Transform Ordinary Spokes into Essential Tools!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- How to make an ordinary bicycle spoke into several essential cheap useful DIY bicycle tools (homemade) to add to your bicycle tool kit when doing bike maintenance or bicycle repair.
1. We start with a steel double butted spoke 2.0mm at the either end and 1.8mm over the center 2/3rds. We choose steel over alloy because it’s stronger and the center being 1.8mm is perfect for cable housing.
2. Break a couple of the spokes somewhere toward the middle (leave the others alone):
• Spoke or bolt cutter
• Vise is perfect
• Absent of these, 2 pliers and a whole lot of bending
3. Sharpen one end with a metal file. One can also bend the other end into a useful handle
Uses:
1. When you replace bicycle cables or change bicycle housing, one usually needs to opening the cable housing after cutting which become distorted due to the action of the housing cutter. The sharpened central part of the double butted spoke is just the right size to open cable and brake housing without deforming the outer diameter (a brake ferrule or derailleur ferrule will still fit on the housing end).
2. Remove broken cable in shifter. Occasionally with wear, a shifter cable may break within the bicycle sifter. The pointed spoke (1.8 mm) with fit perfectly into the shifter allowing removal of the broken part to fix the shifter before you can install a new cable.
3. Using and unbroken spoke, bend it such that ends are a distant apart but will grab and hold as shown in the video. Perfect for hanging tools.
4. With any left over portion of spoke, bend the ends to make a chain hanger useful for bicycle chain removal and bicycle chain replacement.
Why break the spoke in the middle versus just sharpening the spoke end?
The middle of the double butted spoke is 1.8 mm which when used on housing will accommodate brake cables (which are 1.6 mm) and derailleur cables (1.2mm) as well as a number of heavy duty cable without distorting the housing and allowing one to place a ferrule at each end as needed.
There is some pretty good ideas, Tony I think I’m gonna steal those. Thanks for the tips.
Be my guest. Any other ideas for use of old/left over spokes?
Love these tips! It's too easy to fall into the trap of thinking you need to buy specific, one-off tools for bike maintenance jobs - Looks like these tools are closer to hand than we might think!
Thank you. See our other homemade tools:
th-cam.com/video/2vrwqRtfTSU/w-d-xo.html
Regards and safe cycling, Tony
I made my chain hanger out of a thick old clothes hanger. And I made my "poker" to open up housings by filing down an old small Philips screw driver. I had one that was right on the money diameter wise, but very stripped so my poker/opener it became. Cool video. I never thought these could also be made out of old spokes.
I have used old hangers also, but I like the old steel spokes because the double butted are just the right size and they are stronger then the clothes hangers. Thanks for your input and safe cycling, Tony
Do better cable/housing cutters still squash inside the cable housing?
In this video, I'm using one of the best cable/housing cutters available: German made Knipex cutters. They cut stiff brake housing smoothly without burrs. But there's still some distortion of the inner part of the housing.
Is there anything else I can use if I don't have a wheel spoke?
Yes, an old coat hanger (one of the brass colored hangers; not the white alloy ones which will easily bend under any pressure).
Is cable breakage inside the shifter common?
If you are not doing yearly maintenance (yourself or through you local bicycle store), shift cable breakage can occur (more common then you would think).
Where do I get a steel double budded spoke if I’m not a wheel builder?
You may be able to get a steel double butted spoke from your local bike store (they may even give you a couple free), an old wheel from a bike that's been junked, or Ebay/AliExpress for pennies a piece.
Can't the spoke tool holder open when you hang it up?
Heavy tools will bend the spokes. I use these hangers for light tools or parts.
Is an aluminum spoke OK such a tool?
Aluminum spoke when sharpened might work to open housing but may not be strong enough for a chain hanger or tool holder. I have had better success with steel spokes.
What cable cutters do you use?
German made Knipex cutters. They cut stiff brake housing smoothly without burrs. Expensive but one of the best cable/housing cutters I've used.
One should use high leverage diagonal cutters to cut brake housing instead of cable cutters. This gives a cleaner cut. This is demonstrated in a Park Tool video, th-cam.com/video/Xg5MrDgLhHI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=oEiy0rUH6v2J3vyD at about the 5:41 mark. I use Klein 8” high leverage diagonal cutters and they work well.
Diagonal plier do work better then ordinary bicycle cable/housing cutters. That's why, in the video, I am using high end German made Knipex diagonal cutters. The hesitation in cutting in the video was due to an attempt to handle everything in front of the camera lens (which sometimes can be a bit awkward). These cutters work great. For more info on Knipex, see:
www.knipex.com/company/about-us
Looks like breaking a spoke in half is a difficult job if you don't have some type of spoke cutter.
You can break the spoke with 2 sets of pliers, but you are correct in that it does take some time and effort.