Tool time.

I just read a note on a forum saying that you should ask oneself wether or not you are a 'tool-snob'. This seemed to me like a very important question so I thought, 'well I probably am a tool snob'. I know the differences between numerous brands. Take screwdrivers: Klein, Wiha, Craftsman, SK, Proto, Snap-On, Matco, & PB Swiss-among others. Holy smokes that's just screwdrivers! There are LOTS more brands. I mostly prefer the Wihas for screwdrivers. See, I'm already showing tool snobbishness. Then there are bike specific tool companies: Park, Pedros, Cyclus, JA Stein and the venerable Campagnolo. All have numerous advantages and disadvantages.

I have preferences definitely. Campagnolo finish quality sets the bar-very high. With that level comes a corresponding but not commensurate increase in cost. The equivalent to a Park bottom bracket tap is two-and-a-half times more money! That puts a park at ~$250.00 and the Campy at close to $675.00! And a fully equipped pro-bicycle shop should have three of them! That's just to cover the bottom-bracket threads. Add an additional $450.00 to handle the facing tasks of the bottom bracket shell.

So I bought a set of Cyclus tools for the job. I own a Campy but just the dies are more than the entire Park or Cyclus tool. The Cyclus tool works great. Not as easy to start as the Campy but nice clean cutting surfaces on the taps. The design is actually a bit better (longer cutting surfaces) for extended chasing of difficult threads. It does a great job.

The forum thread then diverged into talk about having the right tool for the job. I agree whole heartedly. I've heard of a bike shop using a rubber mallet to insert headset cups! It could work if we were in a Mad-Maxesque-post-holocaust situation where that was the only option available. But we, thankfully, are not. So your headset should not be installed with a rubber mallet - ever. I've also read comments that a tool for such a simple task should not cost upwards of $400.00. I do agree with this as well. But I also know I can consistently do a much better job of cleanly pressing in a headset with my Efficient Velo Tools press than anyone else can with a home-made bolt, washer and nut apparatus or a bench vise and 2 x 4's. I can also cleanly press cups into an extremely wide range of frame sizes-possibly as large as 70 cm. Bring on Shaquille's bike! A very good tool by Park for pressing headset cups would have cost me $230.00. I bought the EVT headset press for close to $400.00.

So I don't think that every recreational rider needs a set of Wiha screwdrivers for $150.00 when the $19.99 set of Craftsmans will work fine and the reality is probably closer to a $2.00 Stanley. Heck, I bought the Cyclus stuff rather than the Campy tools. The ultimate result of those tools is the quality of the product that results from the tools available.

I could build a lot of things and they would look cobbly and chunky by comparison to a true craftsman at that given set of skills-regardless of what was available to me while building it. For me and the work I do on bicycles, tools are not only fun but a vital extension of how the idea I have visualized can be transformed into the desired outcome. The result has to be consistent, repeatable, and timely. Which is a bicycle that is aesthetically and functionally at the peak of it's mechanical potential. So if I'm sporting a rainbow-colored set of PB Swiss hexes that emptied my pockets to the tune of $80.00 you can feel free to go ahead and call me out-as the tool geek that I am.