Welcome to the first edition of Torque About Tools for 2025. In this instalment, I’ve got some exciting new releases to take you through, from Feedback, Park Tool and Topeak.
By far and away the most interesting release is Pedro’s new BB Socket set – a very clever solution compared to existing options.
I've also taken a closer look at Silca’s new Elettrico electric bike pumps. These made headlines due to not being viable to sell in the US following the imposition of Trump’s tariffs on foreign imports when they launched in April.
As always, get your beverage of choice ready and lock your wallet away before you get stuck in.
New tools from Feedback
Feedback Grip Whip
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- £50 / $55 / €57
The Grip Whip is Feedback’s new take on a chain whip and is compatible with 5- to 13-speed cassettes, including Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo (including SRAM Transmission).
The jaws can latch onto any cog from 10-24t. To use it, depress the thumb lever to open the jaws up.
Feedback says there are six points of secure, slip-free contact. The tool has fitted nicely to both the Shimano and SRAM cassettes I’ve tested it on.
A neat touch is an 8mm fitting at the end of the tool’s handle, for fitting an 8mm L-handle hex wrench if you need more leverage (I’m thinking of you, SRAM).
Feedback Modular T-Handle Kit (Hex and Torx Wrench Set)
- £200 / $200 / €235
Feedback has finally released its long-teased new T-handle set, replacing its previous T-Handle Hex and Torx Wrench Kit.
If you’re a regular reader of Torque About Tools, you’ll know T-handles are my preferred flavour of hex wrenches, with my gold standard being the Silca T-Handle Folio.
These Feedback T-handles look nothing like their predecessors, with the biggest difference being the inclusion of a spinner sleeve to quicken installing or removing fasteners. Park Tool’s THH-1 and Topeak’s T-Hex Speed Wrench Set also have this feature, but Silca notably doesn’t – it’s not a must-have, in my view.
The T-handles are constructed from S2 steel with a chrome vanadium steel body, and you get seven hex keys (2 to 6mm, and an integrated 8/10mm hex key), as well as three Torx keys (T10, T25 and T30).
Unlike other options, these are designed with travelling mechanics in mind.
The keys are shorter than the Topeak’s and are designed to fit into an included tool roll. However, when travelling, you need to remove the sliding bar and store that separately from the wrench’s main body inside the tool roll.
Otherwise, the tool roll includes fittings if you want to fix them to a peg wall, where you could then leave the T-handles fully assembled.
I’ve been testing this Feedback set for a month. My initial impressions are very positive. They got thrown straight into the deep end when I helped a friend change his headset bearing on a bike with an integrated cockpit.
The spinner sleeve is a nice feature and I like the knurling (which the Topeak lacks). They have a snug fit into the bolt (but not to the same level as the Silca’s). I’d like some more time testing them before I deliver a definitive verdict.
Feedback Range Twist Torque Wrench
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- £75 / $85 / €85
Modular bit-style torque wrenches aren’t new and – surprise, surprise – it’s Silca, again, that takes top honours from me in this category with the Ti-Torque and T-Handle ratchet set, one of my most prized possessions.
The Range Twist Torque Wrench looks like a fat pen and houses six S2 steel bits in its handle, with 10 fastener sizes, including:
- 2-6mm hex
- T10 and T25 Torx
- #2 Phillips
- 3.5mm flathead
The included bits use the 4mm hex shank standard (often referred to as ‘precision bits’), rather than the more common 1/4in.
It has a folding handle, which means you can then either use it as a T-handle or in its stock pen drive form.
You can apply between 2 and 8Nm of torque, and to make sure you’re correctly tightening a fastener, you need to read the scale and observe when the arrow aligns with the correct number – just like the Silca Ti-Torque.
One key difference, though, is the Ti-Torque has one arrow, whereas every number on the torque scale of the Range Twist has an arrow underneath it.
I’ve found I’ve really had to pay attention to read the relevant arrow when testing this tool, but it’s still early days and something I may get used to.
Park Tool BMT-1 Tire Bead Breaker
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- £44.99
The Tire Bead Breaker is a new release from the Big Blue brand and is designed to quickly unseat a stubborn tyre, particularly on tight-fitting tubeless setups.
Essentially a giant mole grip, you tighten the locking jaws of the 790g tool against the tyre’s sidewall using the blue adjustment knob. You then pull the handle laterally in either direction and hey, presto – the bead should unseat.
The jaws have a rubber cover to prevent them damaging the tyre and rim.
The tool made mincemeat of two setups I tried it out on, but I’m sure the day will arrive when it’s faced with a more challenging tyre…
Park Tool CC-4.2 Chain Wear Indicator
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- £17.99 / €23.95
The CC-4.2 is an update to Park’s CC-4, which launched five years ago to be compatible with many of the new 12- and 13-speed chains released at the time.
Before the CC-4, life was simple with the CC-3.2, which was a drop-in style gauge that told you whether a chain was 0.5 or 0.75 per cent worn.
