# What do you tighten your nuts with? and why that tool?



## GrumpyGregry (18 Jan 2011)

EDIT For your wheel nuts rather than your pedals.....

I ask because I have a choice of an ancient cooltool with built in adjustable, small Park pedal spanner which looks like it would slice my hand if I used it in anger, a 'lifeline' pedal spanner with a coated handle which seems ok or a 6" draper adjustable which looks like it would be kinder to my nuts. (But in my head I hear Mr Loveday, the metalwork teacher, saying "Adjustable spanners are dreadful engineering practise, Collins" Which is funny because I was doing A level Drama at the time and didn't need, or ask for, his help to fix my Morini)

Your thoughts......


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## Rob3rt (18 Jan 2011)

Pedal spanner, an ice toolz thing. I grab it at a varying distance from the pivot point depending how tight the item needs to be so I can gauge how hard I'm tightening it. Reason = I already own it, so I am not keen on buying a track tool which is the same thing with a box spanner version on the other end.


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## tyred (18 Jan 2011)

I use a standard 15mm combination spanner.


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## skudupnorth (18 Jan 2011)

15mm spanner for me from my days when i played with those funny little car things !


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## mickle (18 Jan 2011)

Adjustable spanners are perfectly acceptable (1) if they aren't too worn (2) if used in the right direction.


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## mickle (18 Jan 2011)

Though, technically, pedals don't have nuts.


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## jayonabike (18 Jan 2011)

Pedal spanners, i have 2. The first is small enough to live in my saddle bag, & a longer handled one which lives at home. Both came with bikes i ordered off the internet.


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## ohnovino (18 Jan 2011)

When I had a bike with nuts to tighten, I had two spanners in my toolkit. I'd always tighten them with the shorter one, knowing that I'd be able to get them off again using the extra moment of the longer one.

Edit: I should add, that's a tip I got from my Dad when he showed me how to change a car tyre using a telescopic wrench - if you tighten the nuts with the wrench fully extended, you'll struggle to ever get them off again.


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## mickle (18 Jan 2011)

lazyj said:


> Pedal spanners, i have 2. The first is small enough to live in my saddle bag, & a longer handled one which lives at home. Both came with bikes i ordered off the internet.



Have you ever had cause to use the one in your saddle bag?


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## Zoiders (18 Jan 2011)

An original Campag "Peanut butter" spanner on the road, Cobra copies being a bit cheap and nasty.

In the workshop I use a proper 1/2" drive tommy bar from a socket set with a 15mm socket. 

Someone mentioned the car thing about not using a bar to tighten that is longer than the one you un-do nuts with - while this is true you should always be aware that it's a bike and not a car, go wellying up bike wheel nuts even on a fixed gear like you would with coarse thread car wheel nuts then of course you will seize or strip the thing, bikes aren't cars, the majority of borked repair jobs on bikes that have stripped or damaged something have been by people who think bikes are just like cars.

I have yet to find I can't get a wheel off with the camag peanut spanner on the road, even if I used a tommy bar in the workshop, the tommy bar gets used as it just offers a little bit more control as you even-out how tight the two sides of the hub are, not to provide sheer brute force.

Adjustables - if you must use one at least use a good quality one like a Bahco or an Elora, cheap ones are the work of the _devil._


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## GrumpyGregry (18 Jan 2011)

mickle said:


> Adjustable spanners are perfectly acceptable (1) if they aren't too worn (2) if used in the right direction.




right direction? care to expand?


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## Davidc (18 Jan 2011)

Don't think I've ever needed to use a spanner on a pedal when on the road.

If I did I'd use the 15mm bit of the multi-spanner I have in my tool bag.

Normally I use a very ordinary 15mm spanner, and if it needs help getting them off I have a choice of two lengths of steel gas pipe!

Pedals don't need to be put on very tightly as they tighten to just the right amount in use. Just enough to stop them being nicked.


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## GrumpyGregry (18 Jan 2011)

mickle said:


> Though, technically, pedals don't have nuts.




My bads. We are talking wheel nuts....


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## mickle (18 Jan 2011)

GregCollins said:


> My bads. We are talking wheel nuts....



Hozan ratchet.


