you could strip a bike with a couple of very basic tools 😥

I’ve a bb and crank to get out and nothing i have fits.A bodge looks highly unlikely. Whose idea was this? ****!

I am actively dismissing bikes from my shopping list for this reason.

HT2 of GTFO! 8)

you could strip a bike with a couple of very basic tools

You still can. Press fit BBs are a lot easier to get out than anything else (knock em out with a screwdriver like a headset) Disc brakes can be removed in one hit (without disturbing the alignment in a lot of cases) with an Allen key, forks can be stripped in a couple of minutes with basic tools, split crown races can now be removed by hand, headsets don’t need special spanners to tighten or undo them, lock on grips now slide off with ease, brake levers have split clamps, cartridge bearing hubs don’t need come spanners and have free hubs removable and serviceable by hand….. Etc etc

I don’t think you’ve thought this through! 🙂

+1 PP I hate working on cheap/old bikes with older style kit as there are so many specific tools. Crank extractors for square taper cranks were possible the worst tool especially when you consider how easy it was pull the threads out of the crankset if you were not careful.

Mine looks a bit like this but with 6 years of abuse. It’s jammed on a bit 😀

Yup, you aren’t remembering very far back if you think it’s harder now. Threaded headsets, quill stems, square taper cranks with non cartridge BBs, cup and cone hubs, stems with no removable face plate so you had to thread the bars through, no lock-on grips, screw on freewheels…
All of these and more were total pigs to work on and many of them required specific tools. It’s never been so easy to build a very reliable, easy to maintain, capable bike and take it apart again.

If that’s Isis and you got 6 years out of it
A) it’s a miracle
B) you don’t ride much

I could strip my bike down to next to nothing with just my multitool i take out on the trails. Add a 8mm and a 10mm spanner, flat screw driver and ill have my forks and brakes stripped down too.

Only bits that need special tools are cranks, bb and cassette. I like tools so i have the proper tools for those too. Although id be annoyed if i had tools that never got used just because things changed

I think euro is possibly alluding to all the different standards, in the ‘sensible period’ a bb was the same tool unless it was a cheapy one with a lock ring, now it’s press fit, ht2 and whatever other bobbins new standard, so to cover your base you need several different tools. Same with headsets, now need new headset press cups and drifts (keep your blocks of wood to yourself).

For someone who does their own spanner waggling I’m dissuaded from anything that requires a substantial investment in new tools to carry out ( and anything with press fit bb!)

HT2 is a piece of piss the special tool costs very little and is about as complicated to operate as the “old” cartridge BB tool.

@euro I had a power spline BB on my road bike once it started creaking I did decide to go back to square taper cranks mainly because of cost still need about the same level of tooling to maintain as current equivalent kit.

HT2 of GTFO! 8)

of = or

That pic is a power spline bb. Like Isis only worse lol
Always have been lots of tools for bikes nothing new there

Spent a very annoying morning removing an old quill still this week
Don’t miss those at all , apart from looking very neat

In fairness to the manufacturers, the tool for that BB was in service in the early 90s when Shimano BBs went cartridge.

These technical terms mean nothing to me 😳 . A bb was a simple thing on my previous bikes (bmx). A multi spanner, an allen key (6mm) and an adjustable spanner was all i ever needed to strip/build. Since entering the strange and sophisticated world of mtb i’ve had to buy a fair few single use tools. From what i can tell, none of my other mtbs require this type of tool and my replacement bb is a different kind (no idea what – just not the same). I’m reluctant to buy another tool just to remove this and never use it again.

If that’s Isis and you got 6 years out of it
A) it’s a miracle
B) you don’t ride much

There was a vid on here a while back that had a headset that squeaked a bit. Think it was PP who posted it. Multiply that by 50 and introduce about 15mm of ‘play’ to get an idea of how much of a miracle it is. Technically it still works, i’m only replacing it as i’m passing the bike onto my eldest and want it to sound safe 😀