staehpj1

I wouldn't have even installed it. As soon as I saw a splice I'd have probably requested a refund or replacement. Multiple splices would have been a slam dunk especially given the price of that stuff. Fortunately for me I like cork better any way and it is much cheaper.

Happy Feet

I didn't really notice the splices until one started to pull apart while I was applying it. As is, a quick email followed and Brooks straight away offered a replacement .

Now I guess I'll have two sets and will treat this one like it's older and had some wear and repair. I've secured the splice areas by wrapping waxed cordage and shellac around them so they won't part. I've also shellac'd the provided cloth wraps to secure the ends as their glue tends to pull away.

I've never used leather bar tape before but was always curious about it, as I think it gives a classic look when combined with a leather saddle. Usually I also go with synthetic cork for practicality and cost. On a few bikes I've experimented with shellac over top of cork or cloth and that looks pretty good too.

For durability I've had good success with the Brooks Cambium rubber bar tape, that goes along with the Cambium saddle line. One can wrap and rewrap and it doesn't tear like the synthetic cork stuff when scuffed. This set has been on a couple of bars now.

Tourist in MSN

I think bar tape is personal preference, I prefer the lowest cost cork tape, but I will never suggest to someone that they use something other than what they choose to use. I even put cork tape on my kayak paddles.

When i worked in a bike shop in the 70s and the choice was plastic tape and cloth tape, any of the modern tapes are infinitely better than the stuff from decades ago.

Happy Feet

Yep. 56, riding all my life and this is the first time for leather for me

I rebuild a lot of bikes so am always trying new things. Just now I was contemplating the different bar treatments I've done in the last couple of years. cork coated with shellac, brown cloth coated with shellac that looked like leather, harlequin pattern cloth, rubber cambium wrap, old bicycle inner tubes as bar wrap and now.. leather.

Double wrapped innertube.



Brain hurting first attempt at Harlequin wrapping


Brown cloth and shellac


Synthetic cork and shellac. It's shiny because I just did it. With use it dulls down.

DropBarFan

I always admired folks who could do harlequin wrap, esp in pre-internet days before detailed instructions were available. I now use LizardSkins 2.5 black tape...the 3.2 white tape was cushy but so thick it didn't stay in place well plus it got stained.

I saw a post by a guy who wrapped his car steering wheel (some can be slippery): cloth handlebar tape (IIRC) with ~shellac...he did a really nice job & the wheel had a classic sports car look.

Tourist in MSN

I do admire bikes and bike parts that the owner/rider took the time and effort to turn into a work of art, while retaining full functionality.

I bought a leather steering wheel cover that had to be sewn on for my 89 Jeep Comanchee pickup truck that I bought new in 1988. First and only new vehicle I have ever bought. Spent over an hour sewing it on by hand. Had a nice grip, but on very humid days it absorbed moisture and had an odd feel. I drove that truck for 17 years, wish they still made them.

Happy Feet

The harlequin wrapping drove me nuts at the time, even with a video tutorial

Took the folder for a day ride to test the rear rack. The panniers were loaded as heavy as I'll ever make them and it handled well. Still waiting for the second mount for my HB bag

Happy Feet

A slight detour from the bike today.

I mentioned using normal pedals instead of folding pedals and taking a wrench with me for breaking things down on the road and decided to recycle a broken wrench I had laying around for the job.

The 14mm side cracked open some time ago and left me with a 13mm that I rarely use.



So I set to work with a hand drill, some crappy drill bits, an angle grinder and a Dremel:

• Cut off the broken wrench and beveled the end so it could serve as a tire lever.
• Expanded the 13mm opening to 15mm so it would fit the pedals.
• Tried some drillium to lose weight but failed and made a mess because the bits wouldn't bite very well and went off center so I changed course and made some slots instead.
• Added a bottle opener.

Even as I look at it I want to remove that little bridge of metal between the two slots spaces and straighten all the sides more. I left it because I was afraid of weakening the handle too much.
If I counted labour this could wind up being a very expensive wrench
The work is a bit rough because I had to compensate for some crappy drill holes (a hand drill is no good for drillium work) and I would like to try my hand again at it using a drill press and decent bits.

