Bike Maintenance Reviews

I'm a better-than-average home bike mechanic, which means I have way more tools than I'll ever use, and I use them only when I feel like it - never for me the paid mechanic's drudgery of plowing through endless tune-ups. Part of the fun for me is owning tools that are purpose-built, good for one job, and specific to cycling; I get a different kind of enjoyment out of using a cassette tool, for instance, or a chain whip, than I do from a simple hex. If you're like this, owning Park Tool's $30 Kickstand Tool will send you into a home mechanic swoon; it's as specific and mono-dimensional as it gets.

The KS-1 is essential for servicing a common type of kickstand called the "Sprague" or "Schwinn" - the ones with a huge spring and pin holding them in the kickstand shell. Without this tool, it's almost impossible to remove or install a kickstand. With it: seconds. The metal "basket" on the tool fits over the shell, the handle depresses the spring so you can remove the pin without tension, and you're done.

Of course, you might go your whole life without ever having to service a kickstand - I've been wrenching for more than 20 years and I've only messed about with two kickstands. But I feel better just seeing the tool hang on my board. And when I do need it, I feel like the world's hero.

-Bill Strickland