Poguemahone

I use a Park CT3 in the shop, and a Park CT6.2 is in my tool bag. The CT3 I've used for years, it's the best chain tool I've run across. The CT 6.2 is a dedicated chain tool and far outstrips the next to useless ones on most multi-tools.

JohnDThompson 

For shop use I like the Gian Robert chain pliers:



I don't think Gian Robert is around any more, but VAR still offers a copy of this tool.

If you're on a budget, the Cyclo Rivoli tool is hard to beat. Works on both 3/32" and 1/8" chains and lasts forever. BikeTools, etc. has them: https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...tem_id=CY-158R

unworthy1

used the CT-5 Mini Brute for years with no problems, only complaint was the size so thought I'd enjoy the full-sized CT-3 even more...nope. It's bent pins twice in the first handful of uses, where I'd get years of pin life from the 2 Mini Brutes I own. Only up-side is Park sells replacement pins, but I'm thinking the quality has slipped at Big Blue..

nlerner

Yup, it's the Park CT-3 that I've had and found to work really poorly. After one round of replacement pins, I went with the VAR tool, but it was defeated by that old Raleigh Sports chain.

Thanks for that feedback all. My very first bike tool was the Cyclo Rivoli after I learned I couldn't brake a chain with a hammer and a punch. It lasted over 20 years, so you'd think I'd be smart enough to go back to that one. Still, that long-handled Park tool looks pretty darn cool.

Neal

mkeller234

A HUGE +1!! I never hesitate for those rusted chain shaped objects!

mkeller234

You think that is pricey.... the Shimano TL-CN32 will set you back around $140.00. Seriously... a CHAIN tool, that is just insanity!

pastorbobnlnh 

Shimano is cheap compared to the Campagnolo 11 speed tool. List price $297, but discounted to $180 at Amazon.

mkeller234

Pastorbobnlnh: Yikes!

kroozer 

Those Cyclo tools are pretty good, except that the pins always end up getting bent. They're much better for pushing the chain rivets out than back in.
The Mexican mechanics push the rivets back in with a Vise-grip. It's great for when the rivet is way out. You do it a little at a time, and once it's most of the way in, you finish with the Cyclo. Saves on bent pins.

Charles Wahl

Cyclo (below) vs. Suntour, which is even larger, comparatively, than it looks in the photo



No contest. And the Suntour is C&Ver, IMO (meaning: quality bike stuff, rather than "merchandise").

temon00

The park CT-5 works pretty dang good. I'm sure there are better ones out there, but it's cheap and it works.

dbakl

Yeah, the one I had in college lasted 30 years. Now I seem to have to buy a new one every year or two...

lostarchitect 

Same here. I was surprised it actually worked the first time I used it. But it's been fine, actually.

sillygolem

Ditto CT-5. I've used it at least a dozen times and it still works like new. It even punched through a chain the previous owner let drag against the cogs and front derailleur enough to mushroom the ends of the pins.

Had a Lifu/Ice Toolz chain breaker that looks like the Sunlite et al. and it was a piece of crap.

I put master links on chains as a matter of course. Even on my road bike I have to ride a 1/2 mile on dirt to hit pavement, and it makes chain cleaning a whole lot easier.

WNG

Cyclo vote for me. I still use mine from the late 70s. Always thought, when it breaks I'll invest in one that's nicer. But it never broke. I did buy a smaller portable one to carry in my tool pouch. Never needed it.

Glennfordx4

This didn't hold up a good as I thought it was going to, I have had mine for 4yrs but have been having problems with it for 2yrs. The centering pin doesn't like to push the pin out centered it always pushes on one side of the pin or the other but never center, broke two Shimano pins trying to install a new chain on a beater bike the other day. I liked the tool when I first got it and would like to find something that works as good as the Nasbar tool but lasts, I have a monster old Hozan that works good as a breaker for multi speed chain but not very well on 1/8" chain plus it's huge.

Amesja

I've been using the Park CT-3 for the past few months and it seems to be working well -even on single-speed chains. I've yet to have a single-speed chain that wouldn't fit in it.

I am not worried about breaking pins as replacements are cheap -but the lips seem to be the weak spot although the tool isn't very expensive at about $25. It is a very nice and handy tool and depending on how long it lasts I'll probably buy another one when the lips bust (especially if I have extra replacement pins on hand.)

But that Avenir tool looks like a good choice too just because of the extremely low cost. At that price it would't be that big of a deal when it eventually does break. Chains are pretty tough and chain-breakers live a tough life. Every time one uses a chain-breaker it takes a little hit and wears a bit. It is a tool that doesn't last forever and is consumed to certain degree every time it is used.

If a chain is junk then perhaps the key is to use a bolt-cutter instead and save the good tool or working on salvagable/reusable used chains as well installing new ones. It doesn't take much of a bolt cutter to cut a junk chain and one doesn't care about how messed up it gets before it is thrown into the metal scrap bin. Cheap bolt cutters are pretty cheap too. HF sells 24" cutters sometimes for under $15. When working on scrapyard bikes with chains that are junk the bolt-cutter is the quicker tool that won't put wear and tear on a nice chain breaker.

robatsu

I"m glad Auchencrow posted this. I have the same one but I couldn't remember the brand. I've also had this for years, have used it on all manner of countless chains. Works like a champ.

Preynmantis

Another vote for the Park CT-5

Amesja

The customer reviews of the Avenir tool on Amazon are pretty damning.

I always read the reviews with a grain of salt knowing that many of the people who write them know next to nothing about anything -much less the proper way to use a tool such as this. It's pretty easy to break even a high-end chain tool if it is used incorrectly and from my experience many people have no clue how to properly use a chain tool. More often than not the first-time chain-tool user will mess it up to the point where they will break a pin or bend the lips simply due to incompetence. At best, most people will push the pin too far (or even all the way) out and then complain that that the tool (any brand) is incapable of pushing it back in I've seen this exact complaint in other Amazon reviews for different chain tools as well as on forums like this one.

I also think that perhaps the Avenir product has suffered from quality-control issues due to poor choices in picking manufacturers for the design over the years. It may be that some of the older or newer tools were much better than the ones that came through Amazon which could throw off the reviews while people like Auchencrow got good ones.

For a $5 tool I guess it could be a craps shoot.

Amesja

Also, people complain about the dumbest things:

*If the rubber end-caps on the handle fall off then put some glue on them dumbo!

*If the handle unscrews from the tool then put some lock-tight on it.

*If the threads are rough and it isn't spinning well then maybe a drop of lube might help?

this isn't rocket-science kids. If you can't figure out these simple steps to keep a $5 bargain tool running then perhaps you don't have what it takes to work on bikes a should just pay a pro at your LBS to work on your bikes

Hydrated

You're overlooking the important details.

The HyperGlide logo makes it worth every penny!

rootboy 

This is interesting. I too have the old Cyclo Rivoli, from way back, and haven't experienced any problems with bent pins. I'm wondering the the quality and tempering of the pins on newer Cyclo tools has degraded, much like many newer tools.

jimmuller 

About 35 years ago I bought one that looked like this. Last year it wasn't up to the task on a new SRAM PC870. I think I replaced it with a Park somethingorother, don't really remember.

But I have a different problem - how to deal with the flared side plates on an SRAM chain. I've become a big fan of the Powerlink and the requisit pliers to open them.

w1gfh

Another vote for the Park CT-5. At a little over $10 you can't go too wrong.