Hey gang. I’m building up my bike repair tool set, and it looks like I’ll either need to get a set (or several popularly sized) cone wrenches and/or an adjustable wrench with a thin profile.
I figure an adjustable wrench could help service anything from axles/hubs to headsets, which cone wrenches are limited to the size(s) you’ve got.
Any advantage/disadvantage of one over the other that I might not realize?
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I’ve never seen an adjustable wrench that was thin enough to do many of those jobs. Maybe you could grind a standard one thin enough. A little tricky.
Just to throw it out there, so you don’t think something like this (2mm thickness) would work?
That probably would! Of course a whole set of cheap cone wrenches cost less. And in some cases you need to use two cone wrenches at the same time to get an adjustment right. For you that you would need two of these $40 wrenches. Still nice to know that exists. Perfect for the occasional oddball sized cone you run across if you mess with enough wheels.
I’m going to do the best of both works and pick up some Park Tool cone wrenches of the sizes I absolutely need for the bikes I currently have. And I’ll also pick up one of the thinner adjustable wrenches (in a reputable brand) for some light tasks.
I don’t think you can have too many tools, anyway, provided they are good quality 😂
Tools and fasteners with these thin flats are delicate, because of the high contact pressures resulting from thin wrenches. Exactly the conditions you don’t want to use an adjustable wrench for. Instead, only buy the wrenches for the parts you have, and build out your set over time. Also, I’m not sure I’d trust a normal size adjustable wrench off Amazon, much less a specialty tool like that.
That’s good advice. I think I’ll measure the parts I have and just order tools one at a time. The sets don’t seem to save money anyway, so that’s fine.
I’m a fan of adjustable wrenches, but haven’t used a thin profile one at all. I think you’re probably right about them being less than ideal for this application, but I may just get one for those “what if” situations.
Have you seen the knipex parallel jaw pliers? They’ve completely replaced all but my largest crescent style adjustable: https://www.knipex.com/products/pipe-wrenches-and-water-pump-pliers/pliers-wrenches-pliers-and-a-wrench-in-a-single-tool/pliers-wrenches-pliers-and-wrench-single-tool/8603180
I’ve got a small knipex, and love it! I may need to get a larger one like that 😁