bike tool set

granda

what do people yhink of this tool set, is it worth it or just junk.
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_522915_categoryId_212639_langId_-1?cm_sp=Intelligent_Offer-_-Product_List_Zone_1-_-Blank&iozone=PLPz1

Icyseanfitz

looks alright, might get it myself actually

Lumen

Don't know about quality, but some of those are useful and some not. Price isn't bad.

Depends on your bike.

For instance the crank remover, pedal spanners, quill headset spanners and a couple of other bits would be no use at all on my bikes.

For me, the most useful tools are:

- Allen keys
- Chain tool
- Cable cuttters
- Cassette lockring tool, chain whip
- Bottom bracket spanner (for external cups)
- Decent torque wrench(es)
- Steerer cutting guide, hacksaw, emery board
- Length of pipe to fit crown races
- Grease, anti-seize and degreaser
- Chain cleaner

I think with all that I can build a bike and keep it maintained.

Hail 2 Da Thief

At that price you'd have to wonder about the quality. Especially when it's not on sale & heavily discounted.

I bought some tools from Probikekit last week which were on sale @ 80% off. Might be worth a look to see if anything is still left from the sale! They offer free delivery too.

I think with all that I can build a bike and keep it maintained.

No chain whip, spoke nipple wrenches?

Lumen

Hail 2 Da Thief wrote: »

No chain whip, spoke nipple wrenches?

Oh yeah, chain whip.

I don't do my own wheels. Too scared to bollix them up.

TinyExplosions

Lumen wrote: »

Too scared to bollix them up.

That's not stopped you messing with every other bit of your bike

biketard

Hail 2 Da Thief wrote: »

No chain whip, spoke nipple wrenches?

It has both of those.

I got a set almost exactly like this a few years ago. It wasn't from Halfords, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same manufacturer, and the price was about the same.

It's been an extremely useful little tool set for the price.

Hail 2 Da Thief

biketard wrote: »

It has both of those.

I never said it didn't!

FatSh!te

I've been looking at tools recently too, this one caught my eye and might be of interest to you:

http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=X0457

Not sure if it would suit all my needs - I've an Sora 8 speed set up on my commuter and 9 speed tiagra on my other bike - would it be missing anything major that I'd need for maintenance of these (or would the halford one suit just as well)...any ideas...?

Harrybelafonte

FatSh!te wrote: »

I've been looking at tools recently too, this one caught my eye and might be of interest to you:

http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=X0457

Not sure if it would suit all my needs - I've an Sora 8 speed set up on my commuter and 9 speed tiagra on my other bike - would it be missing anything major that I'd need for maintenance of these (or would the halford one suit just as well)...any ideas...?

Looks the exact same as the one I got in Aldi a few years back. So far I've broken the chain breaker, the small spanners for axle nits are very thin and tend to cut into the nuts and the headset wrench doesn't hold very well. Then again, I'm pretty clumsy so take those criticisms with a grain of salt.

tomasrojo

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Looks the exact same as the one I got in Aldi a few years back. So far I've broken the chain breaker, the small spanners for axle nits are very thin and tend to cut into the nuts and the headset wrench doesn't hold very well. Then again, I'm pretty clumsy so take those criticisms with a grain of salt.

I got a similar probike bit and so did a friend of mine. My friend has broken one of the faces in the chain breaker, but it's held out ok for me so far. I agree that the hub spanners aren't great. I have my own set I use in preference.

Mr. Grieves

I have the Halfords one, got it as a present. The quality isn't amazing, (particularly the chain tool) but considering how much it would cost to buy just 2 or 3 of the bike-specific tools on their own, it's pretty great value.

I do wish it came with a cable cutters and a longer spanner for removing pedals.

doozerie

Before I was ever willing, or able, to spend the kind of money that decent quality tools tend to sell for, I got by on budget tools. Some of these worked well, some of them broke my heart every time I used them. Amongst the worst culprits were poor quality pedal spanners (I've snapped a decent spanner when removing a pedal before, and mangled some cheaper ones before that - plainly and simply, some pedals were sent to torment everyone they encounter), and poor quality 32mm/36mm headset spanners which mangled both themselves and the headset locknuts in use. Poor quality allen key tools can be a nightmare too but generally speaking even half-decent alley key tools tend to be quite plentiful. Poor quality chain splitters too can be a major headache when the (poor) quality of the steel means that all of your force goes into resisting the binding nature of the threads rather than pushing a pin in or out.

