Cheap tools are a false economy: episode 547,684

Shortening my handlebars using the cheap pipe cutter I bought  in Halfords and the tension knob has just broken off. It is 8 years old and has probably been used about 20 times in total.

Repeat to myself, again: “cheap tools are a false economy.”

The wrong tool is the wrong tool regardless of cost.

Hacksaw and a file.

I dunno, sounds like an ideal job for a cheap tool- sure it’s not done many uses, but it’s lasted 8 years, you’d be a long time recouping the cost of an expensive one at that rate even leaving aside the fact that it’s upfront cost.

(guide and hacksaw is imo a better way to do it btw… Or just hacksaw and care. If you have any old lockon grips that you’re not using, or old grip rings, they make great guides. free tools are better than cheap tools!)

Pipe cutter are designed for thin wall, soft material, e.g. copper pipes. If you’ve used it for 8 pairs of handlebars, 2 ends each, 5x thicker walls, that’s probably equivalent to 80 copper tubes.

So I shouldn’t be using a pipe cutter on carbon bars? ;-)

A pipe cutter works absolutely fine on aluminium bars BTW.

Carbon will dull a good blade in no time. It will just laugh in the face of cheap blades

use a chainsaw

If you’re a GP, then surely nothing less than Park Tools (or Snap-On if proper tools) should be near your garage!

A pipe cutter works absolutely fine on aluminium bars BTW.

Why’s it broken now then?

+1 For the wrong tool for the job.

If you’re a GP, then surely nothing less than Park Tools (or Snap-On if proper tools) should be near your garage!

I have visions of the OP in surgical scrubs with his bike on a workstand being passed tools by an assistant under a very big bright light….

@argee, go on then, how much do you think I make?

@trail_rat

Why’s it broken now then?

Because the knob is made out of cheap plastic and I presume it has degraded. The rest of it is fine.

joshvegasFree Member
The wrong tool is the wrong tool regardless of cost.

Perfect tool for cutting Ally Bars. I’ve used mine on 3/8 stainless tube, Aluminium Conduit and on a pipe threading machine, a scaled up version to cut up to 3” steel tube.

I have a very nice pipe cutter and personally I think it’s the best thing for cutting aluminium bars and seat posts. When used correctly. It gives a much better finish than a hacksaw.

Edit – Although I didn’t pay for it (dad gave it to me one day to stop me rummaging through his workshop of dreams), it certainly wasn’t a cheap tool when new.

how much do you think I make?

Enough to have enough spare that you need help spending it?

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/which-personal-investment-forum/

@tomhoward, I’d say that post was more about saving than spending?

I don’t think is really a tool disaster

Sure you need another tool. But it’s not caused damage.

My favourite is cheap crank pullers

Save £2 on the tool

Tool jumps out of crank ripping out threads

Buy hack saw to cut off crank

Buy new crank

Total saving about -£30

Pipe cutters are perfect for bars.  Nice straight cut with no rough edges. I also cut steerers with mine.  Much better than a hacksaw

Having to ask ’What should I do with all my spare money’ suggests ‘More than average’ though, no?

go on then, how much do you think I make?

£92,677 to £104,468 

Only time I tried to cut bars with a pipe cutter it wandered all over that place. That was a Lidl special.

Agree it’s not necessarily the best tool for the job, better cutters may be better.

I’d say that post was more about saving than spending?

@kramer buy cheap buy twice. See, I just saved you some money.

@tomhoward I’m not going to pretend that I’m paid less than average, but I don’t think that being interested in personal finance automatically means that someone’s got loads of money to splash. In fact far from it, a lot of personal finance advice is about monitoring spending and budgeting.

@stevie750 not even close.

Pipe cutters are perfect for bars. Nice straight cut with no rough edges. I also cut steerers with mine. Much better than a hacksaw

If you like you finished to sharp, raised and requiring extra filing i agree.

A hacksaw done well only needs the edge broken. However of you can’t hacksaw well a pipe cutter is probably a good idea.

If a pipe cutter of any quality lasts 8 handlebar cuts its clearly either being used badly or is the incorrect tool for the job.

If you like you finished to sharp, raised and requiring extra filing i agree.

Mushroomed outside and inside. Its impressive now bad it can do it. I love working on bikes where the owner has done such a job and has given up on the filing. I dont  love smearing aluminium into my file either to be fair.

If a pipe cutter of any quality lasts 8 handlebar cuts its clearly either being used badly or is the incorrect tool for the job.

Or, over 8 years, the glue holding the knob on has gone off, causing it to fall off?

Cheap tools aren’t made to last.

I have cheap tools, I also have very expensive tools.  I really enjoy using my expensive ones but the tool I use most is a really cheap Erbauer impact driver that I bought 10 years ago and refuses to break.

