If you are a long term follower of my blog you must be thinking I have an obsession with buying allen key sets. Years ago I treated myself to the rather posh and expensive HX ONE set, these have been the best quality allen keys I have ever used. Then I splashed out again and bought the Park Tool wall mounted THH-1 set when they became available in the uk. So why did I need to purchase a third set. Well I had an old set of allen keys which I bought from Lidls years ago and thought at the time these would not last two minutes but they have been the hardest steel allen keys until I bought the Silca and Park Tool sets. They have built 10's of bikes and done 100's of repair jobs over the years but some sizes have started to round on the ends. So I was looking for a replacement set of a similar size and L shape with a practical compact holder. I was not so keen on the Park Tool ones but the Silica travel kits looked the same quality as my HX- ONE keys. Silca do two models, this one with 9no hex and 9no torx keys and the HX-THREE only has the 9no hex keys, rrp £35.
I found the TWO set for sale on PBK and as I don't have all the torx sizes in small L shape key format I opted for this set. The quality of the grip and key is fantastic in use and your hand. They are easy to slide in and out of the plastic carrier. They are not too long so handy to use in tight areas on a bike and not too short so you cannot get enough leverage on the bolts. As you can see from the spec below there is a good selection of all the common sizes in both allen and torx for most parts on every type of bike. I think they are great value for money as mine worked out at just over £3.50 per key. The new rrp is high but once stock levels hopefully improve this year you should see some discounts available.
The only down side to the set is you cannot see the hex key sizes on the holder when you have all the torx keys in. Over the years nine times out of ten I can guess the size of the key I need without having to look at the size either on the holder or the key its self. Why they could not print the sizes on the back of the plastic holder or right at the bottom of the red sleeve where it is visible. Anyway the box they come in of luxury and has a magnetic flap.
RRP £88.00 (but was £75.00) and I paid £63.79 from PBK
Manufacturers blurb - HX-TWO is the travel version of our top-selling HX-ONE Home Essential Kit. Few tools are used as frequently and can cause as much heartache or wasted time as the seemingly simple Hex and Torx® keys. It’s one of the first things you notice at the top levels of motorsport tools, or in the toolboxes of Pro-Tour mechanics: extremely high-quality tools. The reasoning is simple, better tool fit leads to better feel and confidence for the mechanic as well as a significant reduction in the likelihood of damaging exotic fasteners made from Titanium or Aluminum.
- High Strength S2 steel tools
- Precise tool interface dimensions
- Polymer coating for superior grip
- Laser etched size indication
- Compact tool holder
- Hex Wrenches: 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10mm
- Torx® Wrenches: T7, T8, T9, T10, T15, T20, T25, T27, T30
- PLEASE NOTE: The T7 tool features a 100-degree bend rather than a 90 degree for improved control and access to very small fasteners
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