In all aspects of my consumerism I tend to buy products in the lower high-end realm. The parts are really good without paying the ultra premium price. This was true of most of the components that I chose for my Parkpre conversion project. The lowest end components were probably the Deore 525 hubs. That said, they are great. they are tough, have super quiet freewheel and are highly rated. So they're a little heavy......
To prepare for the build I purchased a basic, plastic case packaged bike tool kit from a major online bike retailer. In addition to this I bought a chain link tool, a star nut tool, a cable and housing cutter and a third hand tool. I borrowed a bike stand from a friend - and it was on.
Cable and housing cutter. Of these additional tools, this is the only one that I would consider truly vital.
The Chain link tool is very, very handy and I'm glad that I bought it. That said, there are other ways to accomplish what it does at considerable inconvenience. Almost vital.
The star nut tool is not really necessary in hindsight. Again, it was nice to have but by no means required. After seeing what job it accomplishes, I realized that I could have done this job in many other ways.
Again, I'm no bike mechanic. I'm sure that if I was, I would own and use all of these tools and more, and use them all of the time. My advice is just for people doing a one-off project or maintaining their own bike. Just for reference, I changed out EVERY component on my bike, besides the cranks and bottom bracket. The only work that I had done in a shop was replacing the headset. I also bought it at the shop so it was a no-brainer.
No comments:
Post a Comment