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I found this thing in a box of bicycle tool mix I got some time ago. In the end this was the only one I could not identify, so I am asking here: What is this thing and what is it used for, please? I think it might be somehow used to manipulate with the cables. But since I do not know the name of the tool, I can’t look up for more info

Unknown tool

Thanks!

ojs
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Glutexo
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1 Answers1

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That's a spoke wrench, for turning spoke nipples. The benefit of this design is that, as opposed to the kind with an arm coming out each side of a central body, the force from your fingers is spread over the faces of the disk, meaning you can apply more force and it hurts less.

I'm not certain, because I haven't used it, but it also seems like it would be easier to keep your grip on the wrench; the other kind is prone to being fumbled and dropped as you turn it (at least when I'm the one turning it, it is).

Here's an example: https://www.amazon.com/KLICKfix-Rixen-Kaul-SPOKEY-professional/dp/B003ZRWA4Y/

compton
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  • Yeah, that’s it! Now I understand how it works. Thanks for a quick response! – Glutexo Nov 26 '17 at 16:33
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    A word of caution: It's not a one for all tool as spoke nipples come in different sizes and the tool has to be the correct size if you don't want to damage the nipples. – Carel Nov 26 '17 at 17:50
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    I would like to add that it is not so simple to tighten spokes. Care must be taken as you can offset the rim and/or make it worse. – Tempus Nov 27 '17 at 02:02
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    @Tempus: Actually, tightening the spokes is the easy part. The tricky part is to do it in a way that the wheel stays true :-). This is called "truing" (or "adjustment"). – sleske Nov 27 '17 at 08:28
  • At least when I built wheels regularly, I found these much less comfortable than conventional spoke wrenches. You usually grip the edge of the wrench, and the "wings" in these are substantially thinner than on a conventional wrench. These can be handy in case of a seized nipple though (much more common with aluminium nipples than brass). – Jerry Coffin Nov 27 '17 at 09:19
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    A fairly trivial point, but I rather like the more alliterative name spoke spanner. – PJTraill Nov 27 '17 at 18:06
  • @sleske , I am sure that is what I was implying. But thanks for making it more obvious as some might think it just a matter of tightening them was enough. – Tempus Nov 28 '17 at 03:20
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    Yet another alternative name is a spoke key. – Ian Cook Nov 29 '17 at 22:39
  • the brand name of the pictured item is "Spokey" (a fusion of the words 'spoke' and 'key'). the red ones were for standard euro/us spokes, yellow ones were for japanese standard spokes. – MNB Mar 15 '23 at 14:32