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Park Tool Releases New Master Spoke Wrenches, SZR-1 Shop Scissors, and DW-2 Shimano Clutch Tool

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Park Tools DW-2 Shimano Clutch Tool

Shop mechanics are always in search of the perfect tool for the job. While you can hack any number of things to install a product, there’s nothing like having the right one on hand when you’re on the clock.

So rather than tighten the clutches found on Shimano derailleurs with the small built in tool, Park Tool is now offering mechanics an alternative with their DW-2 clutch wrench. With a 3 mm and 5.5 mmm opening, it’s designed to work on Shimano XT, SLX, Deore, Saint and Zee rear Shadow Plus (+) derailleurs and all previous Shadow Plus models. The little guy retails for $6.95 and is available now.

More new tools after the break

Park Tool SZR-1 Shop Quality Scissors

Tools wear out over time and at my shop, we went through so many cable cutters and scissors we quickly found out that it was worth spending a little extra on a quality tool.

These new SZR-1 Scissors from old blue are claimed to be shop quality. They have stainless steel blades and a dual density grip (which doesn’t appear to be left or right hand biased),

Park Tool SZR-1 Shop Quality Scissors in Action

Park Tool claims they’re perfect for cutting bar tape, “handle grips,” and zip ties. Retail is $9.95.

Park tools Master Mechanic Spoke Wrenches

We’ve used Master Spoke Wrenches in the past, and their ergonomics and interface have always made them well worth the investment. The difference between this new model and the one we’ve used in the past is weight. The “fins” on the new wrench have cutouts which help save 15 g. Over a full day of building wheels, that makes a difference.

Park tools Master Mechanic Spoke Wrenches in Action

The new SW-20.2 & 22.2 spoke wrench are also cast from the steel, precisely machined, heat treated for hardness, then polished and plated.  The SW-20.2 is a three-sided spoke wrench that is same size as the SW-0 (black) for .127” (3.23mm) nipples, the SW-22.2 is the same size as the SW-2 (red) for .136” (3.45mm) nipples. Retail for either model is $25.99

Park Tool

 

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Mike
Mike
9 years ago

Really, did you just go weight weenie on a spoke wrench???

adam
adam
9 years ago

I have built wheels for full days before. NEVER have I ever had to worry about fatigue due to spoke wrench weight. Are people employing small children to do this work? Either way, I’m sure the new cutout generates, on average, at least 7 extra watts over a 40km tt under sub-ideal conditions.

Rico
Rico
9 years ago

I think weight comes into play a little when you are working on a wheel with aero spokes, holding two tools at once. It’s not about it being heavy as much as not dropping it. I like the DT spoke key and it’s imitations.

Andrew
Andrew
9 years ago

AKA Park managed to shave 15g of material out of their spoke wrenches. Good on them for the savings, but BikeRumor should really take a second to analyze rather than respouting the manufacturer’s claims…

JAKE
JAKE
9 years ago

WHAT YOU HATTERS DONT GET IS THE SPOKE WRENCH IS GREAT FOR HANGING ON YOUR KEYCHAIN OR ANYWHERE ELESE. ALL YOU SEE IS WEIGHT AND START OVER ANALIZE. RELAX ITS JUST A SPOKE WRENCH.

DO YOU EVEN WRENCH ?

CW
CW
9 years ago

The previous park master spoke wrench is definitely the heaviest spoke wrench I’ve used. I like using it, but it’s noticeably heavier then any other wrench I use. No reason to replace the old one, but the reduction in weight is notable.

K11
K11
9 years ago

mum, yah…there are way better scissor options on the market than these. just because a scissors is in a bike shop doesn’t mean they have to use/own some from a bike tool company. if one gets a high quality scissors and doesn’t abuse them, they will last nearly a life time. (quality and design will allow them to be sharpened many times also.)

joby
joby
9 years ago

@JAKE – “DO YOU EVEN WRENCH, BRO?”

There, fixed that for ya. That made me laugh out loud…

wako29
wako29
9 years ago

I’m pretty pumped about those spoke wrenches actually. I had the first gen Master wrench and they tried to make it 4-sided, which made for slow adjustments. I ended up grinding it down so that it was a proper 3-sided tool. The best ones I’ve found though are the older Pedro’s wrenches with a 3-sided AND 4-sided holes, but they would continually crack and since then have been discontinued.

Rico
Rico
9 years ago

I go through a lot of scissors, usually because they break at the hinge. A strong pair with edge that you can sharpen wound be great. I usually just chuck them after they get beat and get new ones. What is an indestructible scissor brand?

reverend dick
9 years ago

@joby- YOU MUST BE A HATTER.

Kevinfromva
Kevinfromva
9 years ago

when they release carbon spoke wrenches i’ll be excited…
ultimate hatting.

kj
kj
9 years ago

With the all caps, he’s a mad hatter. I’m glad they’re covering tools, fwiw.

James Terry
9 years ago

Weight plays a pretty big role when mechanics are packing their tool boxes to take to other countries and wrench for their team. Being that Park Tool sponsors teams, they probably take the feedback from mechanics on the road and try to incorporate that into their designs. Just a theory.

JAKE
JAKE
9 years ago

Hey guys they have been doing it sine 1963, probably before a lot of us were born, I think they have a handle on the tool biz and demand….

the question is….. “Do you even wrench, Bro?”

Seth Snyder
9 years ago

I think the hollowed-out master spoke wrench is probably easier to hold than the flat faces on a standard master spoke wrench. That said, I’ve been using their regular plasti-dipped spoke wrenches for 12 years with no complaints. Any reason to go to a master spoke wrench, wheelbuilders?

