Hot take: I just hit 500 freewheel removals and I'm still using the old Park FR-1

I know everyone says to upgrade to the FR-5 or a bench-mounted tool, but my old FR-1 just passed the 500 mark. I bought it used for 30 bucks when I started at the co-op three years ago. It's got a chewed-up handle and the pin is slightly bent, but it hasn't failed me once. I've pulled everything from a rusted-on Atom on a 70s Schwinn to a modern Shimano cassette body that was glued on with threadlock. The trick is a four-foot cheater pipe and hitting it with penetrating oil the night before. People spend big money on new tools for jobs a solid old one can still handle. What's the one tool in your box you've used way more than you ever thought you would?

2 comments

2 Comments

ben48611d ago

How many cheater pipes have you gone through?

christophermurphy11d ago

Honestly, the real flex is that you've done 500 of those jobs. That's a lot of freewheels (and probably a lot of very grateful customers). The tool just had to keep up.