I was cleaning out my garage today and found this old set of bicycle tools. I don't know what they are or what they're supposed to be used for on a bicycle. Can you identify them for me?
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1Excellent question - thank you for joining this stack to ask. – Criggie♦ Aug 16 '20 at 22:41
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For any people with many of the combination spanner tools (far right), I used them as fishing weights. You can cut it to different lengths to get different weights and, due to their shape, grip well on river/shore/lake floor. – abdnChap Aug 17 '20 at 8:44
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Where's the banana? – Strawberry Aug 18 '20 at 13:05
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@Strawberry the emergency banana for scale got eaten on the last ride. It was delicious. – Criggie♦ Aug 19 '20 at 0:00
The tool on the far left is potentially a tire spoon for removing a tire. I don't think that was its original use as it looks more like a tobacco can or possible a a patch adhesive lid tool. the second appears to be a combination flat head screwdriver and an allen wrench. The third is a brake adjustment aid. It squeezes the brake pads to the rim to allow for proper pad placement or cable adjustment. The far right is a multi size wrench. It is almost but not completely obsolete as most bikes now use allen head hardware.
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1I suspect that the second has two different allen sizes. Or perhaps one end is square. In any event, it's a wrench. And you're right that the tire tool appears to have been MacGyvered from a can opener. – Daniel R Hicks Aug 16 '20 at 21:26
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1Thanks. This is helpful. Since all the bikes in my household are now 6 years old or less (and I won't likely be doing brake adjustments myself) these are useless, but I may keep them for posterity. It is possible that the one on the left is a paint can opener. I remember getting a paint can opener when buying some paint a decade ago. It might have gotten mixed in with bike tools by accident. – J. Lenthe Aug 16 '20 at 22:15
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3On closer inspection the can opener may also have a bottle opener built into the handle. – mikes Aug 17 '20 at 1:36
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13Number two looks like something you'd find from a particular Swedish furniture manufacturer... – Phill Aug 17 '20 at 9:44
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2If the second tool it what I think it is (an ikea hex key) then i'm pretty sure both ends are the same size. They are really crappy hex keys too, I have had at least one peice of Ikea furniture where the supplied key couldn't apply enough torque to get the fastners in and just rounded out. – Peter Green Aug 17 '20 at 18:38
From left to right:
- Paint can lid opener
- Combination Allen key
- Third hand brake tool
- Combination wrench
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7Confirming #1 is an opener for a paint can, should go nowhere near a tyre or rim unless its last-resort. Seems to be extra-bent too, perhaps overstressed, or someone made a bodgy tool for extra-stubborn tyres (marathons perhaps?) – Criggie♦ Aug 16 '20 at 22:38
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3#4 is also called a "dog bone spanner" because it looks vaguely like a dog's bone. They lack in leverage because of length, and shape is awkward to use, but better than nothing. – Criggie♦ Aug 16 '20 at 22:41
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3
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1#2 & #4 are probably meant to travel along with the cyclist, right? I'd think you would want to use normal full size tools back in the shop / garage, space permitting... – StayOnTarget Aug 17 '20 at 19:16
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The tool on the right side is a spanner with several sizes. Not exactly a top quality tool as far as spanner go, but this one was once very common in Germany. It is short and it was standard to have it in a small bag hanging underneath the back side of the saddle. I am not sure whether it is still sold nowadays.
