Park Tool Spoke, Bearing, and Cotter Gauge - SBC-1

For nearly 40 years, I've been a cyclist with a reliable home shop. I've always purchased Park Tools for items that I know I'll use multiple times. Park Tools are, without a doubt, the gold standard in the cycle tool industry. However, some items are superior to others, as evidenced by this example. The ruler's quality is mediocre at best, with the stamping being the most serious flaw. The holes that are supposed to be used as pin gauges are jagged, and the ruler's corners are sharp and slightly deformed. The stamping process on the "exit" side of the tooling has left a sharp burr on the entire ruler. This is disappointing, but these are issues that can be worked around for the occasional home user; however, for a daily pro shop, this would quickly become irritating. The readability of the text is the second issue. The tool's blue anodization gives it the Park signature color, but it makes it difficult to read the markings unless the lighting is ideal. The photos in the advertisement were taken in perfect lighting; however, you should not expect this when using it in real life. To get around this, I applied a coat of Rub n Buff. Metallic wax that is buff. The indicators were much more visible after they were applied and buffed off.

Vera Heath

| May 16, 2021

It does what it's supposed to do as a ruler, but reading it out of the box is impossible. I used a paint pen to make it readable, as suggested by everyone. Both sides of the scales are printed. It's almost as if Park is begging me to take a comparison shot.

Athena Fisher

| Jul 20, 2021

This measuring stick appeals to me, but I wish it were made of steel rather than aluminum. It appears to be on the verge of being bent. And, because it's aluminum, it'll become weak and likely break if you try to bend it back in the opposite direction. Furthermore, because the notches are the same color as the rest of the ruler, they are difficult to read. It would be preferable if all of the notches were painted in a contrasting color such as white or black.

Esther Newman

| Jan 16, 2021

I obviously wasn't going to buy a whole new bike just to repair the wheel barons, but all of that to say this thing is great. I really appreciated being able to measure the ball bearings and also fix a busted smoke and give them the correct measurement all in all, this ruler might have saved my love life.

Jordyn McMillan

| May 23, 2021

Bearing on a ball My hub bearing - I use mine to repair cheaper bicycle rear and front hubs. Replacement of free floating bearings is common on bikes, and different sizes of bearings are used depending on whether the front or rear axle is used. This unit can be used by anyone who needs to "measure" a bearing in order to purchase the correct size to replace it. It has 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, 7/32, and 1/4 "holes" that you simply drop the bearing through until you find the correct size. SAE is on the right side. and MM 8, 8 in metric 5, 9, 9. On the left side, you get a SAE 12 in. bearing, and on the right side, you get a 5 bearing size. On top of the ruler is a metric MM - Metric Metric Metric Metric Metric Metric Me On the bottom, the measurement is 31 centimeters or 310mm. It does exactly what it says.

Whitley Duffy

| Jan 09, 2021

kinda. I took a few 265mm spoke lots that I'd bought and labeled as such. With this gauge, they all came in at 263mm. Although the ball bearing gauge is interesting, a spoke thickness gauge would have been far more useful (and simple) for a tool designed for "SPOKES. " The main issue with this gauge, as with all Park Tools, is that it is not accurate. I'm currently reading it. I painted the engravings on the tool's face with yellow paint. That was a significant step forward.

Sloan Newton

| Feb 24, 2021

I bought it primarily to check bearing size, but I also needed one item to get me over the $25 mark for free shipping, and this fit the bill because I am in the process of removing every bearing from my ten speed to clean, grease, and replace as needed. This was a good buy for a few dollars more than what I would have spent on shipping.

Kira Ochoa

| Nov 17, 2021

This is a fantastic little gauge for determining the diameter of spokes and bearings. This is especially useful if you service multiple bicycles and need to build wheels or perform bearing maintenance (hub overhauls, for example). I've mixed up spokes before, and this gauge makes it simple and painless to sort them out. The only reason I docked it a star is because it's a little difficult to read. br>br>I've compared measurements on this tool with a very high precision caliper, and this gauge is very precise. br>br>The only reason I docked it a star is because it's a little hard to read. I wish the numbers and notches were white instead of the same blue color as the rest of the board. Every 10mm, I marked with whiteout, which helped a little.

Alondra Haas

| Jul 30, 2021