Tourist in MSN

Yeah, I would not cut off any more metal. I would have left it longer, sometimes pedals can get pretty tight, occasionally I have had to put my foot on the wrench to loosen them and I would not want to put that much force on your wrench.

A couple years ago was at a swap meet and saw a cone wrench where one end was big, like maybe 24mm. And I recalled that I had a Park cassette lock ring tool that needed a wrench that was about 1 inch, or 25.4mm. Bought it. Little bit of time with a hack saw and big file, turned one end into a wrench to fit on the lock ring tool. But I made no attempt to get more artistic than that. I do not recall what size the other end of that wrench is, but it is a useless size so I should cut that other end off to make it fit better in the tool bag.

djb

Cool, but as you say yourself, both this and the bar tape certainly keeps you out of the pool halls doesn't it?

staehpj1

Nice idea on the pedal wrench, but if you have a hex nut on the headset the short park wrench that has a pedal wrench on one end and a headset wrench on the other might be worth considering. I think it is the HCW-6 if you have a 32mm headset nut. There are other models for other headset sizes. It is pretty handy for bikes that use that type of headset.

Some folks say they have good luck using an allen wrench with pedals that have a provision for either 6 mm or 8 mm allen keys. I have my doubts about a 6 mm allen key being sufficient for removing a stubborn pedal though.

Happy Feet

Interesting. I'll look up that tool HCW-6.

In the spring I actually bought a headset wrench that fit the bike I was considering doing the rinko thing to with plans to cut it down similar to this idea, but with a little handle instead of the allen key thing:
https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop...-headset-tool/
So perhaps I'll I'll cut it down and include a pedal wrench in the other end of a shortened handle and try some drillium again. The idea for the tool is a take along on trips so I don't want it to be a long shop size or weight.

One thing I have earned is to grease the pedals liberally and back them off once in a while. Mine don't seize now (touch wood) but I still come across the occasional challenge when working on projects. It's how I broke the 14 side on this wrench

djb

I have a smallish pedal wrench, maybe 7in long , with some other wider bit at the other end (cant recall what it is) and this is what I used to take on trips. Three or four years ago I started thinking of how to reduce the weight of my longer trip tool kit, so I just went with taking my larger allen key that fits in my regular shimano spd pedals and my wifes wellgo or whatever spd pedals.
Cleaning and greasing threads before a trip and not overly tightening works out fine for getting them off. I do put the allen key in and position the crank so I can give the allen key a good whack to loosen the pedal, and so far it works alright. Even after a two month long trip I don't recall it being overly hard to loosen, but I dont go nuts tighten the pedals also, obviously enough to not have loosening or even creaking issues, but so far its worked out.

I'm sure I weighed my pedal wrench and allen key, and the diff was certainly enough to just go with lighter allen key.
I put my bike gloves on top of the allen key when I give it a sharp hard whack, so I dont hurt my hand. Seems to work alright all in all.
Had a plastic bag for the greasy pedals to put in when prepping the bike to be boxed, to not get anything else dirty where I stuck the pedals in my carry on bag. Had a security guy once start to make a fuss about them I think in Mexico City, but was able to explain / plead well enough that he was fine with them going on with me.

Tourist in MSN

As Staehpj1 noted, some pedals can use a 6 or 8mm allen wrench. I have used a L shaped 6mm extra long version of an allen wrench on a few occasions for pedals, but only for a week. If the pedal was only on the bike for a week, it should not be too much tighter when you want to remove it than when you put it on. Standard hardware store extra long 6mm allen wrench is all you need.

Don't try a multi-tool for that, they are not built for that kind of torque. I had to use one once to remove pedals that were so tight I had to put my foot on the wrench, it did not break the wrench but I suspected that it might.

