Park Tool , anyone used their stuff?

[catfish]

Ordered a couple of specialty bike tools off amazon for this 1980s racing cycle i found on the side of the road and want to restore.A square taper crank puller and a chain removal tool , tools say park tool USA on them.

Just wondering if anyone knows what the quality is like and whether the USA is just a localised distribution office or if they were made in USA as the prices seemed quite cheap on these items.First i have heard of these guys , maybe cos i haven't ridden bicycles much since i got my car 10 years back , maybe that will change!

 

[gonefirefighting]

park, pedros and lezyne are the best bike tools you can get for the money

 

[Hank McMauser]

I have a few wheel bearing adjusting wrenches, they are good quality
ETA....... I knew these things had a name they're called cone wrenches

 

[JasonTX]

I have the crank puller and chain tool, probably 18 years old. Used many time, no failures. Good stuff.

 

[el tanque prohibido]

Park is top drawer bicycles tools.

 

[jjjrmx5]

Yep.

Been using Park tools since the late 1980's.

Currently own 9 bikes including many many boxes of 70's , 80's and early 90's NOS Dura-Ace, 105 Arrow's , 600EX and Campy parts.

Park is very much the std. outside of the special factory-only mfgr tools.

A very tiny sampling of my NOS... VVVV

 

[Tony N.]

I use the thin Parktool wrench to hold the caliper pin bolt while I tighten the caliper down. It's quality stuff for such a thin wrench.

 

[reptilezs]

park is about 80% US production. not a huge fan of pedros but their tire lever are the bomb

 

[franzdom]

I used to deal with them a lot, and they are definitely made in the USA when they claim to be so. They make most of their own tools.

 

[e30bradley]

all the park tools I have are US made.. and I have ALLOT. there quality is very good but I'm not sure if they have any warrantee. just wait until you get them, you'll see.

 

[Mugen AP1]

Park is the best. Worked in a cycle shop for about 6 years when i was a kid. Another good brand at the time (not around anymore) was Wrench Force. Some of their stuff was made by Snap-on. Like the hard handle screwdrivers etc.

 

[Deception]

the first tool I ever bought was a Park folding hex set to work on my BMX bike, still got it.

 

[Ign]

I think it's just volume of sales (ie to a specialty market) but Park's really proud of their stuff IMO. $$

Some things are useful, but for "the basics" like hex keys, you obviously don't need Park. Other things like chain whips can be made from a pc of flat bar and length of old chain.

 

[kc-steve]

Like others have said, Park Tools are quality made in the US and I have a few of their tools. There are other specialty bicycle tools available as well, but from my experience, when you are trying to remove a freewheel assembly that hasn't been removed since it was built in 1978, the Park tool is one that I can rely on to do the job without breaking.

Sure I have made some of my own tools as well, but there are some that should be Park's.

Steve

 

[Duck72]

I love my Park Tools. My local bike shop uses them too.
Here are a few I picked up from my bike shop not too long ago.

 

[bhalv]

Great tools and pretty much standard for most bike shops. Not the best that out thee but still very good tools, think S.K or Williams quality levels.

 

[trboxman]

I have a bunch of Park tools, every one of them has paid for themselves on personal bike repairs over the years. However, there are lots of things sold by Park that I won't buy, like torque wrenches, hex keys, screw drivers...basically things that aren't really specialty bike tools, it's just not cost effective to pay Park prices for commodity items.

 

[kc-steve]

I have a bunch of Park tools, every one of them has paid for themselves on personal bike repairs over the years. However, there are lots of things sold by Park that I won't buy, like torque wrenches, hex keys, screw drivers...basically things that aren't really specialty bike tools, it's just not cost effective to pay Park prices for commodity items.

I agree tr, but Park's small 0-60 inch/pound torque wrench is about as good as it gets in price, unless you buy a Harbor Freight TW, but then again that's like comparing apples to oranges.

Steve

 

[trboxman]

Park's TW is made in Taiwan or China just like HF's is...I don't see it as apples to oranges so much as it is Granny Smith to Golden Delicious. I've used both and both were accurate within spec.

 

[kc-steve]

Park's TW is made in Taiwan or China just like HF's is...I don't see it as apples to oranges so much as it is Granny Smith to Golden Delicious. I've used both and both were accurate within spec.

I honestly didn't know that tr, BUT HF's inch-pound torque wrench is a "clicker" style and needs to be professionally calibrated routinely, so YES they are like comparing apples to oranges since Park's is a beam style. Calibration can be done yourself.

Steve

 

[98TJ]

With a fleet of 17 bikes between the four of us, I have quite a bit of Park stuff here.

 

[trboxman]

I was talking about Park's clicker. I've not used their beam style, sorry for the confusion.

 

[tube_guy]

I recently bought a Park TW-1 beam style torque wrench to set pinion bearing preload in a differential. At least maybe 8-9 months ago, that was made in the USA.

