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It’s time for another edition of New Tools Day, where I get hands-on with a variety of fresh tools, offering some bite-sized reviews of interesting new items, plus a teaser of some bigger projects in the process.
This edition is filled with highly intriguing pocket-sized and larger tools from a variety of brands, many of which you may never have heard of. If there’s a theme that links the tools here, it’s innovation. Like many products in the cycling industry, so many new tools are effectively copies of one another, but this edition reminds us that unique design is still alive and well.
On with the show!
Based on two decades of career experience and an ongoing obsession, my Threaded series is for anyone with a passion for working on bikes. Whether you’re a professional looking to find new efficiencies or a curious punter just window shopping, I can assure you that you’ll find some value within.
You’ll need to be a member of Escape Collective in order to access all of this genuinely unique and original content – it’s the only means through which I'm reimbursed for my time in creating this series. And given that an entire annual subscription to everything from Escape Collective costs about what I’d charge for an hour on the tools, I think that’s a fair deal.
The happy return of an old favourite. That old favourite is the SpurCycle Tool, a lovely little titanium bit-based sliding T-bar that makes for a lightweight and highly functional multi-tool. It's a tool that tied for first place when I reviewed a dozen or so bit-based multi-tools at CyclingTips. I use multi-tools a lot, sometimes multiple times a week, and so I'm picky about the functionality of such things. The sliding T-bar design gives leverage when you need it and offers speed in tight access scenarios through the sliding handle. The original had been out of production for a few years, and while functionally much the same, the new version is slightly different. To start, the new case, while less fancy-looking, has a subtly easier fit around the tool inside of it. Perhaps the most notable change is in the place of manufacture. While the original had components made in the USA, the new tool (left) is now sourced from Taiwan. With that comes a US$10 price drop to US$59. You'll also note a whole new bit-holder with room to contain the T-bar. Plus, the bits (10 included) are now of higher quality, matching the likes of Silca. The original titanium T-bar (bottom) was made in the USA by Paragon Machine Works. The new one is made in Taiwan. They feel much the same in use. More size references. Starting with the new SpurCycle Tool (94 g) at the bottom left, we move in a clockwise direction to the original SpurCycle Tool (89 g), then to Lezyne's SV Pro (116 g), DaySaver's very minimalist Essential 8 (42 g), and finally, the now-defunct Mineral Design T-bar (114 g) that tied for first place when I last compared the bit-based multi-tool category. The pure functionality is why the original SpurCycle Tool has been my most carried multi-tool for a number of years. And while it's no longer made in the Paragon workshop where many framebuilders source their frame parts, this new version seems to be even better in terms of simple function. Ask me in five years if it's as good as the original. Speaking of bit-based tools... bit-ratchets aren't just a great option for taking on a ride or trip, they can be a good time saver in the workshop, too. A few months back I bought the 711L Mini Ratchet, a tool that is like many others in the market, just significantly shorter. Most bit ratchets are small, but the 711L (left of photo) is absolutely minuscule at 53 mm (total length). While it lacks leverage, I've found it to be a handy tool for the purpose of fiddly bottle cage installs – I keep a 4 mm hex in the ratchet end, and a 3 mm hex in the handle end. The company is based in Taiwan, but internationally, I've only been able to find it for purchase on Amazon (approx. US$20). 3D-print specialist and Escape Collective member Chris Heerschap is always working on something new, or improving on an existing design. The CMH top-load bleed blocks were the most popular item on his Etsy, which were soon followed by modified versions for exposing/cleaning pistons. Now, Heerschap has merged the top-load bleed blocks and piston exposure tools into one with the UniBlock. The new UniBlocks bleed blocks now have magnetic inserts that split apart for when you want to do a piston clean/massage. Each one works with a symmetrical design that is flipped in the caliper depending on what piston you need to get moving. Meanwhile, a dual-material 3D print means the blocks are made of a strong plastic, while the small pieces are tethered with a flexible TPU. It's damn smart, and gives me real 3D printer envy. In this four-piston Shimano caliper, the UniBlock is set to expose just one piston (useful in the event of a sticky piston scenario). With the UniBlock installed, you would squeeze the lever a few times to walk that one piston out, leaving the others in their caliper bores. From here, you'd clean the sticky piston and gently push it back into place. The original CMH caliper blocks versus the new. It's certainly nice if you can have fewer things that do the same number of tasks (I'll save another example of that for the end of this article). The new UniBlocks are available for most common brake models and priced at US$15 each. SRAM recently went all-in on mineral oil for its line of mountain bike brakes, and with that comes the likelihood that you may need a new bleed kit to match. The new brakes introduced a new Pro Mineral Bleed Kit. Now with updated syringes and simpler hoses (the previous version seemingly had leaking issues), the kit also includes an assortment of interesting pieces, including a piston exposure tool, an updated crow-foot wrench, and the handy Universal bleed block that I first wrote about two years ago (the red thing)! Unfortunately, the kit is relatively expensive at retail (US$127 / AU$200), suggesting this one is best bought by those with access to trade pricing. Straz Components is a new company with a single product (for now) – the Sealant Funnel. It's one of those forehead-slap ideas, offering a funnel that threads onto any regular tubeless valve stem (with the valve core removed). The 30 Ml capacity acts as a quick pour gauge for most tyres, too. It's priced at US$18 / £14 / AU$29 (through Beaut Bike in Australia). Glug glug glug. I can't claim to have tried stubborn thick sealants, but the popular sealants that typically go through valve stems showed no hesitation here. Early tests show a bit of back pressure can stop the flow, but giving the tyre a quick squeeze sees the remainder flow in. The cup drains well and is easy to rinse.
There's plenty more to see in this article, including a tease of Feedback Sports' biggest new product, my early impressions of the most highly-rated high-pressure dust blower, Fumpa's newest pump update, and a close look at that intriguing new Pedro's modular bottom bracket socket set seen in the lead image.
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