My S&S bike came with one of these. When I fly somewhere with that bike, that is my pedal wrench, S&S wrench, etc.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tools/th...ccentric-tool/

S&S cautions you to carry a wrench in case a coupler loosens during your ride. I bought one of these to carry for riding around near home. The curvy end is not perfect for the S&S couplers, but it is close enough to get me home, includes a 15mm open end wrench.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bicycle-Rep...3/143564769903

Some wrenches have two holes drilled at the right distance apart that it can fit under a water bottle cage. If you had one of those and were going somewhere for a multi-week trip, you could store your wrench on the frame under a cage.

BikeLite

I permanently damaged my crank bros multitool using the 8mm allen to remove an overtightened pedal..should have used an L type allen wrench.

Happy Feet

That's a great little idea! Probably not so practical as just having it in a the tool bag but a nifty little touch when travelling light.

It'll have to wait though. I'm currently working on this while I await my Carradice order:

fietsbob

Park used to make the RW_ 1 , a 15 & 32, and the RW_ 3 a 15 & 36 of 1/8" thick steel .. about 6" long..

so a threaded head set and a pedal wrench for the tour tool kit... to take the pedals off to box the bike at the end of the trip,
or install them when you got to your tour start Like Air Port arrivals area ..

putting them on with the same tool that you will take them off is suggested,,




...

Tourist in MSN

That is a bummer.

When I travel with my S&S bike or my folding bike, I have to remove the crank arms (square taper) to pack the bike in the S&S case. That takes an 8mm allen wrench, but the 8mm crank arm bolts take enough torque that I carry a good enough wrench that won't break.

I mentioned above my S&S wrench, that also has an 8mm box wrench built in. I cut off about an inch of an 8mm allen wrench, I can use the S&S wrench to grip that short stub of allen wrench on my crank arm bolts. That 8mm stub of allen wrench is taped to my S&S wrench on the far left in the photo. I also use the 15mm open end wrench on the S&S wrench on the crank puller which is also in the photo, just to the right of the S&S wrench.



It takes some serious thinking to figure out the most compact and light weight, yet useful took kit for bike touring.

To pack the bike in an S&S case, I even have to take the water bottle cages off. Assembling and disassembling the bike is complicated and time consuming enough that I bring some shop sized tools along too. The side cutter in the photo is mainly used to cut zip ties.

djb

I've got two words for you

space shuttle

djb

I nearly did the same thing. I was a fricken idiot at an airport, arrived late, was over tired, and nearly damaged my multi tool in the same way-- Before realizing what a goof I was being because of course I had the long stand alone Allen key down under the stuff in my tool bag....

djb

wise words Mr fiets

staehpj1

That is the tool I was thinking of when I suggested the HCW-15. Sorry I suggested the wrong part number. I was indeed thinking of the RW-1. Sorry to read that it is no longer available.
For a picture see:
Park Tool RW-1 (discontinued) | PB & J All Day

djb

Funny,I was switching some pedals this afternoon and looked at my old Parks thing, and sure enough, it's one. Bought it a long time ago
It does weigh 98g while my 7mm full length Allen key weighs 44g, so nice not to take it anymore.

All the little numbers do add up.

DropBarFan

This past week I dealt with a couple tight parts & read about anti-seize compound which is supposed to work a bit better than grease esp with dissimilar metals. I've also picked up a pair of thick mechanic's gloves which help protect hands & grip tools, tires etc for when a lot of force is required. A couple of months ago I bought a WERA ratchet, bit socket & assorted hex/Torx bits. I'm not sure they help that much convenience-wise though the hex bits (as well as some of WERA's L Allen wrenches) have the "Hex-Plus" design which is supposed to reduce chance of damaging bolts' inner surfaces.

Happy Feet

It's the funny thing about forum discussions... you never know when you will learn something new.

I've been following the allen key talk and wondering how in the heck you remove pedals with one, imagining somehow putting them through the pedal portion or something. Finally I googled it. I've never taken a pedal off from the back like that! What the heck

These days I use a stronger wrench and a rubber mallet and have gotten quite good at giving them the right kind of whack. A pedal hasn't defeated me in a while.