Claremont Cycle Depot: bicycles & sporting goods

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Bicycle tools

Claremont Cycle Depot carries bicycle tools by Pedro's and Park Tools, as well as tools by Trek Wrench Force and Specialized. We can supply you with the tools you need for simple maintenance or the tools necessary for more complete work on your bike, road or mountain. We've also got a full line of cleaning products and lubricants to make your ride perform at its best. Here are just a few products.

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Your bicycle toolkit

Basic bicycle repair isn't all that difficult. The moving parts are all visible, and there's no electrical or fuel system. All you have to do is watch how things work — or don't work. But like any piece of machinery, you need the proper tools to repair and maintain it.

Common hand tools

You might already own most of the hand tools you need. These include screwdrivers of various sizes (regular and phillips) and smaller sizes of metric combination wrenches. A metric socket set is often useful. You'll also need a set of metric allen wrenches. You might also want a small torque wrench, especially if your bike has carbon-fiber components.

Basic bicycle tools

Besides a floor pump, patch kit and tire irons (you do have those, right?), you should also own a few tools used only on bicycles. You definitely need a chain tool. Get one designed for the type of chain you have, nine- or 10-speed. Hint: always use the replacement pin that comes with your new chain. Otherwise your new chain may fail. (Been there, done that!)

You need a properly sized spoke wrench to remove any wobbles in your wheels. But truing a wheel properly is an art that takes lots of practice, usually requiring a wheel-truing stand. Fix the little wobbles yourself and let the bike mechanic work on the big ones, or rebuilding wheels.

Many people like to change their gearing for special events or races. You'll need a cassette tool (Shimano or Campagnolo) to loosen the lockring, plus a chain whip to hold the gears while you loosen it.

Other bicycle tools

Extremely mechanically minded folks who want to do all the work on their bike will need a few other tools. The following should be enough to perform most bicycle repair and maintenance.

To replace your brake or shifter cables, you need a cable cutter; wire cutters just mash the woven cables. To remove your pedals you may need a pedal wrench. (Remember, the left-side pedal loosens clockwise.)

If you need to work on your bottom bracket, you need several specialized tools. Sealed bottom brackets, which require no maintenance, use a special tool for replacement (and sometimes adjustment) that depending on manufacturer. Loose-ball bottom brackets, which do need regreasing occassionally, usually need a lockring tool plass a pin spanner for one side, and another specialized wrench for the other. And of course you need a crank remover that fits your crankset before you can even get at the bottom bracket.

To maintain your hub bearings, you'll need hub wrenches for conventional ball-and-cone hubs. Sealed-bearing hubs may only require the rare adjustment with the proper tool for the hub style.

You might also want to pick up a “multi” tool for use on the road or trail. These come in various configurations, ranging from a folding allen wrench and screwdriver set to versions that also have box wrenches and a chain tool. Sure beats walking!

Get a book

While you can muddle through many repairs, it's a whole lot easier to fix things when you know what you're doing. Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance is a good book for roadies. For the trail-riding set, Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance is a good bet.