Cycle Repair Tools

Today four tools arrived from Ice Toolz for cycle repairs. Exadsports is the official importer and I bought from them directly. I had to wait for them for a long time. As they had run out of all their tools and were waiting for the new consignment to arrive from Taiwan. Even then I didn't get everything that I wanted. The chain whip for taking out cassettes is still not available. 

I bought these four items. One pedal wrench. A cassette remover lock nut with pin. A chain link breaking tool and a nipple driver. Without taking the items out of their packaging, I placed order for a tool box from Stanley. I think I need a dedicated tool box for my bike tools. The Stanley box seemed to be going quite cheap. It is supposed to arrive tomorrow. 

I have been using the adjustable wrench to remove and instal my pedals. While it does the job, it is better to have a dedicated tool for it because the adjustable wrench can and does put scratch marks on the crank arm. Because they are not as thin as the professional tool. The dedicated tool that I bought is much thinner and should be able to do a cleaner job. 

The nipple driver is not really what I wanted and I didn't know what I was ordering. It is meant for driving nipples using a power tool (like a Bosch type drilling machine). I have such power tool but I am not sure I want to learn driving nipples on spokes using a power tool right away. I might damage the spoke or the rim or both. I would rather carefully hand turn the driver. It will be a slow process and take time. There is another dedicated tool for doing it manually. But I cannot see it on the Exad website now. The Park Tool version is almost Rs 1500 and out of stock.

GoPro Hero 8

Last night I pulled the trigger on the GoPro Hero 8. Surprise of surprises. Amazon delivered it this morning. Less than 12 hours I guess. As if someone was waiting with it next door to Exide. I don't even have a micro SD card to update the camera (though I cannot quite understand why the card will be needed to update the firmware but looks like that's how it is). Have ordered one since. Let me see when it comes. Same Appario but they say it will take a week :-( 

The cost came to Rs 30,990. But I went for a zero interest EMI of six instalments through my HSBC card. Tanvir had it for Rs 26,500 but without bill. 

As of now I have downloaded the two apps on my phone. These are to operate the machine and to edit the media on the go. I will wait for the card to arrive before doing anything else now. I have also ordered for an adaptor to attach the unit to my Gorillapod. It's a third party cheap plastic thing. I don't know how good that will be. But as is, the GoPro cannot be attached to a tripod. On the radar is a sand coloured silicone lanyard and a Chesty. But first let me get comfortable with using the unit then I will order these frills. 

This is a made in China product. My distaste for anything Chinese is well known. But I must say I am impressed by this unit's finish. GoPro has been making waves for a long time now in the field of action cameras. There are very few such Chinese companies who have created a product category and have been dominating the scene for such a long time. This was unbelievable say 20 years ago. I may not like China or the Chinese government but this product is a beauty. 

It lived upto my expectations. Small enough to vanish in one's palm. But powerful enough to do a lot of things in the field of action videos. I plan to use it to make small instructional videos and my travel vlogs. I am looking forward to the pelagic trip with Sujan when I plan to use it. Let me see how it goes.

Monday, 23rd November, 2020 

Today the two ordered items arrived. One is the micro SD card (I bought the 64 GB version) and a tripod adapter. I am at office now. Can't wait to go home and update the camera firmware first. 

Sunday, 6th June, 2021

I had not been using the GoPro too much since buying. It's too feature laden. So much that it overwhelms me a bit and intimidates me. Also I didn't feel inspired enough to make any video. On 3rd June, however, I took it out to record my ride of 9 kms around Southern Avenue, Gariahat. Before this I had bought a very cheap handle mount. The result can be seen here. This is just an experiment on how to use the GoPro really. Do not look for flaws or meaning in this video.

I also recently bought a GoPro shorty for about Rs 3K off Amazon. It is a very well made small tripod. Ideal for travelling or for desktop shooting. It can also be used for selfies. I had earlier bought a chest strap which can be used while trekking or while cycling or motorcycling also. The bicycle mount that I bought off flipkart was a cheap Rs 350 (the original GoPro mount costs upward of Rs 5K). It broke off the next day on its own, being unable to keep the pressure of the bolt. I guess I will get the real thing before another epic ride.