 

[markitsnappy]

To the OP, what kind of bike did you find? Also park tools are awesome. I used to collect English road bikes and park tools helped maintain them. I still have a park truing stand on my work bench. Reminds me of when I could build a set of wheels in a flash. Some of the tools from performance bikes house brand are decent but I believe they are mainly made in Taiwan.

 

[franzdom]

Yes, most of Performance Bicycle tools are from Taiwan, they used to use a lot from Lifu.

 

[catfish]

To the OP, what kind of bike did you find? Also park tools are awesome. I used to collect English road bikes and park tools helped maintain them. I still have a park truing stand on my work bench. Reminds me of when I could build a set of wheels in a flash. Some of the tools from performance bikes house brand are decent but I believe they are mainly made in Taiwan.

This is how it was when we picked it off the street a week ago , as you can see it was in a pretty bad accident.The forks are now around half an inch further forward than they are in this image.One of the front brakes was also missing so i ordered two new sets of brakes along with new rubber brake covers/hoods , new seat , new chain and new bar tape.

I have no idea how a bike could sustain that kind of damage to the forks without the rims buckling.A couple of spokes had very small kinks in them but they were very easy to straighten out.

Like i said before all the parts are Japan , even the rims.

 

[CD1]

Park tools are a good value for a quality tool. Campagnolo also make quality tools for their bike parts.
I would not purchase the Pedro brand or any other off-brand.



There maybe be other quality bike tools, but I'd beware of other brands sold by bike catalogs.

BTW, I've been a purchaser of bike parts from catalogs for over 35 years. I was buying from Bike Nashbar when it was Bike Wholesale in the 70's.

 

[ckpitt55]

i bought some cassette tools - the chain whip wrench and the lock ring adapter socket, along with a couple of the thin open end wrenches. no complaints, well made and they worked great. not terribly expensive either.

 

[franzdom]

Park tools are a good value for a quality tool. Campagnolo also make quality tools for their bike parts.
I would not purchase the Pedro brand or any other off-brand.



There maybe be other quality bike tools, but I'd beware of other brands sold by bike catalogs.

BTW, I've been a purchaser of bike parts from catalogs for over 35 years. I was buying from Bike Nashbar when it was Bike Wholesale in the 70's.

correction: Bike Warehouse. I used to order from them also, got the original Bell helmet in 1977 before an epic trip in Colorado. I worked at Colorado Cyclist from 1989 to 1996 and Performance Bicycle from 1996 to 2001 when they layed me off the day I got back from my honeymoon.

 

[Tman]

I have 30 year old Park tools still going strong. A sidenote, Park Tool started as a Schwonn store int he Twin Cities before venturing into the tool business as a sideline.

 

[SMKS]

I have several of their tools that I bought new. I'm not at home, but if memory serves, these are the countries of origin.

The freewheel remover is made in the USA.

The chain whip is assembled in the USA with domestic and foreign parts.

The chain cleaner is assembled in the USA with domestic and foreign parts.

 

[Thumper]

I've got a bunch.......never let me down.

 

[6-Speed]

Three drawers on my tool chest are dedicated to bicycle tools ... mostly Park Tools; they are good tools.

 

[Jim Johnstone]

As a 10 year veteran bike mechanic, I can say with certainty that Park tools are the finest bike tools out there. Campy and Shimano tools are good quality, but madly over priced.

 

[Butters]

I have no idea how a bike could sustain that kind of damage to the forks without the rims buckling.A couple of spokes had very small kinks in them but they were very easy to straighten out.

It's really not that shocking. I snapped my VERY high quality forks during a race mishap and the rim was fine. Be sure to check the downtube near the top for dimpling. Sometimes in a crash like that the head tube can be pushed back a bit.

This thread takes me back. Over a quarter century later, I still miss my 1984 Pinarello Record Equip. All Campy with a Dura Ace SIS drivetrain. It was perfect . . .

 

[markitsnappy]

It's really not that shocking. I snapped my VERY high quality forks during a race mishap and the rim was fine. Be sure to check the downtube near the top for dimpling. Sometimes in a crash like that the head tube can be pushed back a bit.

This thread takes me back. Over a quarter century later, I still miss my 1984 Pinarello Record Equip. All Campy with a Dura Ace SIS drivetrain. It was perfect . . .

ditto on checking the head tube. feel underneath the down tube and top top tube for any rippled paint. When it comes to any front end collisions you want the front wheel to take the brunt of the damage. it's easier to replace a wheel then your whole frame. I got into a head on collision and my front wheel tacoed but the bianchi frame was totally fine. My right hand while holding onto the brake lever rammed into the other rider's handlebars and the modolo brake lever bent to the contour of my hand. Luckily i didn't brake my hand.