hex wrench

Also referred to as allen wrench (or misspelled as alan) and it is a necessity for your toolbox. A good set of metric allen wrenches is likely the most essential tool for modern bicycles. They are hexagonal rods of varying width (1mm – 10mm) designed to fit the many bolts on modern bikes from water bottle cage, to headset, to crank bolts. If you find yourself working on bikes for a significant portion of your week, a nice set of allen keys is a must. I like the L shaped ones with a nice rubber or plastic molded grip at the bend. For many a compact multi-tool that includes the most common allen key sizes will be all that is required. Alternatives to allen wrenches include hexagonal rods of varying width by mm or even a good set of metric hex wrenches will do the trick. Just buy a set.

hex wrench Tutorials

Embedded thumbnail for How To Adjust Brakes on a Road Bike

How To Adjust Brakes on a Road Bike

 

Part brakes Rim
Tools hex wrench
Company: Shimano
Type: Repair Tutorial
Embedded thumbnail for How to String or Replace Derailleur Cables

How to String or Replace Derailleur Cables

After a while, your cables will need a little work. If you live by the ocean, have wet weather or ride through mud, you’re going to have humidity issues and possible rusting going on. And in order...

Company: Park SRAM
Type: Repair Tutorial
Embedded thumbnail for How to Adjust Your Road Bike Front Derailleur

How to Adjust Your Road Bike Front Derailleur

You know how sometimes your gears don’t change with firm frankness? When they don’t snap into action like German watch works or have the precision of the pistons in an F1? Or even when they react...

Company: Shimano
Type: Repair Tutorial
Embedded thumbnail for How To Fix a Mountain Bike Rear Derailleur

How To Fix a Mountain Bike Rear Derailleur

How To Adjust a Mountain Bike Rear Derailleur

Whether you mountain bike down edgy rock gardens or...

Company: Maxxis Park Shimano
Type: Repair Tutorial
Embedded thumbnail for How to Bleed Hayes Hydraulic Brakes

How to Bleed Hayes Hydraulic Brakes

First things first: the Hayes system uses DOT 3 or DOT 4 mechanical brake fluid. DO NOT USE MINERAL OIL FOR THESE BRAKES!!!!!!!

Second, the bleed starts from the caliper up to the brake...

Company: Hayes
Type: Repair Tutorial
Embedded thumbnail for Bike Tools to Bring When You Ride

Bike Tools to Bring When You Ride

Local bike mechanic from Citizen Chain in San Francisco, Sasha, goes through the tools he carries with him when he rides.  

These...

Company: Lezyne Soma
Type: Repair Tutorial
Embedded thumbnail for Bike Stems 101

Bike Stems 101

The stem comes in two main flavors, the quill or threaded stem and the thread. Both work great. 

Quill stems are most common on older road bicycles and usually come in the 1" variety....

Tools hex wrench
Type: Repair Tutorial

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