You're Using Our Tools Wrong | Tech Tuesday  

When mentoring junior bike mechanics in the shop, my first (jokey but firm) warning is that anyone found using the 15mm cone wrench on axle nuts will be immediately fired. 😉 Next is to get in the habit of spinning nuts and bolts the 'wrong' way when threading them on, until you feel the ''click of the start of the thread - it greatly reduces the chances of accidental cross-threading, especially in soft metals. Also, get used to to feeling the tool's feedback through your hand - especially important with chain-riveters - once you've felt how it feels when it goes well a few times, use that 'finger-feel' knowledge to immediately back off and re-seat the tool if you feel the pressure going past what you'd expect - saves a lot of bent tool-pins and damaged chain-links.

The key to tool use is to engage one's brain before engaging the tool. Think about not just what you wish to accomplish with the tool, but also what could go wrong. For example, go through the motions of loosening a very tight nut or bolt without the tool, and see where your hands will wind up if the tool slips. I've avoided many knuckle injuries, and saved damage to parts and tools, by applying this process.

He can't even get angry when he tries. Wholesome Calvin

Top tip, assess where your bodily extremities may end up if the tool slips. Particularly important when working around anything pointy like a cassette or chainring. Scrubbing drivetrain grime out deep cuts is never fun. Top Tip #2: It's not always lefty-loosy. I learnt this expensively the first time I tried to remove a BB cup from a frame. Destroyed the cup, bent a breaker bar, and almost trashed the BB itself. On the subject of applying leverage I wonder if you also agree that certain jobs (removing BBs, cranks, and pedals) is best done on the ground, particularly if you don't have a pro-level workstand.

Listen, there's nothing you can do to stop me from using the Chain Machine to press in BB30 bearings

Man, I’ve seen Calvin okay it so straight for so long. I had no idea he was so funny.

Calvin you are simply the best. I review parktool videos and I always look at your first. Never been disappointed.

That last tip, “bring the tool levers together”, is excellent. I’m guilty of making that mistake myself. Why struggle? Seems like common sense, but I never really thought about it before. Thanks Calvin!

As a retired auto tech/instructor I couldn't even start to list all the misuse of tools or the use of the wrong tool. good video.

Thank you Calvin and Park Tool for the advice and the many great tools over the years. We run a community bike shop. Our tools get used by people of all skill levels. Park Tools work best and hold up the best. A few we have found out the hard way that care is rewarded, and the lack of care ends up in broken tools or worse. Chain tool tips are a good example of this. All in all, Park makes the best and most appropriate tools for the job. I do have one complaint, perhaps an objection to the idea that we're using the tools wrong. We work on a lot of tired old bikes, either repairing or parting out. So of course, removing cheap MTB freewheels is a regular thing. We have broken numerous FR1.3 tools in doing this. They just crush and split, either in the vise or adjustable wrench. Inside a 1 inch box wrench they survive a little longer. But the packaging and the video for the tool show using a large adjustable to spin off a freewheel. The 1.3 is not strong enough. What works to do this? My trusty 20 year old FR1.1, or a small socket wedged inside the 1.3 for support. I don't want to return any more of these. I wish the tool was stronger! Thanks for the tools, support, and videos!

Took use timing: the last time you want to use a tool is immediately after you have messed something up a little bit…great chance of messing a lot! Instead, go for the coffee-drinking tool and sit on the butt-supporting tool until you have stopped swearing and are calm enough to use the skill inflation / thinking tool again. Seriously though, the most recent mistakes I have made have all happened when I was too impatient to go get my reading glasses (which I only ever needed after turning 50), and tried to do something without actually being able to see!

Can we have a video on the proper use of Vice-grips for polished aluminum parts?

All the best for the new year Clavin. Best mtb service/repair content on the Internet!!! Thanks for the service 🙏

Check your surroundings when you're going to crack a nut or screw too. Consider where your arm is going to go. You don't want your arm to move past or into anything sharp after you crack the fastener. This is especially true if you're working on machinery with cutting tools in it, not just chain sprockets.

It's always nice, too to know which way to turn the tool. There are always exceptions to Righty tighty, lefty loosey. I spent many a wasted minute turning the wrench the wrong way.

Thank you. Love watching and learning from these videos.

Great job , Prerequisite for Anyone starting a repair !should have had this when I started repairing my bikes as a kid. Park Tool saving components tools and mechanics .

You can use the smaller (square taper) crank extractor to remove octalink and isis cranks, you just need to put something in there to cover the hole in the spindle, there are adapters for this specific purpose. Some crank extractors also have interchangeable feet to match the cranks being extracted. Phillips screwdrivers will eventually round out derailleur adjustment bolts/screws so instead of buying a JIS screwdriver (the proper tool for this), I find that it is easier and cheaper to just replace the OEM bolts with hex socket head bolts and use allen keys

You're the man Calvin Thank you so much for your videos.

