jonwvara 

I'm going to start selling a new freewheel removal tool--made with bike tourists in mind--sometime in the next couple of weeks. The prototypes have worked better than I had hoped and seem to be very durable. I just recently put up a blog post about them on the Red Clover Components web site.

The post is at New Product! Introducing the Freewheel Key - Red Clover Components, if anyone wants to have a look. No idea whether the world needs a tool like this, but I do like mine.

TenGrainBread 

Cool idea. I assume you've reached out to Compass, Soma, Velo Orange, etc... to see if they'd be interested in stocking some?

seedsbelize 

Lovely idea, and I'm not even a tourist. But I do ride freewheels and break the occasional spoke.

crank_addict

Nice!

I don't recall who offered a same 'tourist' freewheel tool from years ago, perhaps it was VAR and drop forged.

Roll-Monroe-Co

Well that is bloody brilliant.

Vintage_Cyclist

Just a thought, what if the ends of the two posts doubled as 5mm and 6mm allen keys?

delicious

I'm in for one!

elcraft

Sent a comment on your website

canklecat

Clever. Could have used that a couple of times the past few years although I was within a few miles of home and managed to limp along carefully. I can certainly see how it would be useful on tour.

Andy_K 

That's genius! I was thinking it was just kind of cool until I saw the picture with the dogs in the signpost. That picture kicked it way over the top.

AustinFitz

I thought the same thing! I'd love one to keep in my bag on my touring rig. Really practical design!

Lovenutz

Very clever, and so simple to use!

Aubergine 

I still have my pocket pro!

pastorbobnlnh 

Jon sent me a prototype and I can't wait to give it a try!

The tool is very robust. I can see where Jon tested it, however, the flats remain in excellent shape. I have a Pocket Pro and will take comparison pictures, along with the vast assortment of removal tools I've collected. Jon is curious about the weight difference when compared to the Pocket Pro. I'll do my best to have that information and pictures up by Wednesday.

Prowler 

Well done Jon. I was wondering why you left the ends of the rectangle square rather than rounded off? Rounding would be extra expense but would pack away better. When packing for these sort of trips I'm always aware of constant vibrations and jostling and what things may wear into other things or wear through the pack. I try to eliminate or cover start metal corners. Just a thought for the r1 version.

Or do the squared corners provide a strength the tool needs?

jonwvara 

There's no reason that wouldn't work, but it would jack the cost way up, since it would involve machining a couple of custom allen wrenches when actual allen wrenches are so cheap. True, that would save a little weight, but what's the combined weight of a 5 and 6mm allen wrench? I think the trade off in cost to weight savings would be out of whack.

jonwvara 

Same as the above answer, basically. I want to keep the cost low enough that people will feel good about buying a tool that's going to spend so much of its life sleeping. Curves increase the cost a lot. Radiusing the ends of the body would save about three-quarters of an ounce, but would increase the cost disproportionately. Easier just to wrap it up in something, I think.

I had also thought about starting with 3/4 inch bar stock, rather than 1 inch, but that thins the tool too much in the notch area, and also makes it more likely that the pressure of use could cause the steel dogs to blow out through the aluminum surrounding them. And it only saves two ounces or so. That's a significant percentage of the weight of the tool, but two ounces still isn't much, even on a bike tour. And I hate tools that break in normal use.

qcpmsame 

Great idea Jon, this is one of those things that you look at, and think to yourself, "Why didn't I think of that?".

Bill

Aubergine 

Rodriguez and Erickson (R&E) Cycles in Seattle. They still are in business, focusing on custom and semi-custom handmade frames.

SJX426 

@jonwvara - Great idea and I like the low cost considerations. Here is another consideration. Instead of using dogs, use the maximum diameter of either combinations of 6, 7, 8 mm Allan's with a grove on the other side for the short leg. If you are carrying Allen's anyway, you don't need the dogs.

As long as the interface with the solid item is close to the tool surface, the Allen's should survive the shear force. Too far away could bend them. Then removal would be another challenge.

How about a travel hacksaw!

nlerner

Well done, Jon, and excellent write up on your site (with bonus comments about bike touring in Vermont in the winter). Some people just speculate about the ideal tool; I'm very impressed that you go out and get it manufactured!

FBinNY 

Sorry, but it's been done. But it was a generation or two back, so I guess that no one under 50 remembers it.

The original was a simple, cast aluminum part tapped for the QR skewer, and was pretty inexpensive. It sold OK for a while, but the move from freewheel to cassettes killed it off.

I have one tucked away someplace, and will post a photo later unless another old timer beats me to it.

In any case, while it's not new, there's still a niche market, so best wishes.

jonwvara 

You're right--there's nothing new under the sun. But the Freewheel Key is meant to be an improvement of the older Pocket Pro (as that older tool was called) in two ways:

First, the Pocket Pro was an aluminum casting, and so was not very strong. They used to break pretty often. The machined 7075 alloy I'm using is much, much stronger.

Second, the stubby aluminum "horns" on the Pocket Pro did not grab many objects well. The Freewheel Key grabs more things well, and grabs many things (signposts) perfectly.

SJX426 

@hazetguy - thanks for the link! If I had to make a choice between the pro and Jon' tool. I would buy Jon's and totally ignore the Pro.

As difficult as some freewheels are to remove, I wouldn't be surprised if the Pro would fail in a number of ways. One little void in the casting would finish it off. I can see sprocket injuries on hands and limbs.

pastorbobnlnh 

I'm thinking about making a little leather pouch to hold the prototype Jon sent my way. It will address the issues folks mention about banging around too much and possibly damaging other items. It should also be large enough to hold the removal tool at the same time.