Decent adjustable spanners

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richardfm

Veteran
Location
Cardiff
Me too, been using the Bahco 6" wide jaw for 15+ years.

I've had my Bahco over 40 years
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
Bahco are good. They don't jam up as much as cheaper ones. For plumbing, I have three Rothenberger short handle, wide jaw ones. Really handy in confined spaces. They are well made. I also have some really large no-name Chinese ones that would cost a fortune from a European manufacturer but are cheap as chips on Ebay and work OK for occasional use.
 

HMS_Dave

Grand Old Lady
I wonder why so many countries call them English spanners. They were invented by Bahco, which is a Swedish company

The adjustable spanner was actually invented by an Englishman. Edward Beard Budding.

*Edwin Beard Budding rather
 
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sevenfourate

Devotee of OCD
Agree with sevenfourate.
How many spanner sizes do you need to work on your bikes?
I have a 15 mm for pedal flats and a 10mm for the nuts on mudguard stays.
Everything else requires hex keys.

Mike

My post was kinda tongue in cheek. But also - like you - hinting at the fact there’s not too many ‘nuts’ to undo these days….

Unless of course the bike Is a few years old / very basic and doesn’t have quick release wheel skewers, an old school headset with big locking nuts blah blah. In which case a semi-decent adjustable is a good idea: and likely required.

Otherwise - a decent Topeak multitool - which come with a couple of common sockets for those few modern nut sizes; and all the Allen keys / Star drives you could wish for - is probably a decent solution ?
 
OP
OP
Jameshow

Jameshow

Veteran
My post was kinda tongue in cheek. But also - like you - hinting at the fact there’s not too many ‘nuts’ to undo these days….

Unless of course the bike Is a few years old / very basic and doesn’t have quick release wheel skewers, an old school headset with big locking nuts blah blah. In which case a semi-decent adjustable is a good idea: and likely required.

Otherwise - a decent Topeak multitool - which come with a couple of common sockets for those few modern nut sizes; and all the Allen keys / Star drives you could wish for - is probably a decent solution ?

Agreed not much need on a bike, but more for around the house fettling!
 

overmind

My other bike is a Pinarello
Once I broke an adjustable spanner by using too much torque. I used a mid-size adjustable spanner, with a cheater bar, to loosen a freehub; I snapped to top part of the spanner. I should have used the largest one I had.

edit: It was probably some cheap chinese brand though. I reckon a decent adjustable spanner (e.g. Bahco) would probably have been ok.
 
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Alex321

Guru
Location
South Wales

I think you get what you pay for (or don't). They may look OK, but you will almost certainly find that the jaws aren't held as rigidly in place as they would be with a better set.

If they are for very occasional use, that may be acceptable, but if you are going to be using them regularly, it is better to get a decent one (or set). Your nuts will thank you!
 
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