Welcome to Escape Collective. Please select your language.
Please note that this is an automated translation and it will not be perfect. All articles have been written in English and if anything appears to not make sense, please double check in English.
The best thing about New Tools Day is that it can occur on any day. Perhaps even every day if you're truly financially reckless. Need to fix that thing you don’t have a tool for? New Tools Day. Broke an old tool? New Tools Day. Went to the hardware store just to buy something for the home? Ooops, it’s New Tools Day.
It’s been a busy few months for cycling geeks with a flurry of big product releases from the likes of Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo, Fox and countless others. Among all that, the list of New Tools to share has been steadily building up, and no, I’m not complaining.
In this edition of Threaded, I share a handful of tools I’ve been using over the past few months, many of which are surprisingly affordable. There’s a simple tool for measuring chainring wear, a fun bit driver tool from 711L, a new portable torque wrench from Feedback Sports, updated caliper piston presses from Sumart, a new fitting tool from Arch Design, plus a handful of other interesting purchases.
Connex Chainring Wear Indicator
Let's kick things off with a little laser-cut steel tool from the German chain company, Connex (a brand of Wippermann). This one has a simple function, and that's to act as a go-no-go gauge for chainring wear or singlespeed rear sprockets (it's not intended for cassettes). Yep, it's as simple as that. This one sells for US$12 / AU$25. The tool seems to work as claimed, as long as the cogs you're measuring are a traditional and simple shape. I've found you need to be careful to avoid measuring on overly shaped "shift catch" teeth, and it can also be hit-and-miss on narrow-wide chainrings given the variances in design there. In these scenarios, it'll show a chainring as worn, when it can likely be reused without issue. As covered before, chainring wear is something that can be approximately measured with some calipers or even an experienced eye. Still, a tool like this can be handy to have when replacing a worn chain – just beware of false positives.
711L Lollipop bit driver
711L is a small EDC (everyday carry) and bicycle tool company based in Taiwan. The brand launched a few years ago with a fairly premium bit driver named the Lollipop EDC. Being late to the candy shop, I recently got my hands on one. The Lollipop drives any standard 1/4" bits of your choosing. The company also recently started offering its own bits which are a nice machined S2 steel that you'll find sold by a few other companies, too. The driver itself features a knurled body (available in stainless steel, or as tested, aluminium). In use as a screwdriver, the red-coloured lollipop tops as a palm spinner for comfortable twirling. Pulling out that lollipop top reveals the unique feature ... ... the Lollipop is a screwdriver with the potential for greater leverage. It's still a low-torque tool, but the extendable handle makes it quite handy for a whole lot of tasks around a bicycle or other fastener-driving tasks. Sent as a media sample, the Lollipop EDC came as a set in a rather fancy magnetic case. There are magnets for the bits, for the tool, and for sticking the whole thing to a ferrous object. The tool itself has a lovely tactile feel to it, where the Lollipop head provides a satisfying 'pop', and the magnets of the case only add to that snap-like feeling. The case is currently a little harder to find. While the Lollipop is readily available on Amazon for US$55 (711L's chosen selling channel), the company is only offering the full set (approx US$95) through its social media stores or via direct contact. It's a fun, perfectly functional, and well-made tool that will last under regular use. However, it hasn't replaced any of my workshop tools or those I choose to take on a ride. Rather, it's something I've quite enjoyed having on my desk as a functional fidget-toy and it would be equally useful to keep in the car glovebox, too. For bit-based screwdrivers, I still prefer more ergonomic handles (especially like the ratcheting Wera 838). And there are many other tools I'm reaching for when leverage is required. Still, the 711L Lollipop is a fun one if you just want a high-quality and small bit-based screwdriver that's capable of more.
Threaded is an ongoing series created for professional mechanics and enthusiast home mechanics in search of continuous improvement, or at least, ways to bring more efficiency, precision, or just joy to the work.
It’s photographed, written, and created exclusively by me, Dave Rome. With approximately 20 years of experience on the tools, and more than a decade of documenting others doing it, I aim to share my passion for finding quality tools and tips on how to best to use them.
This series takes many hours in the week to create and I feel the information shared is worth paying for. You will hit a paywall at some point in this article, but with no adverts, affiliate links, or other revenue, it’s merely through the support of our members (readers) that it exists.
If you're seeing this, just know that below that paywall sits a whole lot of good stuff you won't find elsewhere.
Escape Collective member and 3D-print specialist Chris Heerschap is always creating something new or tweaking a pre-existing design. This time it's the latter with an update to the FlipDag, an aftermarket accessory that brings a flip action to Park Tool's DAG-1 and DAG-2 (including the 2.1, 2.2, etc) derailleur hanger gauges. This simple add-on closely replicates what Park Tool's more premium DAG-3 offers, bringing the ability to let you flip the indicator rod out of the way to get around fender struts, pannier racks, or frame tubes. However, unlike the spring-based design of the DAG-3, this one lets you lock that indicator in place. Shown is the new FlipDag Pro (US$25), which adds a hidden tension adjuster to let you customise the fit and friction of the slider. Heerschap is still offering the original non-adjustable versions from just US$5.
Trek Air Rush electric inflator
Released today, Trek has joined the portable electric tyre pump game. The Air Rush (US$99) weighs 140 grams and seems rather promising with obviously good vibration and heat management (though, like most of these inflators, it's still a noisy bugger).It also has a few nice features, including thread-in valve heads (Presta and Scrader provided), along with an optional hose attachment. The pump even has a secondary threaded hole in case you want to carry two valve types at once. And it's all stored in a neat zippered bag which is a nice touch. So, how does it perform? Well ...... I'm about to spend a large amount of time wearing hearing protection. I last tested this category in August 2024 (and have been doing so for nearly a decade), and there's been a literal pile of new entrants since. This isn't all of what I'll be testing, so stay tuned.
