While many show goers were drooling over the latest Enduro this, and fatbike that, there was as always a steady stream of shop guys stopping by the Park Tool booth to see what’s new. Often having the right tool means getting the job done or not, so as new standards crop up vigilance among the tools is a must. While there were certainly a few tools you could do without (a spork?), most of the new products from Park are needed improvements over previous models, or fill a void in the range.
Check out why you may need truing stand adapters (again) after the break.
Remember when 29ers were “new” and the wheels didn’t fit in truing stands without taking off the tires? It appears we’re right back where we started, only this time with fatbikes. The TS2.2 truing stand was modified to fit 29ers, but it wasn’t designed to fit the new 190mm wide fatbike hubs. So the TS-2 EXT.2 extensions have been reworked to not only fit 29ers on the original TS 2 truing stands, but allow for the TS 2.2 to fit hubs from 180-200mm wide. The dome shapes on the inside of the adapters also serve to hold thru axles with no need for additional adapters in the hubs.
With the advent of 9 and even 10 (!) speed freewheels, a longer freewheel tool is needed to get to the splines. Enter the new FR-1.2.
Ok, show of hands – who bought the original dummy pedal only to be disappointed because it wouldn’t stay in the crank arm and resorted to making your own threads/using tape, etc to keep it in place? While it should have been done from the get go, the new DP has a short stack of threads to keep it in place. Problem solved.
Nothing major, but the new MLP-1.2 master link pliers open and close 5-11 speed chains.
A favorite of many shop mechanics, the trusty 3-way has gotten a slightly less blingy, shop quality upgrade with the AWS-15. Built with a forged aluminum 2 piece body, the wrenches are made from Protanium steel and are replaceable.
These gloves are sort of a crossover product with Park claiming they’re good for both wrenching and riding. The include a fleece brow wipe, and touch screen compatibility on the thumb and index finger. You’re still going to want to bust out the Nitrile for disc brake and suspension work though…
New standards – new tools. The BBT-29 fits Dura Ace 9000, XTR 980, and FSA MegaEvo threaded BB cups.
Shops that do a lot of BMX will love this – a metric quad wrench for all your pegged needs. The MQ-1 includes forged 15/17 and 19mm sockets as well as a 3/8″ socket drive for a wild card. No more searching for the one extension the shop has that was last used to fish out a dropped screw from under a bench.
Another tool simply filling a void is the SCW-26 cone wrench. Previously cone wrenches went from 24-28mm, now you can purchase a single 26mm for things like suspension caps.
There were a number of other tools announced including a nice snap ring pliers set, a nipple driver for up to 50mm deep rims, an 8 and 10mm metric flare wrench for compression nuts on hydraulic lines (the closed but open shape will keep the wrench from slipping off the nut but still fit over the brake line), a forged Shimano spoke wrench for 4.3 and 3.75mm nipples, and finally a 4 and 5 bolt BCD gauge.
