Cycling UK Forum

Cyclus Bottom Bracket Press.



The thread is such that the lollipop handle flops around, meaning the bearing drift sat against it can easily flop out of alignment since the drifts are not a snug fit on the threaded section.

One to avoid ...

The Bickerton Bike pedal 'spanner' was attached to the pedal and you could slide it down to engage with the flats, enabling it's removal for folding the bike, unfortunately this could also happen as you were riding along. It did. I think it was held in place by the friction of a pop rivet and washer or a self tapping screw.

I'd forgotten how it didn't work, a picture of one in situ, in this post by a strangely familiar name on yacf.
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topi ... msg2559974
This and one of the quick release thingies that enabled the various folds is all I have left of the bike.
A terrible disposable camera picture of the guilty party next to a Brompton in France.

The Park Tool chain checker that tells you that your chain is worn out when it isn't. How many good chains have I chucked because I believed it?

Almost any tool to hold the rear nuts of chainring bolts to stop them spinning as you undo or tighten them, but specifically the Park one. Someone needs to make one where the tool is clamped in place, otherwise it cams out of the shallow slots uselessly.

Also, most plastic tyre levers. They just snap.

And FAG bottom bracket tools. When the BBs get a bit stuck, the metal tool happily chews up the soft plastic lockrings, then you have to drill and saw the thing out.

These dumb-bell things.
Had one years ago and it snapped and the thing gouged a chunk out of my hand!

Free with Mountain Bike Rider many years ago. Pretty impressive when you throw your keys down!@! What were they thinking of !!! I have got to be ahead on points ?

Mick F wrote:These dumb-bell things.
Had one years ago and it snapped and the thing gouged a chunk out of my hand!

969816.jpeg

You were being too heavy handed with it Mick F!!

rogerzilla wrote:
And FAG bottom bracket tools. When the BBs get a bit stuck, the metal tool happily chews up the soft plastic lockrings, then you have to drill and saw the thing out.

Faced with this exact problem I used a Regina 2 dog freewheel remover. Placed over the BB axle then tightened up using the crank bolt and a large washer to get it to dig in to the plastic remnants. Came out easily with this arrangement.

Here's the link. viewtopic.php?t=125896

These dumb-bell things.
Had one years ago and it snapped and the thing gouged a chunk out of my hand!
969816.jpeg
Mick F. Cornwall

I have two slightly different ones - I used them for decades without problem and still have them

Mick F wrote:These dumb-bell things.
Had one years ago and it snapped and the thing gouged a chunk out of my hand!

Like most people I snapped it when using the 15mm socket which went in the bin then a file was taken to the snapped end and I kept using the other end with 8+10mm sockets for years.

I broke a cheap dumbbell spanner (by using my foot on it) when I was a callow yoof. I had to use my foot on it because I couldn't get the rear wheel in tight enough that it wouldn't pull over otherwise, not by hand with that stupid short spanner, anyway. Clearly I had stronger legs than arms at that time....but the track nuts were certainly no tighter than they need to be. IIRC I was trying to undo said track nuts (having done them up with the same spanner); the spanner broke before the nut came undone so the spanner was definitely substandard; it was made of some crappy zinc die cast material, better suited to joke spanners inside christmas crackers than anything else. There were obvious pores visible in the fracture face.

Needless to say the jaggy end of the spanner gouged me in the leg quite badly; having looked at the bit that flew off and seen the pores, I threw both bits in a box and stomped off in disgust to staunch the (by now copious) flow of blood.

It was some time later that I went through the box with the broken bits of spanner in it. I felt slightly sick when I realised that the other bit of spanner still had a gouged-out lump of my flesh on it.....

bleuch!

rogerzilla wrote:Almost any tool to hold the rear nuts of chainring bolts to stop them spinning as you undo or tighten them, but specifically the Park one. Someone needs to make one where the tool is clamped in place, otherwise it cams out of the shallow slots uselessly.

In fairness, that is a difficult job for a tool.

My last trip to Minor Injuries Clinic was on account of trying to loosen a stuck chainring bolt with one of those little slot wrenches (Camgag version).

VAR do one such tool, as do Cyclus. The Cyclus one has ~5 different heads to grip the slot in the chainring nut, because the dimensions of the slots vary from one manufacturer to another.

Here's the VAR one:-

Not for bikes, but if I ever meet the so-and-so who designed my barrier pipe cutter I will have a few choice words to share, as it is impossible to use without pinching the flesh between thumb & forefinger...

The Park chain checker that I had became illegible very quickly. The markings, which were printed, were difficult to read at the bottom of a 5 mm deep slot. It was impossible to clean the tool properly... It's probably at the bottom of my scrap pile!

The Mafac Tool Kit.