For many years now I've always bought what I believe to be good quality tools only - I've spent nearly as much on tools as on bikes but I've no regrets about spending money on good tools. Pricey tools don't always equate to good quality tools, mind you, but I've had far more dud budget tools than dud pricier tools and when you factor in the scraped knuckles, grey hairs, etc., that those duds caused, in some cases the cheaper tools ending up costing me far more in the long run.

This is no help at all in deciding whether the Halfords toolset is any good, of course, just a suggestion that poor quality tools can prove to be a lot poorer value in the long run than they can seem at first. It can be hard to gauge the quality of tools by sight alone, without actually using them, but the finish of a tool can sometimes give you good clues as to its quality so where possible I'd recommend trying to see the tool in the flesh before buying it.

Harrybelafonte

doozerie wrote: »

Before I was ever willing, or able, to spend the kind of money that decent quality tools tend to sell for, I got by on budget tools. Some of these worked well, some of them broke my heart every time I used them. Amongst the worst culprits were poor quality pedal spanners (I've snapped a decent spanner when removing a pedal before, and mangled some cheaper ones before that - plainly and simply, some pedals were sent to torment everyone they encounter), and poor quality 32mm/36mm headset spanners which mangled both themselves and the headset locknuts in use. Poor quality allen key tools can be a nightmare too but generally speaking even half-decent alley key tools tend to be quite plentiful. Poor quality chain splitters too can be a major headache when the (poor) quality of the steel means that all of your force goes into resisting the binding nature of the threads rather than pushing a pin in or out.

For many years now I've always bought what I believe to be good quality tools only - I've spent nearly as much on tools as on bikes but I've no regrets about spending money on good tools. Pricey tools don't always equate to good quality tools, mind you, but I've had far more dud budget tools than dud pricier tools and when you factor in the scraped knuckles, grey hairs, etc., that those duds caused, in some cases the cheaper tools ending up costing me far more in the long run.

This is no help at all in deciding whether the Halfords toolset is any good, of course, just a suggestion that poor quality tools can prove to be a lot poorer value in the long run than they can seem at first. It can be hard to gauge the quality of tools by sight alone, without actually using them, but the finish of a tool can sometimes give you good clues as to its quality so where possible I'd recommend trying to see the tool in the flesh before buying it.

I remember reading awhile back when buying car tools that the Halfords own brand were rebranded Snap On. Very good stuff.

doozerie

@Harrybelafonte, I've also seen suggestions that the Halford's own brand are rebranded Snap-On but I've seen people strongly dispute this too. I have one of the Halford's own-brand socket sets (the Pro range, I think - they have several ranges in their own-brand stuff) and the quality of those I would say is okay but not top of the range as Snap-On claim to be, though I've never used Snap-On myself so I can only guess at what their quality is really like (another hotly disputed topic). For the price that I paid for the Halford's socket set they are fine (plus they have a lifetime warranty on all but moving parts, which is useful), but they are not on a par with some of my better quality bike-specific tools.

granda

so i bought one today so i'll let you know how good or bad it is

Pigeon Reaper

I've used Snap-on and Teng tools along with Halfords car stuff own. The halfords ones hold their own against the big brands especially when you factor in the price. The halfords bike stuff is worth avoiding for the most part. I've tried a few different tools and have had to return them as they've broken with the first use. One I'd put down to a fault. Two is just really bad luck but more than that is just bad quality

dblspeed

If anybody in Dublin who bought this set wants to get rid of the 40 mm headset spanner please contact me.

Captain Havoc

Didn't someone put up recently, what looked like a decent stand and tool set for about £100?

Tonyandthewhale

I think some one linked to an what they thought was a stand and tool set for 100e but it turned out the stand was 100 and the tools were extra or the other way 'round or something. Then again we might be thinking of different links.

Lemag

Captain Havoc wrote: »

Didn't someone put up recently, what looked like a decent stand and tool set for about £100?

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

I think some one linked to an what they thought was a stand and tool set for 100e but it turned out the stand was 100 and the tools were extra or the other way 'round or something. Then again we might be thinking of different links.

Might this be the link?