Monday, 15th June, 2021 - Handlebar Mount (old style)

Much to Monisha's chagrin I bought yet another attachment for my GoPro ;-) . It's a bicycle mount. The original but the older model. When I saw it was available with Iamastudent at Rs 2880 I thought it was a steal. I placed the order immediately. The new model costs Rs 5550.

This older generation has two problems. A. The rotating head has to be adjusted with an Allen key (in the new model which costs double this older one it is matter of just turning it with a click by hand). B. In fact all the three screws  need an Allen key to tighten or loosen. These are not thumb screws. The three screws are a. for attaching the unit to the handle bar b. for tightening the rotating head c. for tightening the GoPro. 

That I travel with my multitool is a different matter but those who do not, must keep this Allen key safe yet handy while travelling. 

The pack came with five different rubber inserts to fit a range of diameters. The diameter sizes are written on the ring itself. I knew the size of my Surly handlebar so it was not a problem. Before I realised this i had to do some trial and error. 

My next item on the wish list is a GoPro protective housing. Unfortunately it costs upwards of Rs 4300 :-( But if I was to go on a long trip I would like to put my camera in one of those. 

Having bought a few cheap 3rd party mounts as well as a few original ones I have realised why the GoPro items are so very expensive. My Rs 350 bicycle mount, bought off Flipkart, lasted a day. It could have broken on the road as well, potentially damaging the camera.  

I created a short video about this mount. Here you can watch it on Vimeo.

IceToolz Y-shaped hex key set

 

Today, while I took delivery of the Garmin speed and cadence sensors from Exad Sports, I also got for myself an IceToolz 3-in-1 hex key set called  70Y2. It's basically a Y shaped tool with each end being a hex key. This makes wrenching easy because you can hold it in your palm and put considerable torque by twisting your wrist. This is useful where there is room to work on the bolt. In certain situations you might need to use a longer wrench. I think the original design was developed by Park Tool. But they are super expensive.

This is the most commonly used combination of wrenches for a modern cycle. All the bosses, the stem, head cover, the carrier etc use 4 mm bolts. The seat post and the seat need 5 and 6. I have one set of metric hex keys from. I have two T-shaped hex keys in size 4 and 5. Both from Taparia. I also have a Crank Brothers multitool that has all the hex wrenches one could need. Now this :-) 

Am I obsessed with tools. Of course yes, I am. Too bad that modern cycling tools are not stocked by any retailer in Calcutta. And right now even Exad has run out of stock with IceToolz.

Various Specialist Shops

There are various specialist shops in Calcutta that deal only with a particular line of products that you don't find anywhere. Of course Amazon is there but sometimes even Amazon can be difficult to deal with. For example, recently I needed a very small lithium ion button cell battery. It was available in Amazon but you had to buy 5 of them for Rs 350. I went to this shop in Chandni and bought it for Rs 40. You don't get such things every where. So here I go with my compilation. It's a work in progress. As and when I find more such shops I will write them down.

I will not write here the commonly found items and well known shops here. For example I will not mention the details of camera shops or engine oil shops here. There are many. And most Calcuttans know them. At least the ones that are worth knowing are known already. I will only write here about the odd items that you don't find commonly. 

If you know of any such shop please let me know.

Only caveat - most Indians don't realise the value of maintaining the same phone number. They change their service provider at the drop of a hat and change the number. So phones may not always work. 

Batteries of Various Types (Dry Cells and Lithium Ion etc) - 

Plastico - 16 Dharamtalla Street; Calcutta 700013 - 9163912254. This is a tiny shop in front of Chandni Market. 

Elgin Road - 9831146695. This is a tiny shop in front of Bhowanipore Education College, next to Titan showroom. Needlessly terribly expensive. Buy only if you cannot go to Chandni. A Panasonic 2032 that costs Rs 40 at Chandni costs Rs 140 here. Daylight robbery.

