Used a $6 chain tool from Walmart for a year before trying my neighbor's Park Tool, and the pin didn't snap on the first push | DIY Bike Repair - The Community Guide
Used a $6 chain tool from Walmart for a year before trying my neighbor's Park Tool, and the pin didn't snap on the first push
I was breaking chains with that cheap Walmart tool for about a year and kept rounding out the pins, so I just figured chains were always a pain to get apart. My neighbor handed me his Park Tool CT-3.2 last week and the pin pushed through clean on the first try, no wiggling, no wondering if it would snap. Is there another cheap tool out there that actually holds up, or do I just eat the $40 for the real thing?
Watched my buddy go through the exact same thing last summer, he had one of those $8 chain tools from Amazon and swore it was fine until he stripped three pins in a row on a single ride. He got so mad he drove to the shop mid-ride and dropped $45 on a Park Tool, and I swear the guy almost cried when the pin slid out on the first turn. Turns out the cheap tools have soft metal pins that bend instead of push, so you end up fighting the tool more than the chain. He still keeps the Walmart one in his pack as a backup but he has never touched it since. For the money you save buying cheap ones over and over, you pretty much pay for the good one anyway.