Every time I pick it up I wish it would burn out so I can justify buying a nice one.

I also think I have the most expensive guitar string cutter.  Now bikes don’t have cables any more my lovely Shimano cable cutter that served me well for decades is in the music room.

However of you can’t hacksaw well a pipe cutter is probably a good idea.

there is  a correlation…. Those who cant hacksaw are often if not always – the same people that cut – cut your own bread at all kinds of angle.s

You know the sort.

Man’s attempt to cut fresh bread goes horribly, horribly wrong

so if your bread looks like its been through a mangle . Dont use a hacksaw.

Hacksaw, pfft, what you need is a £1k bandsaw :-)

£92,677 to £104,468

Wouldn’t even get out of bed for this insult :)

I attempted to cut my steerer with a cheap pipe cutter than was God-knows how many years old at the weekend. Managed to get a nice even scoring in the tube before it was completely blunt. Ended up using a Dremel with a cutting disc to finish the cut and then a stone grinding bit to de-burr and smooth it off. I’m a dab hand with a Dremel so it looks neat (not that it matters for a steerer tube) but a hacksaw and a bit of tape or old stem as a guide would have been quicker and easier. To be fair to the pipe cutter though, it has cut a fair few bars and steerers.

Anyway, some cheap tools are perfectly fine but the one thing I wouldn’t skrimp on is Allen keys. That’s not to say you need to spend silly money either though.

Cheap tools aren’t always a false economy imo. They help you to know what tools you actually need or want. Sometimes they work fine so you’re saving money, sometimes they don’t but by then you know it’s worth spending the extra.

Some general thoughts on tool-buying;

Screwdrivers, spanners, hex keys, bit sockets etc – definitely pay a bit more because cheaper quality ones strip heads and bolts. No need to buy bike-specific branded general tools as you will get more bang for your buck with non-bike brands.

Torque wrenches – get a good one because there’s nothing worse than breaking an expensive carbon part or even worse, a frame.

Specialist bike-specific tools for specific bike-only jobs – run a cost analysis. “How often will I use this tool vs how much does the local bike shop charge to do this specific job with their own tool?” If you have a lot of riding friends then think about setting up a ‘tool pool’.

nickjbFree Member
Cheap tools aren’t always a false economy imo. They help you to know what tools you actually need or want. Sometimes they work fine so you’re saving money, sometimes they don’t but by then you know it’s worth spending the extra.

I find the worst thing is when I buy some cheap piece of shit tool and it doesn’t break.  It basically works but not very well, and therefore annoys me every time I use it. But of course, what lead me to buy this shitty tool in the first place is being a tightwad, and therefore I cannot simply throw away the tool until it completely breaks. So I’m cursed to live with it annoying me every time.

I’ve got a cheap lawn mower that’s been annoying me for almost 15 years now.

I feel like every single job leads to the same dilemma – do I ‘invest’ in the quality tool I can keep forever or get the Chinese one (insert nonsensical non-trademarked name here) off amazon for 1/3rd of the price. It’s always a gamble and I still often get it wrong.

Actually, thinking about it more, the cheap tool that really upsets me is the affordable one from a name brand that’s just the Chinese tat option rebranded for more money.

In my case, a ‘Giant’ small torque wrench that isn’t even as good as my much cheaper amazon special and a ‘Rockshox’ shock pump which gives anything up to 40psi variations in pressure every time I detach and reattach it to my shock. This pump also caused a full strip down and service of a OneUp dropper which wouldn’t rise with 250psi in it – because it turned out the 250psi was actually about 160psi all along!

If you’re a GP, then surely nothing less than Park Tools (or Snap-On if proper tools) should be near your garage!

Think you’re confusing GP with dentist.

How much should a GP be earning for providing an essential service….

Specialist bike-specific tools for specific bike-only jobs – run a cost analysis. “How often will I use this tool vs how much does the local bike shop charge to do this specific job with their own tool?”

+1 but also factor in any time waiting for a job to get booked in and completed, especially if you don’t have a number of decent bike shops nearby.

If your pipe cutter is causing your bars (or pipes to mushroom and deform then that’s user error. Too many people tighten them up too much. The correct technique is to slowly and gently tighten them up after a few turns and gradually cut through the bar. Aluminium is pretty soft (not as soft as copper pipes) and doesn’t destroy decent pipe cutters very quickly. Like I said, mine has never trashed bars or posts and has done quite a few over the years. The cut is as tidy as a hacksaw and less hassle. And a bar that’s been hacksaw’s still needs a light filing to tidy it up as well.

The correct technique is to slowly and gently tighten them up after a few turns and gradually cut through the bar.

So… Save some time and cut them with a hacksaw?

?