Chandni Wholesaler of button cell batteries - 8777368424 (largish shop somewhere on Chandni Chowk Street)

Nuts & Bolts

Princep Corner - 17, Prinsep St, Esplanade, Chowringhee North, Bow Barracks, Kolkata, West Bengal 700072

The Prinsep spelling is wrong but the shop stocks a very wide range of industrial grade nuts and bolts of every kind. It is very unlikely that you won't find a bolt or nut here. 

 

Cat Eye Rear Light

Yesterday, Sunday 19th July 2020, I went as far as the Bike Studio in Salt Lake's AH block to fetch this Cat Eye rear light. I think it cost me about Rs 700 plus. I had also bought a Lizard Skins bar tape and the total price came to Rs 3495 or something like that. I will add the bar tape later when I instal it. 

The light came with a clip to attach it to a rear saddle bag as well as a small plastic pipe to add circumference to any pipe (seat stay for example) if it is found too narrow. I kept these two and the manual safely inside the packet and have decided to keep the box in the cupboard, if necessary later. In fact I plan to instal this on the bike only if I go for a night trip or in winter. As of now I have the Crivit gifted by Raja last year and the Omni is sitting in the cupboard.

This light uses two AAA batteries with a claimed run time of 200 hours. It has three modes. Stable, strobe and very fast strobe. The last mode consumes the least battery. 

This is better than USB chargeable because in India there are places and destinations where there is no electricity and I plan to go to those places precisely. A battery operated unit is far more practical therefore than USB chargeable units. 

My Nite Rider headlamp is USB rechargeable though. For those type of areas it may not be practical to carry. I had taken it to Darjeeling and used it in dense fog as a safety device. Not that too many drivers would have noticed its existence but at least I had some peace of mind. I think I charged it from my portable USB power bank.

Cat Eye is a very good brand of Japanese cycling accessories. I had two of their Velo cycling computers. I have sold one. The other is still there. They are excellent products. Let me see how long the Omni lasts me. I had a cheap Nite Rider but it came only with a clip. It slipped off my saddle bag and broke. Though it still works, I do not use it. The shell is broken. 

Taparia Allen Keys

I have two very useful T-handle Taparia hex keys (or Allen keys as some would call them, after the US company that made and popularised them first) of 4 and 5 mm and a complete set of Allen keys from Taparia but that is useless for all practical purposes (for me) because it's as per the British standard. 

There are two types of hex bolts in the market. One follows the British sizing system. The other follows the metric system. My Surly as well as the Merida uses the metric system. So the British system hex keys are useless for the cycles, except size 4 and 8. Because size 4 is practically same in both metric and British systems. So is size 8. 

The size 4 key is most used for all the fixtures like the bottle cages, the carrier (pannier rack) etc. Size 5 is necessary for the rim brake calliper adjustment (which I did yesterday - 16th July, 2020). Going to Chandni for buying the 5 mm wrench (I already had the 4 mm one) was quite an adventure. Ultimately it cost me Rs 80 but the market was so over crowded with mechanics. 

In case you don't know what Chandni Market is - it is a large wholesale type market for various hardware stores in the city. It supplies to the entire Eastern and North Eastern India. Almost all Calcutta mechanics and shops source their tools and hardware items from Chandni. There is hardly any hardware item that you will not find in Chandni. 

I had to walk down the final 100 meters or so to reach the shop from where I had earlier purchased the 4 mm key. This was due to a thick crowd of people buying all sorts of hardware and cheap electronic products (these days Chandni also houses a lot of cheap electronic spares shops selling all sorts of cables and switches etc). 

Reaching the shop with the bike seemed well nigh impossible with a fruit seller blocking the approach to the shop. In fact the entire road in front is full of squatter vendors who have just occupied the public space. I had to go past the shop. Get on the footpath and trace my way back through a 2 feet gap on the footpath left for pedestrians and shoppers. The shopkeeper sitting there wouldn't allow me in with the bike. I was extremely adamant. I told him either you beat me up or call the police but I will go through this space only and with my bike. You have to be very very nasty with me to stop me. Finally he relented quietly and I had my way. He himself is an illegal occupier.