The Fix It Sticks tool catalog is mostly two different approaches – a light pair of sticks with 4 fixed bits, or a modular design with a pair of sticks and replaceable bits that let’s you carry as many bits as you need. Now, The Blend mixes the best of both worlds. Oh, and it looks like they have preset torque bits available too! Ok, nothing to see there. At least nothing we can talk about. About those torque wrench bits, read on…
Fix It Sticks – The Blend, modular T-wrench multi-tool
It’s super simple really. For $34 The Blend gives you one Original Stick with fixed 4mm & 5mm bits, and one Replaceable Stick, plus a carrying case with another seven bits a bracket to mount it under a bottle cage. In total you have 2.5, 3, 4 (2x), 5, 6 & 8mm hexes, plus a Torx T25 & a #2 Phillips bit.
You get the slightly lighter alloy Original with the security to not lose the most common bits, plus the flexibility of the steel Replaceable Stick. The carrying case even has room for at least one extra 1/4″ bit if you bike uses some unique hardware. But The Blend now, straight from Fix It Sticks.
Fix It Sticks Torque Limiters – inline torque wrench bits by Sloky
So, I’m not entirely sure how we didn’t spot these yet (OK, maybe I do know – more on that in a minute), but Fix It Sticks also sells a wide range of preset, inline torque limiters designed for maintenance in their Shooting tools division. Essentially a 1/4″ bit torque key into which you plug any other 1/4″ bit you need, they cost $40 a piece and work with the Replaceable Sticks.
They were specifically not targeted at cycling, but in fact produced under Fix It Sticks’ ‘Shooting’ maintenance division and are designed for torque settings needed for firearm maintenance, not for bikes. (Remember folks, Fix It Sticks is a tool company. And before anyone gets up in arms, they are not selling any firearms or the like; just tools that you can use to work on anything.)
Produced together with Taiwanese company Sloky it seems, these preset torque limiters are also calibrated and labeled in in-lbs. That’s not super convenient for cyclists’ needs (again we are clearly not the market here) where our typical torque limits are in Nm. But we can do the math. Common 4Nm=35.4in-lb & 5Nm=44.25in-lb, which look pretty close to the 35 &; 45 in-lb bits that Fix It Sticks sells. We’d certainly be curious to have such a portable torque tool to carry on the go to adjust light carbon seatposts & stems, if nothing else!