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## jayonabike (18 Jan 2011)

mickle said:


> Have you ever had cause to use the one in your saddle bag?



No, not yet.


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## Davidc (18 Jan 2011)

Only have one wheel with nuts now - dynamo front one on the mtb. Carry one of those multi spanners with 3 ends at 120 degrees to each other for that.


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## mickle (18 Jan 2011)

GregCollins said:


> right direction? care to expand?



Sure, pointy end of the fixed jaw - the one which is part of the main body - should always point in the direction of turning.


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## Zoiders (18 Jan 2011)

I call bullshirt.

That means the nut is trying to cam the lower face of the adjustable back down it's adjustment worm drive as you tighten the nut.

The issue is quaility not what way round you use it.


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## GrumpyGregry (18 Jan 2011)

mickle said:


> Hozan ratchet.



Ok Track nuts then.....

If the fairy calls you need something to get the wheel off with.....


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## Moodyman (18 Jan 2011)

Not sure what you call it, but I carry one of these for the Bolt on my hub gears. In case of punctures.


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## Zoiders (18 Jan 2011)

Open ended spanner.

I-beam type.


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## mickle (18 Jan 2011)

Zoiders said:


> I call bullshirt.
> 
> That means the nut is trying to *cam the lower face of the adjustable back down it's adjustment worm drive* as you tighten the nut.
> 
> The issue is quaility not what way round you use it.



Eh. It's about where on the jaw the loading from the nut's faces occurs. Obviously, on the adjustable jaw, this should be as close to the body as poss to _reduce_ the load on the worm. Using it the wrong way massively increases the load on the jaw, the edge of the nut and the worm.

Don't make me draw a diagram ffs.


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## Davidc (18 Jan 2011)

I bought a new small adjustable last year and it had a diagram on an instruction leaflet showing which way round to use it! (Which is as Mickle says, but it went in the recycling 'cos I already knew that).


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## Domeo (18 Jan 2011)

I use 4mm allen keys, as I've got a Phil Wood that has bolts.


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## fossyant (18 Jan 2011)

Adjustable spanner at home or work. 'Thick' Cone spanner on the road (not my campag ones - no way)..


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## Rob3rt (19 Jan 2011)

GregCollins said:


> Ok Track nuts then.....
> 
> *If the fairy calls you need something to get the wheel off with.....*




You dont NEED to get the wheel off, I have never removed my rear wheel to sort a puncture. This being said, I'm a glue and patch man where possible and havent had the need to switch out inners yet (I also havent had many punctures )


Also Mickle is on the money, with an adjustable it does matter which way round you use it. You can "get away" with using it both ways if the quality is high, but nonetheless if you wish to prolong the life of your tools, using it the right way round is the way to go.


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## Zoiders (19 Jan 2011)

mickle said:


> Eh. It's about where on the jaw the loading from the nut's faces occurs. Obviously, on the adjustable jaw, this should be as close to the body as poss to _reduce_ the load on the worm. Using it the wrong way massively increases the load on the jaw, the edge of the nut and the worm.
> 
> Don't make me draw a diagram ffs.


The load works on both sides, there is no fancy equasion.

Draw a diagram - have a look and tell me where the pivot point forms and what the nut levers against as you use it.


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## yello (19 Jan 2011)

Surly Jethro Tule






...a thing of beauty. And it works. The smooth, flat end enabling you to get a decent (and more importantly painless) amount of umph for undoing pesky wheel nuts.


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## Rhythm Thief (19 Jan 2011)

Zoiders said:


> The load works on both sides, there is no fancy equasion.
> 
> Draw a diagram - have a look and tell me where the pivot point forms and what the nut levers against as you use it.



Mickle is quite right. It's easier to see it than it is to explain it, and it'd probably take me longer to work out how to draw a diagram on the computer than it would to drive to wherever you live and explain it all in person, but there's definitely a right way and a wrong way to use an adjustable spanner.


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## Zoiders (19 Jan 2011)

Is there buggery a right or wrong way, it's a tool designed to be flipped over as needed so it will fit into tight spaces.

A good quailty adjustable it doesn't matter which way round you use it, and the point I made about the loading is correct.


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## mickle (19 Jan 2011)

Meh.


