Our Selection of Socket, Flare and Crowfoot Wrenches

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WRENCHES FOR YOUR BIKE

There are a lot of tools essential for your bike toolkit. One of them is your wrench (or spanner). This device is quite essential because you need it to loosen the nuts (of which there are many) on your bike. In essence, to take apart a component of your bike, this device would be the ideal tool to reach for in many cases.

So, here are the different types of wrenches you can use for your bike.

Adjustable Wrench

This is one of the first types of spanners you should add to your tool kit. It has an adjustable jaw and a fixed jaw. The adjustable jaw lets you refit it for multiple fastener sizes. Its head is usually placed at an angle of 22 ½ degrees. The reason for this is that it lets you easily flip it over in tight spaces to give you two different gripping positions.

Crowfoot Wrench

This tool has a non-cylindrical head that lets you reach into places on your bike that normal spanners wouldn’t be able to get to. They are ideal for working with aluminium bikes, as they won’t easily damage the bike’s frame.

Socket Wrench

If you need to do a lot of fastening, then you should consider using this device. It comes with a ratcheting mechanism on its head. You can attach the ratcheting mechanism to various nut sizes through a square nub.

The biggest advantage that they have is their ratcheting mechanism. With this addition, you can twist the spanner continuously without having to refit it at every single turn.

When you get a socket spanner, use one with a 3/8 inch driving mechanism and six points hex sockets. The ones with twelve points can easily damage the bolts and nuts of your bike.

Flare Nut Wrench

This tool has a traditionally flat design and hexagonal fitting. These features also have a wider profile to provide more leverage. You can use it quite well with aluminium bike frames. It is also quite ideal for use with mountain bike suspensions.

Open Wrench

Unlike an adjustable spanner this doesn’t come with an adjustable jaw. They usually come in a variety of sizes, but you can buy a set if you want. One advantage they have over the adjustable one is the fact that you don’t have to worry about damaging an adjustable jaw. Also, if you have a set, you can just use it directly for a bolt, instead of adjusting it each time.

Box Spanner

This device has an enclosed opening that resembles a ring. This enclosed opening helps to reduce the risk of damaging the fastener while you are using it. In a lot of instances, this device would be ideal for heavy duty jobs that involve a lot of screwing. There are two major categories for this tool – the six point or twelve point recess.

With the twelve point recess device, you just need to turn the handle a little to change the tool’s position. There are also some that have a ratcheting mechanism that makes loosening and tightening more efficient.