Legend Calvin,, learned tons from him..

That thumbnail is amazing

7 seconds into the video and I had to hit the like button.

Every tool is a hammer

Calvin really rules!!

Calvin are the only one true repair master! 🙃

I need to see if any of my Park Tools talk in Calvin's voice next time I am in the garage!

i love watching these videos. They have helped me to fix my own bike in a pinch and helped me learn to to help to become a bicycle mechanic and my own study on the subject. keep up the great work

Would be worth mentioning considering the handle path of the pedal spanner when it suddenly comes loose - i.e. making sure you don't send your fingers straight into a chainring.

Man you guys sure have a lot of funky lookin' hammers.

Calvin, thank you for making this video. I’ve rounded out a few bolts in my time but I didn’t realize there were so many ways to use tools wrong! My worst offense is using a. TW-5.2 torque wrench at bad angles because of a tight angle. Is there a better tool to use for tight spots?

Incorrect tool use: using just about any tool as a hammer. On my job site in the bush we often have limited tools available and "can you pass me the adjustable hammer" has become a common request. 🤣

Bonne résolutions 2023 😊 Thank you Calvin .

4:10 For safety, I put the rim in a vise and prevent it from turning with a piece of wood through the spokes. Air tools help a lot too.

I'm dying 😂 This is the best tool video I've seen from anyone in a while.

I always install and remove pedals (and crankarms) with the wheels on and the bike on the ground. That way I can position the tool to allow me to push down towards the ground, using my body weight to apply force and the drivetrain and tires to hold the crank arm in position.

Comedic talent and a great instructor.

Not holding the bearing cup when using the extractor. Sending the cup flying across the shop 🤣

Using cone wrenches for anything else. Once saw a one-star review for a cone wrench online from someone who'd destroyed it while using it for a pedal or something - but complained about it being just stamped metal. The vendor replied, very carefully and politely saying, basically, 'you idiot.'

i grew up BMXing. and installing a-headset cups and those press-fit bottom brackets with a hammer and a piece of a 6x6 post was normal in the 90's

Proper positioning of a crow’s foot on a torque wrench. Gotta be 90° to the shaft, if placed straight out off the end, the torque setting will be off.

Calvin or the awesome Park Tool team… what do you say to a little trip to Fiji to help a super bloke and his 2 sons get set up with a much needed bicycle repair shop (they don’t have one there). Boy would that make a good video and be a great trip out for you guys plus being the main sponsor for the growing cycling community in Fiji of course 😉

You actually got me on one. I bought an old bike to refurbish for my son. The BB was square taper. Without even thinking, I just grabbed the tool I normally use on my bikes. It managed to remove it. It forced the wider foot through the smaller hole. I just thought it was being difficult because it was an old bike hasn't been used in long time and it was stuck. When the crank came off, my tool is now stuck in the crank. LOL! I quickly realized the error of my ways. Fortunately, I wasn't reusing the crankset anyway.

Explained very well and found useful. Thanks Calvin.

Why can‘t all tool manufacturers‘ videos be like this? Excellent video!

Sales guy vs web dude!! Classic!!

nice job guys

Funny this vid should pop up as I just bought a Park Professional truing stand and disc brake alignment jig. For years built wheel in the bike frame. Love the spoke wrenches. A cheater pipe can be a knuckle saver by the way.

I learned early on in my tinkering to pay the extra and buy a Park Tool tool for the job. Never had a tool fail and they always work.

My favourite was not having the correct hex bit, so I'll try that star shaped one, whatever the hell that is. Well done me. Well done.... Moron!

When I first got my chain whip, I accidentally turned my sprocket the wrong way, overtightening it. I eventually had to sheepishly take it to my local shop for them to get it loose again.

Great advice Kalvin Thanks.

Great tips, thanks!

Last tip in the video, avoid pushing with one arm and pulling with the other when opening a tight thread, very easy to hurt your back.

I broke the plastic needle "Proboscis Tube" of the Park Tool TSI-1 sealant syringe months ago. I see that it's $1.83. I'll get around to buying it some time.

I use my Park Tools CM-5.3 chain cleaner to clean my neckties and suspenders. Win!

Using a knife as a tyre lever, using a rotor alignment tool to straighten a bent rim, using needle nose pliers to unscrew a perfectly good stem bolt, removing the self extracting bolt from self extracting cranks and wondering how to remove them, 3D printing a dust cover to stop a BB from unscrewing, someone else taking rubber rim tape and peeling it apart when you look away, when the left pedals doesn't screw in the right crank, use the wrench harder. Some fun.