As for scissors, I’ve been using the same pair of Fiskars since 2000 and now they’re in the shop with no issues. I think I like my long blades for tapering tape over a short or double-cut.

groghunter
groghunter
9 years ago

Another vote for the old pedros 3side/4side wrench. I’ll be building a wheel with mine tomorrow.

Michael
Michael
9 years ago

The old Master spoke wrenches were way too heavy. That made it hard to feel the spoke torsion and I personally ended up dropping it too much. I’ve been converted by the 4-sided DT Spokeys, though. Bike shop mechanics have to work on a lot of janky bikes, and damaged nipples don’t like 3-sided wrenches at all. Based on my experience with Park’s cable cutters, I won’t be buying the scissors. Most of Park’s hand tools are on point, though…

The Guy
The Guy
9 years ago

@Seth +1 on the Fiskars and their long blade. Park kinda ‘missed it’ in my opinion with the short blades. You need long blades to cut ‘handle grips’ and definitely need them cut bar tape properly for a pro job.

Also, I love your frames, Seth.

Daniel
Daniel
9 years ago

Just to be clear, even though the scissor’s grips may not have a left or right hand bias, these are certainly designed for right-handed use. It’s not possible to make a pair of ambidextrous scissors.

Psi Squared
Psi Squared
9 years ago

Wifey is a seamstress. Fiskars are a quality brand of scissors with models that span a wide price spectrum. I, too, prefer long scissors for cutting bar tape.

K11
K11
9 years ago

@rico. gingher brand scissors is the way i would go. they are hand made in greensboro USA, and they offer a lifetime professional free repair and sharpening for $7.50

jennings
jennings
9 years ago

Electricians scissors are the way to go. Shorter, heavy duty steel blades with no flex and all metal construction. And can be had for about $10 in from several brands in most home improvement stores.

B
B
9 years ago

15g may not seem like much, but it’s rotational weight.

Dick Fitzwell
Dick Fitzwell
9 years ago

Park Master spoke wrenches (and DT) are the equivalent of a flare nut wrench, as opposed to an open end wrench.

Knipex Combination Shears (95 05 185) are the absolute best for utility shears. Fiskars are good too, just watch COO; they started outsourcing to PRC a few years ago.

Flip
Flip
9 years ago

Park makes or sells a number of tools such as the measuring tape, scissors, utility knife, hacksaw, etc. which are commonly available elsewhere, not because they can do it better; They do it because they know that stingy shop owners often won’t hand over their credit card to the head mechanic to go buy box knives, but the same shop owners aren’t usually parsing through their QBP order to make sure that their mechanics didn’t order a ruler or two.

Smart of Park, really.

greg
greg
9 years ago

Wiss scissors. Wiss EZ Snip for cutting all sorts of random things, will go through leather n the thickest bike packing zipties n anything else. of course, it has an adjustable pivot, and it stays in adjustment. something like the W20 Inlaid 10-3/8″ scissors for cutting bar tape n such. worth the investment.
Wiss makes two different kinds of left-handed scissors. one is where the ergonomics of the handle fit a left hand. the other is where the entire scissors is a mirror image of their standard one. im fully a lefty, but im so used to right handed scissors i cant use the mirror image ones. im used to pushing the blades a certain direction.

Jez
Jez
9 years ago

What are these ‘spoke wrenches’ of which you speak?
All I see are nipple wrenches.
I’ve never used a wrench on a spoke… 😉
That being said, a lighter wrench is most likely better for *infrequent* users, rather than ‘people who build wheels all day’ (whose hands are probably better conditioned spoke tensioning movements).
My hands always remind me the day after I’ve done a set of wheels that I’m not a regular wheel builder!

Shaelen
9 years ago

Lighter weight tool makes it cheaper to ship and manufacture. Less material cost and lighter for shipping. win win for park, they can try to sell it for more $$ès as an improved tool. as long as it does the same job no big deal really.

mudrock
mudrock
9 years ago

Spokey wrenches are my fave. Part of my home tool kit, so don’t know if they hold up to shop use. Light, grabs the spoke on 4 sides, won’t scratch your rims. may be out of production.

Pabs
Pabs
9 years ago

BRAAAAAAAAHHHHH DO YOU EVEN WRENCH BRAAAAAAAAA

AlexG
AlexG
9 years ago

Pfffff using scissors to cut zip ties… No one in their right mind does that.

Every bike shop needs one of these. This gets the job done properly:

http://www.tnb.com/ps/fulltilt/index.cgi?part=WT1TB

PSIMET
9 years ago

Being a user of the traditional Master Spoke Wrench (Which is 4 sided BTW – not sure why people think it’s not) and using it all day, every day, to build wheels I am truly disappointed with this change. My stockpile is down to only 40 or 50 left so looks like I get to go pouring over all the distributors to buy up the remaining stock so I don’t run out….for a while.

Martin Linneman
Martin Linneman
9 years ago

park’s only problem is that those spoke wrenches don’t fit properly in the TS 2.2 truing stand, but other than that, i can’t wait to get all of this new stuff

Wut.
9 years ago

Quality and alternatives aside, that pair of scissors doesn’t look long enough to make one clean snip through bar tape on an angle—something that is necessary for a nice, clean finish. Even if it was long enough, that silly notch (that I presume is for cutting zip ties, but seems far too inward to be any good at that) is going to jag up the cut too.

So basically they made one tool to poorly do the job of two.

Wut.
9 years ago

@PSIMET 40 or 50 left? Do you use a different one for each spoke?

race wrench
race wrench
9 years ago

weight matters for a race mechanic that can only have so much weight in their tool box if they need to fly with it.

Dick Fitzwell
Dick Fitzwell
9 years ago

As far as the “nipple wrenches”, wonder why they dropped the four sided design? Speed? Easier to produce?

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