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## tyred (19 Jan 2011)

From Sheldon Brown -

_There is some disagreement over which is the better direction to use a Crescent-type wrench -- whether the moveable jaw should be on the "pushing" side or the "pulling" side; I have taken part in long debates on this subject, and I know excellent mechanics on both sides of the question. *In practice, however, it makes no real difference if you are using a wrench of good quality. Which way to put the wrench on should be determined by the accessibility of the nut or bolt you are trying to turn.* In tight spaces, such as adjusting a seatpost bolt on a bicycle with a low saddle and a rear carrier, it may be necessary to keep flopping the wrench over, turning the nut 1/12 turn with each fetch._

_
_

http://sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/adjustable.html_
_

Personally, I think these should only ever be used as last resort. Okay to carry a small one in your saddle bag or the boot of the car as it might come in handy somewhere but for you should have a set of proper fitting spanners for home use.


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## mickle (19 Jan 2011)

Sheldon schmeldon.


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## Rhythm Thief (19 Jan 2011)

I don't like the things anyway ... one of the things I learned a long time ago is always have the right tool for the job. If you need a 15 mm spanner, go and buy one. Easy.


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## raindog (19 Jan 2011)

When I was a youth my dad would've clipped me round the ear for using an adjustable on wheel nuts.


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## Rhythm Thief (19 Jan 2011)

It is about the quickest way I can think of to knacker up your nuts and turn an easy job into a difficult one, short of using mole grips.


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## yello (20 Jan 2011)

Mole grips are just about my favourite tool ever... no sodding good for catching the little buggers but when you have, my lord they hold them good and tight!


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## Hover Fly (21 Jan 2011)

Campag. wheel nut and crank bolt spanner, replacing the socket bolts with hex. head saves carrying an hex. key just for the chance I might have to tighten the crank bolts.


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## Supersonicscientist (23 Jan 2011)

Always carry a 15 mil ring and open end spanner with the ring being a ratchet type for quick undo/redo final adjustment with the open end ..


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## snailracer (23 Jan 2011)

I would wager the vast majority of adjustable spanners in use are of questionable quality, so using them the "stronger" way round is good practical advice.


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## Bicycle (7 Apr 2011)

15mm combination on the rear of my fixed-wheel.

The front is QR.

The spanner comes from the canvas spanner roll that used to live in my car in the days when cars needed to be fixed.

It is old but good.


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## Davidc (7 Apr 2011)

Mole grips are for when nuts have been smoothed out into circles by your son using a maladjusted adjustable spanner on them.

Then you buy new nuts and try to educate him in the ways of correctly sized combination spanners!


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## alecstilleyedye (11 Apr 2011)

only one wheel on one bike of mine has a nut (qrs on three and wingnuts on another), so i just use one of those little spanners that is shaped like a dumbbell with all the different sizes of nut stamped into it, or rather i take that in the saddle pack.

i tend to use a large adjustable at home…


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## MacB (11 Apr 2011)

Jeez, we're talking a spanner to carry and use on the road, so we're not talking about regular use here, any adjustable 6" wrench will do. I wouldn't use it in the garage but out on the road, for those odd moments, it's fine.


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## montage (18 Apr 2011)

Do you ever have absolutely no interest in a thread, yet find yourself clicking on it and reading it anyway, then think 'what the hell am I reading this for?'


P.S. I use an adjustable spanner, or a 15mm spanner


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## Ibbots (18 Apr 2011)

Big brother bought me one of these for my birthday, which is quite handy. Fits nicely in my bag but a little long for the back pocket if not commuting.


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## MrGrumpy (18 Apr 2011)

15mm socket and ratchet, small sized one ie 1/4" drive. Did have a small cheapy tesco box spanner which was ok for this sort of thing but split. Should really buy another


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## MrGrumpy (18 Apr 2011)

Ibbots said:


> Big brother bought me one of these for my birthday, which is quite handy. Fits nicely in my bag but a little long for the back pocket if not commuting. [attachment=3200edros-29290-med.jpg]





like that how long big is it ?


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## Ibbots (18 Apr 2011)

MrGrumpy said:


> like that how long big is it ?



about 7 1/2"


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