I've got one!! Hex keys and soft steel bolts. AVOID BALL END HEX KEYS on high-torque applications. Example would be crank arms and derailleur cable bolts. Ball end hex keys can twist in the fitting and lodge in, possibly marring the threads or allowing bad engagement with the bolt. USE NORMAL, FLAT HEX KEY sockets for proper tool engagement and to get the proper torque spec. on your proper components. Also; when driving on large bolts e.g. cranks or pedals, use a large driver. It's difficult and unsafe to try to load 30-40nm with an allen key - step up to hex key sockets with a 3/8" ratchet driver for much safer and more effective tool use and result.

¡Feliz año nuevo don Calvin!

Hey calvin! I attended the two-week course at Barnett bicycle inst Colorado springs. October 1992. Damn you are good instructor. I've been a mechanic and a shop manager on and off. Sadly I no longer have my sutherlands or Barnett bicycle mechanics book. Happy that you are doing well.

I abused my square tape bottom bracket tool on a stuck cartridge bottom bracket rounding off the splines a bit. So now I need to add a bolt into the pedal threads to hold the tool in place so it doesn't slip out. Also I now use impact guns to loosen cartridge bottom brackets (which is not very often anymore).

Thanks Calvin nice tips video see you later

Park Tool the best tools.

I have a number of Park tools in my MTB kit. Very good tools that have served me well. Could be I did have my brain engaged, grin.

I think the worst is using cone wrench for pedal removing... ugh the worst I do is using anything large enough as a hamer

This was all solid! One addition would be that Philips head screws are as good as aluminium chains...

Use the right torque and/or make sure to never over tighten anything. I've seen so many people over the years (especially the general public) think a screw or a bolt needs to be as tight as possible. Either use specific torque wrench, use the right torque setting on your screwdriver, or manually quarter turn backwards

Nice, need many tools

Thank you so much. Using the right tool in the right way makes all the difference in preservation of the component and your knuckles. One tool that is fading in use but is still important to match up and use correctly is the freewheel tool. An important tool, Park doesn't sell, is your brain! Read the instructions and ask questions when you don't understand.

hello!! very good video! they are always very helpful. A tip to improve would be to increase the lighting of the recording set. greetings from Argentina. Jorge

As a lifelong bike mechanic I have seen many instances of people using their tools incorrectly, or using the wrong tools for the job. The thing that steams me the most is rounded nipples as I assume some of the damage was done by some teen working in some bike shop who could not be bothered to find the correct spoke wrench! Most bike buyers do not try to true their own wheels. Also, I often see deep scratches and divots on rims from screwdrivers used as tire pry bars! I use either the Park TL-5 levers or heavy duty plastic ones. Never screwdrivers! Sure way to pinch a tube! Last, I use only good quality stainless cables and the correct housings. When I see brake housing on shift lines I want to hurl! Not the biggest sin perhaps but easily avoidable by not buying those prepackaged cables/housing with a brake end on one side and shift on the other! I have not used these things after age 12! When I knew no better! Last, when I see rusted chains I want to scream! It is not difficult to service a chain! And stop leaving your bikes in the rain!

excelente 👌

When I was head mechanic at one shop that was shared with an outdoor shop, the outdoor people often used my JIS screwdrivers to make product displays. So one day, I bought a decent quality screwdriver for every one of them. When I handed them their screwdriver, I told them that if they came for my screwdriver again, we were going to fight. My beautiful screwdriver would last THEM one use before they damaged it. It would last me many years.

Happy New Year, your tips on how to service bikes come in handy and I recommend your tools to everyone

I, no wait, a person i know uses the small foot crank arm puller on octalink bb by putting a drift punch inside the bb which pushes against the bolt on the other side.

I was once accused of misusing Park pedal taps (tap-3) to clean up the threads on a one-piece crank. The description says they are for use on alloy and steel cranks, but the shop manager wouldn't hear it.

Where does the hammer come in, my spokes keep braking even though I'm hammering in tight. How much more force do I have to use?!

Been using the park tool crown race setter for ec34 cane creek crown races and they’ve never been a good match but it took me years to decide to order the right fitting from cane creek.

Funny stuff. BTW, love my PP 1.2 brake tool. The metal handle is sort of funny, but the black rubberized portion is perfect for tapping my XT lever and caliper for bleeding and the hard blue plastic end is great for tapping them to work the bubbles up! Keep up the great work! 🎉😂

