How do you know it’s the slow season in the cycle-blogging universe? ‘News’ dries up a tad and you end up getting blog articles in your inbox about, for example, a new jacket, keeping the weight off with Thanksgiving around the corner, and…Hostess Donettes.
Not to be outdone, here is my contribution to the slow-news season: new tools.
I just received these in the mail from Germany yesterday. Would anyone care to guess what I’ll be doing with them? Please do because I’m not sure I know myself!
The Vicious Cycle 
Intriguing! I’d have to guess it’s for the bottom bracket/cranks, but with the chain thingy I expect to be completely way off. Good luck!
Ah yes, good point. It isn’t limited to one job, I guess.
No idea at all.
That nearly makes two of us.
But you’ve been on a course and I haven’t.
two uses
You could use it for Removing the block.cassette on your rear wheel
or just a good old fashioned weapon/ persuader in an argument 🙂
The chain whip might a little hard to conceal, but would certainly be my persuader of choice!
Is that a chainwhip in your pocket or are you just glad to see me
Hey now, we’re providing a valuable service! As for that item, it might make for a handy bottle opener.
Aaron, I’m liking you more and more.
You know you’ve been around bikes a long time when you know what each of those “thingies” are and you own multiple sets of them in case one breaks or you have the newer more expensive Campy version. Man, I have to get a life.
You probably know the codes for each of them, too.
These are great responses. I started to answer this morning, and then thought No, don’t! Gerry’s good readers are serious cyclists, they will mark me up as crazy.
But here’s my idea. Clearly the tool is for your use next time you travel with a disassembled bike. With one end you reinstall the pedals. We all know which end that is. Then, frustrated and furious with the tangled chain that the airlines has left you with don’t ask me how that happens, you wave the other end, the one with chain links, in centrifugal circles over your head, all the while muttering to the gods and goddesses of disassembled bikes to restore your chain to sanity and unify . And voila, bingo!
Great success, useful tool, and off you go, with nary a moment lost.
I doubt that’s correct, but it would an AWESOME tool!
Umm, another comment…”news dries up a tad…” A tad?? A tad? Hmmmm…And I can think of exactly nothing to write about, witness my recent post. Going silent for 3 or 4 months sounds good from here.
I’m the master of understatement.
The answer is (I think) that I’ll be using the chainwhip and little round tool to take off my cassette. The big round guy and the tall tool will be used to take off my crankset and bottom bracket (with a few more tools thrown in there to help out). Why I’m doing all this is different question altogether.
And you can also use the “little round tool” (that’s a technical term) to remove the old style Campy bottom bracket cartridge.