However, SRAM’s Flattop design changed things because it uses oversized rollers, which meant you couldn’t get an accurate reading with the CC-3.2.
The CC-4 was also of a drop-in design, but it was more fiddly to use than its predecessor. The chain checker contacts the chain in three places and to use it, you need to put tension on the chain between the hook and the tension tip, then note which of the 0.5 or 0.75 per cent marks the gauge tip drops into.
The CC-4.2 is ostensibly identical to the CC-4, meaning it’s compatible with any singlespeed or 5- to 13-speed chain, only it now has a third 1.0 per cent mark on the gauge tip. This is the point at which it’s recommended to replace a singlespeed chain, but it can also act as a marker if you’ve neglected to change any other 5- to 13-speed chain at the previous points.
While the new tool works as claimed, I long for the return of an updated CC-3.2, only one that’s compatible with the latest standards. It’s far easier to drop a chain checker in and get an instant measurement rather than have to fiddle around maintaining tension with your hand.
Pedro’s Pro BB Socket 10pc Set
- £172 / $169.99 / €199
There are a bewildering number of standards for the fittings on threaded bottom bracket cups and you’ll need well in excess of 10 bottom bracket sockets to cover them all.
Pedro’s has come up with this clever all-in-one solution, which relies on an aluminium socket with in-built magnets and different cast steel inserts (also with magnets) that slot into the socket, so you can now have one tool for the job.
Pedro’s describes the BB Socket Cup at the heart of this set as the ‘Swiss army knife of bottom bracket tools’.
Each insert is marked clearly with what standard it’s designed for, including the inner and outer diameter.
There’s a 3/8in fitting at the end of the socket so you can pair it with your ratchet, breaker bar or torque wrench of choice.
The tool will also work if you want to remove or install Center Lock disc brake rotors, which use the same standard as Shimano Hollowtech II bottom brackets.
I’ve got the full 10-piece set in for testing, which comes with the Pro BB Socket Cup, eight inserts and the Pro BB Socket Holder (more on that in a moment). This system is also available as a five-piece set for £103 / $99.99 / €119.
There’s also an à la carte option, with the Pro BB Cup retailing for £51 / $49.99 / €59 and each insert £17 / $15.99 / €18.90.
The eight inserts Pedro’s currently produces are as follows:
- Praxis 12x49
- Shimano 16x44
- Shimano 16x41
- Shimano 16x39
- BSA30 / SRAM DUB 12x46
- T47 12x52
- T47 16x52
- T47 16x48.5
This 10-piece set also includes the Pro BB Socket Holder (which retails separately for £35 / $34.99 / €39.91), which threads together with the Pro BB Socket Cup to stop the tool from slipping (the threads on the cups are often very shallow) and causing injury or frame damage.
It works in much the same way as Park Tool’s BBT-RS does for its various bottom bracket socket cups, for instance.
Now, whichever permutation you buy this kit in, it’s rather pricey. But the 10-piece set, for instance, is cheaper than buying 10 separate sockets and I predict this will be an enticing option for workshops.
What’s more, should new standards arise, Pedro’s says it will make new sockets, so there’s an element of future-proofing with this system. That said, it obviously won’t work on any fitting that’s bigger than the socket cup, such as Shimano’s ebike lockrings.
Still, this is an exciting release from Pedro’s and a great example of what can be achieved when you let the designer have free rein.
Silca Elettrico electric pumps
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- Elettrico Micro – £119 / $119 / €139
- Elettrico Ultimate – £149 / $159 / €179
Although Silca has a track record for taking cycling products and attempting to perfect them, the brand will always be notable for its pumps. So it’s rather fitting that it has brought out its first portable electric pumps, which are a burgeoning category.
Silca has released two Elettrico models – the Micro and the Ultimate.
What sets these electric pumps apart is their use of quiet, yet powerful motors, which Silca says are borrowed from drone technology. The brand claims a noise level of between 4 and 8dB, with the pump’s casing designed to further dissipate vibrations and reduce noise.
The Elettrico Micro is a minimalist electric pump that comes in at 112g and forgoes a display, so you don’t know the exact pressure you’re inflating to. However, it has what Silca calls an ‘auto shutoff’ at 72psi, so you don’t accidentally overinflate a hookless rim.
The Ultimate is the bigger 219g sibling, with a digital display that’s claimed to be accurate to +/- 1 per cent. You can set your desired pressure between 3 and 100psi.
Silca claims the Ultimate is the equivalent to 10 CO2 cartridges, whereas the Micro is the equivalent to four.
As is par for the course with electric pumps, they are recharged via USB-C. The Micro is claimed to fully recharge within 25 minutes, whereas the Ultimate will take up to an hour.
The pumps made headlines when they launched in April, with Silca saying they were ‘not viable’ for sale in the USA due to President Trump’s tariffs. The 100 units it released in the US at launch sold out instantly.
