Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

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reohn2
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by reohn2 »

This is the OP:-
Spinners wrote:What is the exact type of screwdriver required for adjusting Shimano front and rear mechs?

Like most households, we have a good selection of cross head screwdrivers but I can't seem to find one that's a perfect 'Goldilocks' fit :lol:


The poster is looking for an exact fit screwdriver,personally I could understand a bit of humour but only after some good advice was offered first.
I too have been accused by Landsurfer of having no humour,as have a couple of other forum members.
Landsurfer perhaps your humour isn't coming across as such,that could be the fault of others not 'getting it' or perhaps it not coming across as humour in print but more as a dismissive couldn't give a ......

PS,I didn't know there was JIS standard screw head and have always used a pozi #1 Philips #2 size which seem to fit very well IME and I've never rounded one off or spoiled what I now know to be JIS head.
That said, I feel I owe the OP an apology for offering him/her the wrong advice.
We live and learn.
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Brucey
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by Brucey »

a long time ago I did knacker a gear adjustment screw by using the wrong tool, but that screw was partly seized. If they move easily you can indeed use quite a wide variety of things to adjust them.

The easy solution is to get a flat blade screwdriver of the correct size. It isn't difficult to grind one to fit exactly if you want to, and the torque capacity is almost certainly a lot more than a crosspoint driver in the same screw.

However it isn't entirely pointless to seek out a JIS #2 screwdriver; for one thing the JIS screwdriver won't slide out of the screw during adjustments so easily and for another the screwdriver will have other uses. For example the screws that hold most SPD pedals together are also JIS #2 point, and these are almost invariably real stinkers to undo; you will get a real benefit by having the correct tool here.

cheers
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cycleruk
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by cycleruk »

I like the idea of swapping the screws for socket heads. So what size would I need and are there any drawbacks.?
You'll never know if you don't try it.
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Gattonero
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by Gattonero »

cycleruk wrote:I like the idea of swapping the screws for socket heads. So what size would I need and are there any drawbacks.?


You can swap the screws, IIRC the Shimano RD does use M4x12 but you better use 15mm to leave more room for the head.
The drawback is that you will have a 3 or 2.5mm allen key head, both are not the best when dealing with a rusty or stuck screw. Though you can chase the thread and use some very light threadlock, I'd use a Torx head which is far more robust and won't round off, but you have to carry another tool which is likely to be a T20 and that is not used in common multitools
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Airsporter1st
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by Airsporter1st »

Gattonero wrote:
cycleruk wrote:I like the idea of swapping the screws for socket heads. So what size would I need and are there any drawbacks.?


You can swap the screws, IIRC the Shimano RD does use M4x12 but you better use 15mm to leave more room for the head.
The drawback is that you will have a 3 or 2.5mm allen key head, both are not the best when dealing with a rusty or stuck screw. Though you can chase the thread and use some very light threadlock, I'd use a Torx head which is far more robust and won't round off, but you have to carry another tool which is likely to be a T20 and that is not used in common multitools


No problem - all you need is a pair of Molegrips or even a small set of Stilsons, then it doesn't matter what head the screw has :lol:
landsurfer
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by landsurfer »

Airsporter1st wrote:
No problem - all you need is a pair of Molegrips, then it doesn't matter what head the screw has :lol:


:lol: Be careful, this is how i started off ..... and got told off for it ..... :)
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keyboardmonkey
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by keyboardmonkey »

When my Vessel screwdriver finally arrived from Japan it didn't seem so different - apart from the 'JAWSFIT' tip - from my Stanley Phillips No. 2.

However, when I dropped the tip of the Stanley screwdriver in to a limit screw on an unused Shimano 105 front derailleur it pirouetted uselessly about on the head as I tried to turn it without applying any downward force.

I then put the Vessel in to the head of the screw with the only downward force being the weight of the screwdriver. When I turned the driver the limit screw moved effortlessly with no extra downward pressure. Remarkable.

Vessel 900 Megadora +2 JIS Screwdriver 100.jpg
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Gattonero
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by Gattonero »

Most of the people won't realize until they've tried it. You can almost feel the air sucked out between the screw head and the screwdriver :mrgreen:

But seriously, in normal conditions a PH#2 is ok, the JIS#2 goes when you feel the screw is seized or needs some torque, in this case the JIS is so much better and makes life a lot easier.
It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best,
since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.
Thus you remember them as they actually are...
Airsporter1st
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by Airsporter1st »

Gattonero wrote:Most of the people won't realize until they've tried it. You can almost feel the air sucked out between the screw head and the screwdriver :mrgreen:

But seriously, in normal conditions a PH#2 is ok, the JIS#2 goes when you feel the screw is seized or needs some torque, in this case the JIS is so much better and makes life a lot easier.


As is so often the case when the right tool for the job is used! Its not a matter of being precious or pedantic - just a simple fact of life.
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Mick F
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by Mick F »

What is the specific difference between the PH2 and the JIS2?
Could a PH2 be modified successfully?
Mick F. Cornwall
bertgrower
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by bertgrower »

To follow on would the JIS screwdrive be a more suitable tool to use for the adjustment of v brakes?
alexnharvey
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by alexnharvey »

I wondered too Mick. A good description here https://www.tony10speed.com/best-bicycl ... ivers.html

I have the same problem with v brake screws and Phillips head drivers, I think they must be jis2 too.
Airsporter1st
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by Airsporter1st »

Mick F wrote:What is the specific difference between the PH2 and the JIS2?
Could a PH2 be modified successfully?


From what I have read, the difference is that the JIS has a flat tip and parallel wings. The angle is supposedly the same:- 57 degrees.

With careful use of a Dremel or similar, it might be possible to modify a (bigger?) Philips bit to fit JIS. However, JIS bits are not that difficult to come by these days, especially since eBay introduced their international shipping scheme, making it a lot easier to buy from the 'States.
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Gattonero
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by Gattonero »

Mick F wrote:What is the specific difference between the PH2 and the JIS2?
Could a PH2 be modified successfully?


Picture worth a thousand words :D
Though I won't modify a good PH screwdriver, you can buy a good one for £7, sound reasonable to me as a screwdriver is not a dedicated tool and it's used all the time anywere
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hozan-D-332-10 ... =hozan+jis

Image
It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best,
since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.
Thus you remember them as they actually are...
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Mick F
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Re: Gear adjustment screws - What screwdriver?

Post by Mick F »

Thanks guys, but my question hasn't been answered.

Most of us travel with a multitool. They have a PH2 on them an not a JIS2.
Could a PH2 be successfully modified to fit a JIS2 adjustment screw?

Maybe it's not worth the effort, and it's easier - and better - to replace the JIS2 screws with Allen or PH2?
Mick F. Cornwall
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