dee-vee

I want to start doing all the repairs on my bikes myself so I am looking for a tool set, is the Park Tool AK-37 set worth the $300 price? What about the spin doctor sets?

skiracing

I think with the sets you get certain tools for which you have no use; i'd just get the tools you need specific to your bike.

nitropowered

Park Tools are worth the price. But think carefully before you buy a set. The come with some tools that you'll never use but it is cheaper than buying all of the tools separately. So you may be able to just sell of the ones you don't need and come out ahead.

MudPie

Park Tools are considered "professoinal grade". They might be overkill for the home mechanic. I have about 85% Park and 15% "others" in my bicycle specific tool box. The "others" work fine for me. I do find the Park designs to be a little better and more comfortable to use, which is probably more important if you make a living wrenching.

JosephPaul86

Yes if you are a bike mechanic...no if you are a DIY on a budget guy.

Recently I found a deal on Pricepoint.com for some tools. So far I have used them on my road bike and mountain bike to tear down to the frame, clean, lube everything. That being said, they are not the best quality of the few park tools I have....but they get the job done.

https://www.pricepoint.com/detail/145...--21-Tools.htm

goatalope

I have a $50 nashbar kit and it works fine. Occasionally I buy individual park tools when I need something specific. Then again, having Park tools gives you "street cred"... as the kids say.

roadfix

Buy the best tool you can afford as you need them.
One expensive tool you can get by with a home made equivalent is the headset press.

dervish

+1 for buying tools one at a time, and if u run into a job where u dont have the tool, just go to ur LBS...its always worked for me

MudPie

Dang, that seems to be a pretty good deal. I bought a Sette bottom bracket tool and it works fine.

MudPie

Opening a bicycle tool kit and seeing a set of Park tools is like opening an automotive tool chest and seeing a complete set of Snap-On tools. It's a noble goal, but I wouldn't go into debt for it as a weekend mechanic.

jhota

yes, Park tools are "worth" the price. but as it's been stated, they are pro-level tools: the Snap-On comparison seems apt. Craftsman tools are fine for home use (mostly), but pros use Snap-On (or MAC, or Matco) because they function better and last longer. i will say that i'm not impressed with Park's screwdrivers, allen wrenches (hex keys) or combination wrenches. for the same money you can get much better.

i like my Snap-On tools, and i like my Park tools. but my Sette/Nashbar/whatever brand tools work fine, too.

i also agree with the buy what you need when you need it: tool sets, whether they're bike-specific or otherwise, tend to be "padded" with stuff you don't want or need to make them look better.

and as for "street cred," Park's got nothing on Campy:



i used to work with a guy who had a full Campy tool kit (including all the frame tools). man, that kit saved my butt more than once. someday, i'll have one. someday.

greyghost_6

^Wow thats so sexy....

zacster

I see in your profile that you're 23 years old. I'm 53 myself. If I had bought the kit 30 years ago I'd have saved much more than $300 on repairs and the one-off tools I've bought. The question you need to ask yourself is this: Will I be doing more than adjusting cables, swapping chains and tightening parts? Will I be disassembling and assembling bikes?

The last frame I bought had an integrated headset, and I had the shop installl the mega-exo BB. Everything else I did myself, but I didn't need any special tools, mostly just allen wrenches and a chain tool. $300 is a lot for allen wrenches.

HillRider

One thing I would definitely avoid is the type of "bike tool" sold at places like Harbor Freight. Nashbar/Performance house brand tools are mostly made by Lifu and are quite good.

Park is nearly always reliable but avoid their chrome plated double end cone wrenches. Get the black, single size, blue plastic coated version.

I agree that kits are cheaper only if you need nearly all of the included tools. Otherwise you will buy a bunch of unused items.

DMF 

HillRider, if I recall correctly the bike kit at Harbor Freight is (nearly) identical to the Lifu kits of a few years ago, and thus probably re-branded Lifu like the cheap Nashbar/Performance kits that are indeed pretty good.

Don't knock it just because Harbor Freight sells it; they sell some crap and some decent stuff.

HillRider

Not a particular slam at Harbor Freight and I agree some of their products are a good value but the bike tools I've seen there recently were very crude looking. Perhaps they also sell a kit I didn't notice that is better quality.

DMF 

More likely my memory is faulty.

Now where was I?

squirtdad

buy good tools...or buy good tools as the less expensive ones break I have the nashbar $50 buck kit. Most of the tools work fine, but some like the chain breaker died really quickly. And then I found that I didn't have the cone wrench needed for my son's bms, etc. Looking back, buying a bigger, quality set of tools would have save me money in the last 2 years. All in all I've found that when i get better tools I have less damage to parts and me. The difference between a park spoke wrench and a shp brand was huge.

most important is that you are doing your own work and hopefully having fun

pwyll99

I bought the performance set and am happy with it. It was a good starting point.

My plan is that if I actually use it enough to wear tools out, then I'll replace them one at a time with Park tools.

the scout

Definitely not I have always been disappointed in Park tools eg cable cutter jaws not opening wide enough to facilitate standard Shimano brake cable outer. There are better options for both cost and effectivness.

FLYcrash

I'd say that Park tools are just as hit-or-miss as anything...it's nice to be able to go on a tool-by-tool basis. If you read tool recommendations in Barnett's or browse reviews on mtbr, you'll see that some Park tools are loved and others are not so loved.

So I'd say skip the tool box and accumulate one-off tools on an as-needed basis. You probably won't need most of the things in that $300 set soon, if you ever need them at all.