However, following a recent reduction earlier this month, the pumps are now available for sale in the USA.
It’s interesting that Silca hasn’t made a pump positioned between the Micro and Ultimate. My current favourite is the Cycplus AS2 Pro, which impressed me so much I included it in my Gear of the Year 2024.
That pump weighs 140g (only 28g more than the Elettrico Micro). It features a digital display and can pump a 700c x 25mm tyre to 80psi in 50 seconds up to four times.
The big draw of the Elettrico Ultimate is it squeezes far more juice into its 79g-heavier unit – I’ll be interested to see which pump I prefer after I’ve finished testing.
Silca Synergetic Race Grease
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- £25 / $25 / €30 / AU$44.95 (for 95.82g)
One Silca product for which American consumers won’t be paying over-the-nose tariffs is its new Synergetic Race Grease.
If you thought the name sounded familiar, that’s because the new grease uses the same “Type-V ultra-synthetic oil base” found in its Synergetic Chain Lube. From that base, it’s then thickened into a grease using the synthetic wax technology found in its SpeedChip wax additive, paired with what Silca calls a “low friction, nanoscale WS2 additive package”.
Silca claims a 50 per cent reduction in friction and a whopping 90 per cent reduction in wear (but doesn’t give a comparison product) and says it’s good for use on “bearings, bushings, suspension pivots, threaded assemblies and press-fit interfaces”.
If you want to treat your bicycle’s bearings to some luxury, you’ll certainly pay for the privilege with this grease, given you’ll spend £0.26 / $0.31 a gram.
There are already plenty of high-end greases out there that more than do the job – my go-to for headsets is Chris King’s Blue Headset Grease, and I’m a fan of Shimano’s green-coloured Premium Grease for anything else (or Campagnolo Professional Lubricating Grease for Campag components).
Still, given Silca’s Synergetic Chain Lube is my favourite chain lubricant (and received the ‘Highly Commended’ award in our best list), I’m looking forward to seeing how this performs.
Three new Topeak releases
Topeak Hanger Alignment Gauge with Lever Setter Kit
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- £119.99
Although SRAM’s hell-bent on consigning derailleur hangers to history, not all of us have the disposable income to drop some coin on a Transmission or Red XPLR groupset.
And with groupsets reaching 12 or 13 speeds, proper derailleur hanger alignment is ever-more crucial.
Topeak’s new Hanger Alignment Gauge looks similar to the current design trend, kickstarted by Abbey Bike Tools, although it comes in at half the price of that spendy, but near-perfect option. It even comes with a Lever Setter Kit (also pioneered by Abbey) for the £119.99 asking price.
Constructed from a mixture of stainless steel and aluminium, the gauge tip is stored at the tool’s base and can be removed by pulling the knob down.
The Lever Setter also looks identical to Abbey’s effort and is a genius solution for ensuring gear and brake levers are set optimally. To use the Lever Setter, you remove the stem top cap and replace it with the tool, and then the Hanger Alignment Gauge threads into it.
You can then use the gauge tip of the Hanger Alignment Gauge to create perfect lever placement nirvana.
So why would you want to spend £248 on an Abbey setup rather than £119.99 for this? The Abbey is machined to the nth degree in terms of tolerance and there is virtually no slop in the tool.
This is important in ensuring accuracy that you’re bending the hanger the right amount and, while this Topeak is a nifty effort, I can confirm there is a significant difference in the amount of slop between the two tools.
Topeak Rotor Truing Tool
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- £69.99
This three-in-one tool can be used as a pad spreader, for truing bent disc brake rotors and checking rotor wear.
Almost identical to the BBB Disc Doctor BTL-212 in function (this Topeak tool lacks a caliper alignment tool), Topeak’s version is far more substantial in size and weight, coming in at 225g.
For comparison, both the aforementioned BBB tool and the Feedback Rotor Truing Fork 2.0 I’ve featured in a previous edition of Torque About Tools weigh 73g.
Topeak Torq Wrench 40Nm with Lockring Tool
- £59.99
This is an interesting release from Topeak, and not something I’ve seen any other manufacturer think of yet.
The Torq Wrench 40Nm is a cassette lockring tool that’s preset to 40Nm – which is precisely the number you need for most cassettes or Centre Lock disc brake rotors.
It may be a first-world problem, but it can be annoying having to dig out (or even buy) a separate cassette lockring socket and a suitable torque wrench just to make sure you’ve tightened the cassette correctly.
“Who torques a cassette?” I hear some mechanics grumble. I’m also generally happy to go by feel but there are some examples out there – namely SRAM XD and Campagnolo Ekar – where I consider torquing to be a must.
Topeak also says you can use the 576g tool for removing a cassette but I’d prefer to use a different option for fear of damaging the spring.
The included lockring on this tool only works with Shimano and SRAM cassettes, so you’re out of luck if you’re a Campagnolo user.
