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Being located in Australia means my Januarys are normally spent covering the latest tech in the WorldTour while trying not to catch too much sun. It’s also a rare time where I spend my days watching others on the tools, while mine get a week off from being compared to each other.
With that, I always enjoy seeing how the WorldTour mechanics manage travelling across the world to often adjust, maintain, and sometimes assemble brand new bikes without the usual truckload of tools. It’s a rare time where the toolboxes of these mechanics closely resemble those of what home mechanics may desire to own or what shop mechanics may pack for an event away. That’s the subject of today’s Threaded.
In this edition I’ll also cover a few themes that stood out to me at the Tour Down Under, predominately the now widespread use of electric tyre inflators that have been a common sight at cyclocross and mountain bike races for years but only recently found favour in the WorldTour.
This edition of Threaded isn’t the first time I’ve covered the topic of pro mechanics at the Tour Down Under. I’ve tried to not overlap too closely with my 2024 edition of this WorldTour tools article and this time, I focus a little deeper on what’s inside the toolboxes.
Threaded
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The off season saw Ineos Grenadiers pick up the German tool company Wera as a sponsor. As a specialist in fastening tools, Wera doesn’t make many cycling-specific tools, or modular tool cases, leaving mechanics to figure out a few pieces. Team mechanic Richard Lambert suggested that this custom-made Kaizen-foam case needed a rethink.Needing to pack light means mechanics often have to compromise on the tools they have access to. Here Jayco AlUla’s mechanic Craig Geater makes do without the usual jig for replicating cleat position, rather relying on a set of calipers and his eyes.Working over at Israel-Premiere Tech, this mechanic had gone for the at-home tool wall look. Hidden magnets behind the wood keep the tools in place, while a towel is used to help keep everything (approximately) in place during travel.Most bikes arrive in Australia already assembled from the team’s service course, although a few exceptions were seen. Here the team was getting full use of the Park Tool IR-1.3 (internal routing tool) by building up a fresh Factor Hanzo for George Bennett. What’s a time trial bike doing at a race with no such event? It’s likely for Bennett to get acquainted with ahead of the New Zealand National Championships next week.Over at EF Education-Oatly, mechanic João Santos’ toolbox shows a quality mix of brands including Wera, PB Swiss, Knipex, Silca, Beta, Park Tool, Milwaukee, and more. That big Effetto Mariposa torque wrench at the base of the top panel is for the FSA cranks used by the team.The EF Education teams are sponsored by Slovenian brake pad manufacturer Sinter. While such aftermarket pad (and sometimes rotor) sponsorships are quite common in mountain biking, they’re rather rare on the road. Patrick Ryan, the lead mechanic at Liv AlUla Jayco was using this impressively compact and light custom repair stand. The stand clearly has some age, first being designed for quick-release (rim brake) bikes, and since adapted to 100×12 mm thru axles.It features a simple folding tripod design. Such a minimalist stand like this surely needs even ground and a light bike to remain stable. The Silca Truth gauge was present in Ryan’s toolbox. Now discontinued, this gauge combined a 3D-printed titanium body with a USA-made gauge that claimed 0.2% accuracy between 0 and 60 psi, and 0.5% accuracy up to 100 psi. Just a few years ago teams would inflate all rider tyres to equal pressures with a basic floor pump, but it’s clear many teams have moved a long way from that. Over at Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, veteran mechanicLuis Lamas clearly likes a neat working environment. While every other mechanic was using the supplied air compressors to dry off washed bikes, Luis was working in the future with a cordless Makita high-pressure blower. No hose means easier access around the bike.A look inside Lamas’ simplified travel kit. A folding wallet-style case like this can be easily stashed within a suitcase. I spy with my little eye a 3D-printed 80 mm saddle tool, an impressively tiny hammer (top left), and a few bits of Abbey.What attracted me (like a moth to a light) to Lamas’ kit is the array of torque wrenches sitting ready for a rehearsed process of clicks. The blue Park Tool ATD-1.2 is easy to spot, as is the new Effetto Mariposa Giustaforza 1-15 Pro Evo. However the orange and black torque tools took some further snooping, with the orange one being a generic model, likely sold under the name of Machoman (a new one to me, and one I’m not macho enough to purchase).On the end of that Effetto Mariposa tool sat this peculiar pin socket. Any guesses? Nope, it’s not for crank puller caps or hubs. Rather Lamas shared that it’s to check the torque on the thread-in dropouts on the Van Rysel race bikes. With wheels being removed with impact guns at least once a day, it’s good to play it safe on such things.Early season things. The XDS-Astana mechanics arrived in Australia with bikes and wheels wrapped in Vittoria tyres, and then a few days later were spotted swapping everything over to Continental. Adding to the stress, the swapping of tubeless tyres and sealant was all done over carpet. An attempt to keep the area stain-free. It was