I’m looking at getting a socket set – mostly for bike maintenance really. Taking forks apart and, er, that’s about it.

Before I got and trawl through laods of Service Manuals, does anyone have an indication of what size bits I’ll need for servicing forks?

Obviously this will change in the future but currently we have some Revelations (RLT Ti) and Fox 32 (Float, CTD Fit) in the household. From memory I needed a 25 mm? to take the Revs apart (might have been to take the damping apart or it might have been the old Recons I had) but I managed to do that with an adjustable.

I’m unlikely to ever use it to take spark plugs out of a car, but you never know!

So what’s worth looking out for? What’s worth avoiding or bearing in mind? How much should I look to be paying? Do I want some extra narrow section bits to get inside stuff?

Cheers

The Halfords Professional stuff is good.

The Rev needs a 24mm socket. I know because I just used one to service those exact same forks last night. The 32s need a 26mm socket.

Get those 2 sockets seperately and then just buy a set up to 20mm.

halfords doing some cracking deals on their sets right now.

I use mine for everything – including bike/car maintainance and stripping my old land rover down to the chassis……

as he said get a kit for the ratchets then get the individual ones you need.

you will be wanting a set that has DEEP DRIVE sockets – these are longer than normal sockets – about 50mm long – this lets you get up inside fork legs for foot nuts on certain RS forks.

how ever – so i dont come across as the tool snob i really am …… look on ebay at bergan tools and stahlwillie both good value and decent kit – Most of my BIG – 21-35mm impact sockets are stahlwillie and have not broken yet. And it is unlikely you will break ratchets servicing forks in a home mechanic capacity.

+1 for halfords. Lifetime guarantee also.
Use mine at work a lot and still in very good condition.

Cheers 😀 I should have said that ebay/Halfords not an option as I’m not in the Uk at the mo. I’ll go have a look in Mitre 10 tomorrow 🙂

halfords doing some cracking deals on their sets right now.

Halfords are always doing good deals on their sets 🙂 and the Pro sets are good quality – should be around £100 for the extra big set.

I’ve got the Halfords large Pro set, was a present about 15 years ago. Still going strong, great piece of kit.

right now the deal on the extra big set with the full spanner set and the dual ended ratchet spanner isnt so good 120 quid- i got this a few years back for 99 quid- and it always returns , about april time it goes on special.

the ones they have on at the moment are still cracking deals.

general rule of thumb with halfords is – the quality is good , its just not worth the FULL RRP they try to charge – at their discounted price its good value

If you’re looking to just use the socket set for bike maintenance then the only thing you’re likely to need sockets for are fork servicing. Pretty much everything else is held on with allen bolts.
Get a decent ratchet, and the sockets you need for the forks (grind the ends flat for max contact with fork), a good quality set of allen keys and a small set of torx keys (for disc bolts and chainring bolts). Possiblly a small set of combi spanners. A couple of good quality screwdrivers and that should be plenty.
Theres no need to be spending £100s on professional quality tools for occasional bike fettling unless you do it for a living. Dont get the cheapest, draper etc are perfectly ok.

Socket sets are never dull

I would look at the draper expert range. They are very good for the money and I think they have a lifetime warranty. Also have a look at the Teng stuff its pretty good too.

I was told that halfords sockets are re-branded draper expert stuff so its good stuff but no good if you cant get hold of it where you are.

Andy

I was going to say – I hardly ever use my sockets on the bike. Not even to do my forks, although I’ve not opened the RS ones up yet.

Another vote for Halfords Pro – got a rollcab full of their gear and not broken any of it yet (this includes using them to strip rusty Landrovers)

If you can’t get to a Halfords then try Teng/Britool/Facom/King Dick

Are you in oz if so get a good socket set from supercheap auto
+Then get some impact socket sets from a good auto mechanic supplier (usually not cromed and six sided and easier to file)
+Then file them down so there is no lip to slip on the low ridge of Fork top caps
+ Finally get a ten mm deep socket for the rockshoxs or a t-handled 10 mm socket.

If your in Melbourne let me know I will tell you the shops to go to.

