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review
Tools - Portable
Tools - workshop
Silca HX-Two Travel Essentials KitSilca HX-Two Travel Essentials Kit

Silca HX-Two Travel Essentials Kit

8
by David Arthur @davearthur
UPDATED Sun, Sep 16, 2018 00:01

First Published Sep 15, 2018

2
£75.00

VERDICT:

8
10
High-quality and very durable tools but pricey
Weight: 
573g
Contact: 
saddleback.co.uk
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The Silca HX-Two Travel Essentials Kit is a very high-quality set of tools fit for any home mechanic, with all the necessary hex and Torx tools for carrying out most minor, and some major, mechanicals on a road bike. Provided you can get past the big price, it's a jolly nice bit of kit.

  • Pros: Very high quality, lovely to use, all the common sizes
  • Cons: Pricey

Silca makes some of the finest tools you can buy, but many of its products do come with quite a price tag, and at £75 these are no different. There are certainly more affordable tool kits available, although it's a fair bit cheaper than the wood-encased HX-One Home and Travel Tool Kit that Dave reviewed on road.cc a couple of years ago.

> Find your nearest dealer here

What you're getting is an assortment of tools made from S2 tool steel, manufactured using a nine-stage heat treatment process, and coated with a high-friction chrome and rubberised polymer to provide hardwearing and durable tools.

You get all the more useful hex sizes (1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10mm) and Torx wrenches (T7, T8, T9, T10, T15, T20, T25, T27, T30) which is adequate for carrying out a full service on any road bike these days. There are clearly sizes that are much more commonly used, but to be honest the full range of Torx sizes is a bit overkill – T25 seems to be the most common in my experience. They are there if you need them, though.

Durability is impressive. I've been testing them for a good while now, using them as my everyday tools (I do a lot of tinkering, setting up test bikes and changing parts frequently) and the tools are showing no signs of distress or wear. There's no hint of them rounding or deforming, as can happen with cheaper tools. Even now they still look brand new.

> Beginner's guide to bike tools

Using them is a very nice experience too – if you can describe using tools in such a manner. The polymer coating ensures they feel tactile between the fingers and makes the more fiddly jobs a little easier, plus they stay grippy when your fingers are covered in grease. No slippage occurred. The generous lengths combined with the ball ends also help with those harder-to-access bolts.

The tools fit snugly in the plastic holder, with no risk of them falling out if you accidentally drop the whole thing. It also minimises the potential for losing the smaller tools. As a set, it's compact enough to go in your travel bag when going to events, though they obviously can't beat a multi-tool for maximum portability if space is at a premium.

> Buyer's Guide: 11 of the best multi-tools

It's undeniably a lovely bit of kit and works very well, and the tools should last a bloody long time, but the asking price is on the steep side. That said, others make it look better value: Park Tool's P-Handle Hex Wrench Set PH-1.2 has the same rrp, for eight tools.

If you're fettling your bike regularly and you want the best tools and have deep pockets, this certainly fits the bill.

Verdict

High-quality and very durable tools but pricey

road.cc test report

Make and model: Silca HX-Two Travel Essentials Kit

Size tested: One Size

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Silca says, "HX-TWO is the travel version of our top-selling HX-ONE Home Essential Kit. This set features individual hex and Torx® wrenches carefully produced from our exclusive 9 step heat treated S2 tool steel. These tools feature a high grip polymer coating over top of our own high-engagement satin chrome. These finishes keep the tools from slipping in either the fastener or your fingers during use. The kit stores in a custom molded tool holder that not only helps keep you organized, but it also makes the set the ideal size for stowing away in a tool box or your gear bag for those weekend riding trips and races.

"The wrenches in HX-TWO have been meticulously chosen by our product team after extensive qualitative and quantative feedback from our inner-circle of pro mechanics, bike fitters, and frame builders. The hex keys in the set, which include 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.5, 2, and 1.5mm, and Torx® keys include: T30, T27, T25, T20, T15, T10, T9, T8 and T7."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Silca lists these features:

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

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

The quality of construction is really high.

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

Using high-quality tools makes fettling the bike a much nicer experience.

Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

No signs of deforming or rounding in several months of extensive testing.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10

Individually the tools are a nice weight and feel good in the hand, but the set is quite chunky – though still portable enough for chucking in a kit bag for travelling to events.

Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
8/10

Very comfortable to use, the length makes working on the bike easier than grappling with a tiny multi-tool.

Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

It's expensive yes, but compares well with Park Tool's hex (not Torx) set. You are getting a very high-quality product here that has the performance and durability to back up the price.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Work extremely well whether at home or on the road at events.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Nice to use, very durable, all the sizes you need.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The price.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's cheaper than the posh wooden box set from Silca we tested two years ago... and the same price as Park Tool's PH-1.2 hex set (which doesn't include Torx wrenches).

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

You're getting a very high-quality set of durable and hardwearing tools. Yes it's quite an investment, but there's no reason why the tools won't last a lifetime.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 31  Height: 180cm  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo-0cross, commuting, touring, mountain biking

Silca HX-Two Travel Essentials Kit 2018
Silca HX-Two Travel Essentials Kit
Silca 2018
Silca
David Arthur @davearthur

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes. 

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2 comments

Avatar
brakesmadly | 6 years ago
0 likes

I have a still-sealed HX3 set for sale at £30.

Avatar
DaSy | 6 years ago
0 likes

I use the Silca HX-Three in my workshop, at £35 they are not outrageously priced. I don't need that quality in Torx drivers as they get much less use and wear less due to the better engagement.

Also, I much prefer the lack of the Bondhus tips on the HX-Three keys, I know they are supposed to improve the ability to access hard to reach bolts that are off-axis, but in the smaller sizes they often mean even direct-on engagement is not great, so almost render the long arm unuseable, which is annoying when you have a deeply buried bolt.

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