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Silca launches (slightly more) affordable Allen key toolsetssilca_tools_main.jpg

Silca launches (slightly more) affordable Allen key toolsets

Silca's high-quality tools at slightly more affordable prices
by David Arthur @davearthur
Mon, Jun 04, 2018 10:25
12

​Silca makes some of the finest tools we’ve come across here at road.cc, such as the lovely HX-One Home and Travel Took Kit, but they’re not exactly affordable. The newly launched HX Two and Three Hex Allen toolsets aim to change that, costing £75 and £35 respectively.

- Beginner's guide to bike tools

The HX-Two (£75) set is a travel version of the HX-One Home Essential Kit and includes 18 tools, split between 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.5, 2, and 1.5mm Allen tools and T30, T27, T25, T20, T15, T10, T9, T8 and T7 Torx tools.

silca_tools2.jpg

The tools are designed, as you’d expect at this price, to be strong and durable, so they are made from the company’s exclusive nine-step heat treated S2 steel. To make handling the tools easier, they’re finished with a polymer coating over the top to increase the grip, stopping them slipping in your fingers.

Silca sources the S2 steel from Switzerland. It’s claimed to be a whopping 50% harder than the regular steel used in most cheaper tools, and 20-30% harder than that used by other high-end tool manufacturers like Wiha, Wera and Bondhus.

A moulded plastic holder keeps the tools organised and is the perfect setup for the home mechanic doing occasional fettling or for adding to a kit bag when travelling to races and events.

The HX-Three set (£35) comprises nine Allen tools made from the same S2 heat treated steel and satin chrome finish as the more expensive HX-Two kit. Doing without the Torx tools obviously helps keep the cost down quite a bit.

silca_tools1.jpg

Torx bolts are still relatively rare on most modern road bikes so doing without them won’t be an issue for most cyclists, making this toolkit a good choice. 

More at https://silca.cc

Silca
tools
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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12 comments

Avatar
DrJDog | 6 years ago
0 likes

I snapped my 8mm taking a pedal off, been looking for a new set but these are all far too expensive.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to DrJDog | 6 years ago
0 likes

DrJDog wrote:

I snapped my 8mm taking a pedal off, been looking for a new set but these are all far too expensive.

I thought I was a bit heavy-handed at times, but you snapped an 8mm allen key? Were you turning it the correct direction? (I trashed a crank's internal thread by putting too much force the wrong way whilst trying to remove a pedal - never again).

Avatar
henryb | 6 years ago
0 likes

I have the really colourful Wera set - having each one a different colour is very useful

 

https://www.mytoolshed.co.uk/wera-3950spkl-stainless-steel-l-shape-metric-hex-key-set-9pc.html?msclkid=012967fee7491e9996a83ce8b7fb5ddd&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand%20%26%20Item%20ID&utm_term=4582145990639689&utm_content=Everything%20Else

Avatar
Hirsute | 6 years ago
1 like

I just build my sets up from IKEA furniture kits.

Avatar
Rapha Nadal | 6 years ago
0 likes

"Torx bolts are still relatively rare on most modern road bikes so doing without them won’t be an issue for most cyclists, making this toolkit a good choice."

They're really not. 

Avatar
Tjuice | 6 years ago
0 likes

Do people really perceive/get true value from an expensive, super high quality set of allen keys?

I have been using a cheap Draper allen key set for well over a decade for all manner of tasks (not just bicycles), and that has been entirely satisfactory.  I could understand a technician who is using these things all day every day wanting the best they can get, but £75/£35 for an average home user...?!

Avatar
saitrix | 6 years ago
0 likes

I agree with mpdouglas, I love my Wera's. The other weekend I used my 5mm on my car to hold a stud whilst I loosened the bolt using two spanners locked into each other for large leverage. Even with that the head did not round, though I managed to rotate the whole head 10 degrees due to the torque.

Avatar
mpdouglas | 6 years ago
0 likes

I cant look beyond the Wera Stainless Steel set:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wera-05022720001-Hex-Plus-Stainless-Ball-end/dp/B000VCZQ74/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528110268&sr=8-1&keywords=Wera+05022720001

I have two sets and they're absolutely superb. Pure stainless steel so zero corrosion, really nice in the hand due to the main part of the key being round, not hex and the ice hardening means zero rounding off of the hex ends.

Avatar
Ratfink | 6 years ago
1 like

I don't really get the having one end rounded off on allen keys as i tend to use that end a lot,ie adjusting disc pads through the spokes.

Avatar
DrG82 replied to Ratfink | 6 years ago
1 like

Ratfink wrote:

I don't really get the having one end rounded off on allen keys as i tend to use that end a lot,ie adjusting disc pads through the spokes.

It's a ball end to allow use at slight angles off perpendicular to the bolt head and it's probably better that the end of the longer part of the wrench is designed in this way rather than the shorter part and they are not great in high torque situations.

The only part of the design that irritates me is the long length, as with many other sets these days. Allen keys are supposed to be of a length reflecting the torque a compatible fastener is designed to withstand, so fitting a plastic handle like park tools do, or making them extra long is going against the original design logic.

Avatar
Ratfink replied to DrG82 | 6 years ago
1 like

DrG82 wrote:

Ratfink wrote:

I don't really get the having one end rounded off on allen keys as i tend to use that end a lot,ie adjusting disc pads through the spokes.

It's a ball end to allow use at slight angles off perpendicular to the bolt head and it's probably better that the end of the longer part of the wrench is designed in this way rather than the shorter part and they are not great in high torque situations.

 

Ha, thanks for clearing that up i thought it was a bit pointless for comfort.

Avatar
kil0ran | 6 years ago
0 likes

Oooh, HX-3 very keenly priced considering the quality. 

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