Glad I'm not the only one spinning the THH-1 like a helicopter

I'd go back to square taper BB in a heartbeat if I could. I don't like Hollowtech 2. Octalink wasn't bad. I run a M970 crank that (as far as I know) is the only one that exists in the form factor it does - it's got a 24mm Hollowtech 2 size spindle and thus it works with all Hollowtech 2 bottom brackets, but it has a far more chunky mating surface, quite like an Octalink. Also, this crankset doesn't have the typical (and stupid) 2 bolt system found on HT2 cranks (where the bolts strip, ruining the left crank arm) for tightening, it has just one huge bolt that gets tightened to 40Nm on the left crank. I love it. You might wonder why I use it, if I "would go back to square taper in a heartbeat" - well because my bike has a stupid press fit BB shell and thus, I have got a Praxis Works converter on it (PF30 to HT2) and that's why I have to run a HT2 spindle... Praxis Works just don't make a converter from PF30 to square taper and even if they did, I don't think it would be sensible in a press fit shell. The old M970 crank is the best design I have seen, whereas the most recent HT2 cranks have a weak mating surface and the M5 bolts that say 12Nm on them often strip. I mean isn't it obvious why? M5 bolts (or maybe they are M6) and 12Nm don't go together well! The max I'd say a M6 bolt should be taking is up to 8Nm. Design flaw. Why not use the M980 crank since it's newer? The chainrings are a proprietary BCD, whereas the M970 is standard 64/104 BCD. There isn't a better triple crankset for MTB other than the M970.

I'm new to mountain biking, but I swear I've seen video's with this guy labeled at least 7 years ago, and he looks exactly the same.

Calvin is there anything I CAN'T repair with the HMR-4?

Love your videos! I guess the most miss used tool I've seen is tire removers! They should provide a nice easy glide when inserted correctly, but most peopel.tend to struggle to move them.

Anything can be a hammer

If you have a square spindle on your bottom bracket and find it hard to take off try this. Get an empty milk bottle, put a piece of string through the hole at the end of the tool and then thread it through the milk bottle handle. Fill the milk bottle, the weight will pull the tool down, if need be use two milk bottles.

Tool tip: If you're trying to undo a stuck screw, ideally before you round it off, but even afterward: Use the principle of tool engagement (apply downward force to prevent the wrench slipping), even tap it a bit with a hammer to get full engagement. Then, use the grippiest pair of pliers or vice grips you have to grab the head of the screw and turn both the wrench and the pliers in unison. This has given me just enough grip to remove many a stuck bolt that wouldn't budge with either method alone.

Wear appropriate gloves for the job. When unscrew locking rings for disc rotors for example, like Calvin did. Nice to see how easy you can slip and end up cutting your hand on the sharp rotor edges. I learned that the hard way. Nice heavy leather glove for the hand holding the tool on the rotor from that point onwards. Also prevents injury when sending your hand in a chainring when unscrew crank arms.

I’ve seen people put mid bottom bracket bearings in with a claw hammer instead of a park tool rubber hammer 🤦‍♂️

I used a quick release skewer to hammer out the crank tool foot. I just slid the quick release skewer in from the opposite side. It was easy.

I often use wheel QRs, a bolt or all-thread, washers and nuts to secure bb tools, rotor lock ring tools and others to hold the remover secure. Then it's impossible to slip off under incredibly high torque. This is great trick for over torqued and corroded components. Then you can turn the remover with an open or box wrench. I'm NOT a fan of the newer Park aluminum bb tools with no wrench flats. They're also thin walled and appear flimsy. I'll only buy them if I have no other choice. To be honest, I haven't broken one yet, but they don't instill confidence and I can't turn them with an open end wrench. I generally like Park's STEEL TOOLS and use them every day. Park, PLEASE make ALL STEEL tools that are designed to be used in high torque applications with breaker bars. Competent and or pro mechanics are willing to invest and pay extra for quality long lasting STEEL tools. Quality,long lasting tools are made out of steel. Steel is real. I'm a retired machinist/inspector/4wd nut become bike mechanic.

My biggest problem is not allocating enough time to do the work

Calvin, if you were listening attentively to a teacher in school as I know you did when you were in school, wouldn’t you find music distracting? There is no need for music in your excellent videos. It is distracting and does not add anything. It also doesn’t help that I have a minor hearing impairment.

Thanks so much for this guys. As a You Tube certified mechanic, my education never included all the theory parts like this :) This is super helpful stuff. Also, gee I'm starting to dislike lock rings on disc rotors for this reason. Have a couple I want to take off, and getting decent purchase on a through axle wheel can be really tricky.

This is why I got the Shimano TL-MH10 curved breaker bar so you easily will get the forced applied as close as possible to the engagement point.

The thumbnail lmao 🤣

Use of a crescent wrench to tighten spokes. Spoke wrench, better choice.

I'd like a talking pet chainwhip alligator to encourage me to use tools properly. Will Park Tool sell me one?

Using metric keys/wrenches on imperial bolts and nuts (and the other way around).

Regarding the pedal tool and levers, I like to have the wrench only a few degrees off the pedal arm and squeeze the two together to torque the pedal down. Then you don't have to grasp the opposing crank arm at all

I use the stool for everything 👍