And yeah its 24mm for rockshox 26mm for fox

I still use a Britool set, given to me over 30 years ago. Only addition is a Halfords Pro ratchet.

As above, you don’t need a socket set for a bike. Get a torque wrench, hex bits, torx bits, and the specific sockets you need for the forks (which are a 26mm and a deep 10mm for Fox 32s).

And, don’t buy them from Mitre 10 or Bunnings, much cheaper at one of the auto stores like Repco or Supercheap Auto.

Socket sets are never dull

They are about the only bling things I own. 😀

another vote for halfords pro. especially now they’ve got a bit of a sale on.
my set is around 20 years old and still going strong with no real sigs of wear. regularly used for car, bike and motorbike maintenance

Did nearly everyone one miss this from the OP?

Cheers I should have said that ebay/Halfords not an option as I’m not in the Uk at the mo. I’ll go have a look in Mitre 10 tomorrow

No, just chose to ignore it. This is STW, the OP is only a vague guide to the thread’s subject matter…..

Whilst on the subject, the box my socket set came in broke. Any good tips for alternative storage of sockets?

Did nearly everyone one miss this from the OP?

Pretty much, yes 😳

It might be handy for the OP to state which country he is in, rather than which country he isn’t in.

mr blobby Socket tray

i have that in my roll cab so i can lift it out and take it to my working place.

halfords also sell pin racks

BnQ and halfords both sell the silver racks that are secured to the red bit in that socket tray if you want to wall mount them.

sealey make magnetic socket holders also …

plenty options , i tried the pin racks – they were shite when you moved the roll cab about the sockets bounced off. the bergen tray is good though

Cool, thanks!

Storage:

Or here for my favourite (sockets held in place by a hidden magnetic strip):

No more struggling with greasy fingers to pull the socket off the spring clip type rails.

Sorry I cant get my head around ‘grind the ends flat’ on the sockets?
Can someone explain or show a pic to this inept fork servicing person that is me, it’s something I’d like to try at some point. Ta.

I Googled “grind flat end socket”:

I’ve managed so far not to grind down my Britool sockets, but you do need to make sure that you have the socket on the top cap carefully to avoid rounding the corners off the top cap.

The socket above ^^^ needs more grinding TBH. I just ordered a 26mm one and did it by hand with a course file, then tidied it up with a finer one to finish it off.

I used to use the Halfords PRO set until I saw a deal for the Bacho full set at Clas Ohlson reduced from £200 to £79.
AWESOME tools, really nice quality.

Sockets? Mmmmmmm … purdy!

Halfords Pro is good- more than good enough in fact.

2 arguments about the number of tools… For what you describe, you need very little, you could buy the individual tools and save a fortune. Buuuut, sooner or later, you’re likely to get into the middle of a job and find you need something you don’t have. Sockets are also very useful for fitting bearings, things like that. And a decent kit will literally last your entire life, the ratchets might wear out and you might lose or break a socket or two but the kit will go on.

on the other hand if your not an ork with tools they really dont need grinding for forks.

– serviced a considerable number of forks and as far as i can remember never ground a socket down.

I have a crap set of sockets for drifting out bearings – waste of a good socket to be smashing it against something thats probably siezed in going by my mates maintainance standards (i dont have a full sus bike)

i have made short sockets to fit into tight gaps to save me removing panels on cars though.

I see now ta

b r – Member
I still use a Britool set, given to me over 30 years ago. Only addition is a Halfords Pro ratchet.

What’s left of my Britool spanners will be 42yrs old in August as will my Kamasa socket set 😆
The tools I have been supplied with for the last 35 yrs however have not been anywhere near that quality!

No, just chose to ignore it. This is STW, the OP is only a vague guide to the thread’s subject matter…..

😀

It might be handy for the OP to state which country he is in, rather than which country he isn’t in.

Indeed, but I was after general advice rather than “what set should I buy”.

The useful info I have gleamed:

Buy ratchet and sockets to suit, not a set.
24 mm for RS
26 mm and a deep 10 mm for fox
Grind them down to achieve good contact on the low profile flats.
Buy from a car shop rather than a DIY place.

Thanks all for your help.