Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Best Topeak Alien II 26-Function Bicycle Tool Deals

Topeak Alien II 26-Function Bicycle Tool
Customer Ratings: 4.5 stars
List Price: $47.95
Sale Price: $32.99
Today's Bonus: 31% Off
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I got this for the chain tool. It works as well as a non-portable tool. For me, the other tools are just a bonus.

I would agree it has everything a "swiss-army" bike tool should have, including tire levers, spoke wrenches, a knife blade, and bottle opener. The halves separate and lock together easily.

Several of the tools lock open, and the knife also locks closes to absolutely prevent accidents. An interesting feature of the case it has a spring loaded belt clip for easy attachment to a pack or your waist. It also apparently has available accessory mating clips for quick release attachment to seat post or handle bar stem.

I would like to have compared the blackburn tools,Blackburn Toolmanator Multi-Function Bike Tool & Blackburn Toolmanator II Multi-Function Bike Tool but the bike mechanic I spoke with agreed this would do fine.

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It is a nice tool set, include all the allen wrenches you needed to adjust bike handle, brake and brake handle, speed rover, seat position.

It also include the chain tool for remove a section of the chain. In addition, it has two size spoke wrench for ajusting the wheel.

When you ride your bicycle, your tires may rub against the brakes. This is easy to fix wheel problem spokes need adjusting. What you need to do is wheel truing.

Place bicycle upside down. Spin the wheel while holding a pice of chalk close enough to the wheel. After spun around a few times, stop the wheel and take a look those chalk marks. Do this process on the other side of the wheel. Tighten the spokes on the other side of the chalk mark and loosen the spoken facing the chalk mark. Adjust each spoke one turn.

Wipe out that chalk mark. Once all the chalk marks are gone, you can spin the wheels and using chalk to find the next spot to tighten and loose the spoke. At the end, you have a perfect round wheels :-)

The included spoke wrench has two sizes. It works fine for all our bikes.

I used this tool assembled a complete tandom bike in two hours. The tool felt little loose at the end of the assembly. But nothing really worn out.

Best Deals for Topeak Alien II 26-Function Bicycle Tool

I've been using an original version of this tool for the past 5 years, and would still be, if not for losing half of it on the trail. I bought this newer version as a replacement and have used it for three weeks. I find it inferior:

* Steel: I commute to bike in the northeast US; that means this tool will see everything from snow to hurricanes and everything inbetween. The original tool held up well, but, after 3 weeks of mild summer weather, this new tool is already pitted with rust. At this rate, I'm skeptical about the tool lasting to winter.

* Craftsmanship: The machining of the original tool was more exact. The 15mm wrench, for instance, fit snugly over bolts. On the new tool, the wrench fits loosely, gouging the steel as you work fruitlessly to try to change a tire on the road.

* Joint: The joint between the two main pieces is much flimsier than in the original tool.

The upgrade version of this tool may be better, but it's hard to say. This tool, though, is poor enough that I'm considering just carrying a bag of tools with me.

Honest reviews on Topeak Alien II 26-Function Bicycle Tool

Nice tool kit..very good quality but....

The pouch it comes in has a bracket on the back which mates with the F55 Fixer (not included) which staps on to any post, othewise there is no good means of attachment. The F55 Fixer is a $3.95 part which for some reason they decided not to include with the Alien II itself. Shipping for this part is $5.58. Now I ask you...who wouldn't want to have this included with the Alien II?

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As a new bike owner I purchased this to cover all of my bike tool tech needs, with the exception of tire levers. From a cost standpoint it was only a little more than tools that provide less, and other reviews noted how sturdy this tool was. To that end this tool has mostly met all of my requirements with the exception of the 15mm wrench which you'd normally use on pedals. There is simply not enough torque available with a tiny little 2" long wrench to remove heavily tightened pedals from the cranks, even when inserting the large allen on the multi-tool into the wrench which is supposed to give you the extra torque.

I do have some minor complaints with this tool: the wrench falls off easily (see product image, the wrench is displayed separately, the snap it fits on isn't tight enough), there is a small sliding nut that provides the largest sized allen wrench (you can see it in the customer uploaded images) and it often slides and falls off the tool. And overall the tool is too large, bulky, and heavy for smaller pouches and it ends up eating up nearly the entire pouch. Consequently, for home/shop use the tiny tools are difficult to use due to being bundled onto the multitool meaning things are in the way, or the tool is difficult to hold. Usually on the trail all I've needed is the allen wrenches and screwdriver. If I had to do it all over again I'd buy a much smaller multi-tool for trail use and separately a normal sized collection of bike tools for home/shop use.

Conclusion: I give this 5 stars for being what it's supposed to be. I ding myself 1 star for thinking buying a big, bulky multitool and expecting it to work like a small, tiny multitool and also an entire shop worth of man-sized tools. :)

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