re SA ball ring spanner;
Mick F wrote:Better in many ways.
1. It works easily
2. It fits perfectly
3. It works quickly and reliably and instantly
4. It's far quicker and simpler than the hammer and punch idea
5. Hitting something with a punch and hammer, when there's the correct tool for the job available is poor working practice.
.
1. It doesn't
2. Er, no it doesn't; the majority of SA hubs are out there are different and that spanner won't even fit.
3. It slips too easily
4. No, it isn't; see comment below
5. It is exactly what folk have been doing for over 100 years
bertgrower wrote: ...I was told by a very experance cycle mechanic that this spanner was only suitable to tighten up the ball ring and that if you try to undo with it , it will damage the spanner.
It seems like good advice to me.
Using a hammer and punch one can loosen an internal in seconds without even removing the wheel from the frame or the sprocket from the hub. One can also remove an internal from a loose hub in most cases. One can also remove a very tight internal from a hub that has seen high torque/corrosion over many years. None of these things are possible with a spanner.
I've loosened as many as forty internals in an afternoon, and then cut the hubs out of wheels, to have spares, rather than see them go for scrap. I've only ever encountered one internal (ever) that wouldn't shift after a few goes. I guess a spanner might work OK on an internal (of the right type) that hasn't seen that much use on a small-wheeled bike, but it certainly wouldn't work (easily or at all) on many of the others.
I will explain this again, but the reason why a hammer and punch will work when a spanner won't is that there is a small radial clearance in the screw thread. Two smart taps on one side, then two smart taps on the other side (then repeat as necessary) removes even incredibly tight internals (that have been in for decades) reliably without damage.
cheers