Need a set of snap ring pliers to get the external circlip off the motion control leg on my pikes – recommend me a good set please 🙂

Maplins do a seviceable set for approx £10. Will do internal and external circlips.

Please note that there is a difference between a snap ring and a circlip. If you order on line be sure to order corectly. Snap ring pliers have small flat pads on the tips circlip pliers have round tips.

I got mine out of Halfords. They're the wrong way round for Pikes but they do work with some effort – I originally bought them to strip down a set of Avid Juicys.

I got a set with changeable heads (internal/external/bent) from Ebay for about 4GBP, just used them to rebuild my Gfs Recons. If you live in Exeter you can borrow them…

2nd vote for the Maplin set. Comes with different adaptors for inner/outer clips and different sizes.

I've just ordered some of these, they've not arrived yet but given the price I'm expecting they might be made of cheese.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350141463721&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp3907.m38.l1313%26_nkw%3D350141463721%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

If you're only going to use them occasionally the Maplin/ebay ones with changeable heads to convert from internal to external should be OK

They're also available from Machine Mart if that's more local to you

I bought some of the cheap interchangeable head ones from eBay and they were rubbish. They would work to a point and then just start distorting – it made the job much more difficult than it needed to be. Kept having to bend them back into shape after each circlip.

They are in the bin now & I am gonna get a decent set from somewhere like Screwfix.

I have to agree with stumpy. I had exactly the same experience with them distorting all over the place.

I also found that the pins themselves were over-large for some of the circlips.

I bought a pucca set and they're much better. I muck through with the one set, doing both internal opening and external opening circlips.