working, but I don’t envy the mechanics having to do this repetitive task on a swelteringly hot day.A look at the tool bag of longtime Astana mechanic, Javier Ibanez Manero. The Milwaukee M12 impact is a common sight for quick work on thru-axles – a task that’s done to remove wheels for cleaning, mounting the bikes in the portable repair stands, and of course, in the event of a wheel change while racing. Not every team is using bolt-up axles. A few of the Canyon-sponsored teams have elected for more traditional handled thru-axles. Meanwhile the common Dummy Hub is present, with the bike fresh from its daily wash. The EF Education teams (men’s and women’s) were using Feedback Sports’ Sprint repair stands. Silca T-handles hang from the centre. Melbourne-based machinist and framebuilder Jesse Geisler was on the tools for FDJ-Suez as a freelance mechanic. Here Geisler demonstrates an advantage to the race-style repair stand that almost every WorldTour mechanic uses … it gives you full access to the bike in tight confines. The other big benefit is the ability to measure and adjust positional settings with the bike in the stand. The downside (other than needing to remove the front wheel) is that all front brakes are adjusted with the bike on the ground, mechanic bent over or on their knees.A look inside the top section of Geisler’s travel tool kit. Meanwhile the lower section (hidden, sorry) offers a glimpse at some tools few others have, something I covered last year.The push/pull toggle-clamp repair stand modification is another I covered last year. A more polished version recently popped up on Instagram for purchase (from a race mechanic on the CX scene). Tool nerd (and Escape Collective member!) Boris Del Cid is a mechanic at Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto. His rolling toolbox is stacked with goodies, but first, check out those gas struts!PB Swiss galore. I fully approve of Del Cid’s selection of these PB Swiss PB-1206 hex and PB-1406 Torx keys, tools that are great for a variety of repetitive tasks.The top lid is equally busy. The Knipex Pliers Wrench and SRAM Ultimate Piston Press are items covered before. Meanwhile the Pica pen (right) is quickly making its mark over the Sharpie. Access all areas. A look within reveals a Wheels Manufacturing press and bottom bracket bearing remover, Park Tool Cassette Pliers, and what looks to me like a Shimano TL-RD11 derailleur hanger gauge. Del Cid has a grip tape on a few of his tools for quick spinning between the thumbs.Meanwhile being so far from home means mechanics often need to improvise at local stores. Ozito is the low-cost tool brand at Australia’s hardware store monopoly, Bunnings. Del Cid bought an inflator kit and some additional fittings, entirely ignored the intended assembly, and made himself a modular inflating/blowing tool that was apparently a pleasure to use.Over to another tool nerd and career race mechanic, Mike Jenner with Uno-X Mobility (women’s). This awesomely cool custom 3D-printed Radar Labs Loobtoob grease syringe holder was magnetically attached to the nearby fridge. The holder was made by another Escape member, Chris Heerschap.Radar Laboratories Pro syringes, with the more compact 3D-printed travel cap and handle. The World Champs rainbows were a one-off addition done by Chris Heeschap to help celebrate Elisa Balsamo’s 2022 win (Jenner was with Trek’s road team for a number of years).Jenner’s hard case toolbox features clip-on wings to hold Kaizen-foam trays. Again, Effetto Mariposa’s new torque tool makes an appearance (it’s very common amongst WorldTour mechanics), as does a BSC chain tool, and a Chris Heerschap 3D-printed dummy pedal (in a one-off colourway).Jenner was jokingly digging into his toolbox to find something I didn’t have. This hard-to-find Facom T-handle with knurled spinner sleeve (#84TCS) did the trick.Over on the other side sit a few common items, including a tape measure, box cutter, and Unior quick link chain pliers. The top tool pallets are supplied with the Unior Pro Kit box. A whole lot to spot within this photo, including a gold Nepros 1/4″ ratchet, Knipex Pliers Wrench, Wera Joker Self-Adjust wrenches, an Abbey Bike Tools titanium hammer, and a whole lot more.Inside the box of tricks. There’s an Abbey Crombie cassette/rotor socket (left), Loc-tite threadlocker stick, pedal taps, and a couple of Silca Disc Wheel pump heads. Time to head outside and into the pre-race action. The whir of electric pumps can be heard from all corners of the race start. This 18V Makita was one of the more popular picks. Fumpa, the original cycling-specific inflator, was seen in use by a few teams. including Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and Picnic PostNL.Meanwhile Liv AlUla Jayco was using the Bosch EasyPump. My testing showed this one to be a good, albeit slow, option. Patrick Ryan had adapted this pump with a Silca Disc Wheel pump head.Over at EF Education-Oatly,João Santos was using the Milwaukee M12 inflator. It’s another one that did well in my testing, at least once a Presta-specific pump head was added (as is the case here, with yet again, a Silca Disc Wheel head).The office. Event-provided team cars mean the mechanics are a little more squished with wheels than usual. Here is Santos’ setup, something that came into use while he hung out the window on the opening stage of the women’s race, helping a rider. An impressive stunt that won him a UCI yellow card and a CHF 500 fine to the driving DS.
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