crohnsy

KWalker wrote:A derailleur alignment gauge that doesn't cost a ridiculous amount of money. Park's price is so cost prohibitive for such an easy to make and simple tool.



I look forward to purchasing inexpensive tools from the KWalker tool company...

istigatrice
Posts: 849
Joined: Sat May 12, 2012 8:32 am
Location: Australia

by istigatrice

A Campagnolo chain tool for under $100 (the one that you need to bend the link in place)
I write the weightweenies blog, hope you like it :)

Disclosure: I'm sponsored by Velocite, but I do give my honest opinion about them (I'm endorsed to race their bikes, not say nice things about them)

thisisatest
Shop Owner
Posts: 1980
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 4:02 am
Location: NoVA/DC

by thisisatest

Similar to the hozan 14/15mm ratchet, it would be nice to have a double-sided ratchet with an 8mm hex on one side and a 10mm hex on the other, for current cranks.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
prendrefeu
Posts: 8580
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:32 pm
Location: Glendale / Los Angeles, California
Contact:

by prendrefeu

eric wrote:A good lightweight multi-tool. I have a couple of these 46g Ritchey CPR-9s.


I second this. A rendition of the CPR-9s, perhaps improved in some way, would be great.
Exp001 || Other projects in the works.

Post Reply