Tools and maintenance

PRO Professional Hard Case Tool Box

Home mechanics' tool box packs in everything you need

Shimano subsidiary PRO say they have one simple mission, ‘to use the best people in the world to make the best products in the world.’

All of their kit is not just pro tested but designed with input from the best in the business, from riders to designers to engineers. So it’s fair to say their tool kit should be good. No pressure, then.

Designed with home mechanics in mind, the Professional Hard Case Toolbox packs in almost everything you’ll need when working on your bike in the comfort of your garage.

What do you get then? Well, first and foremost an eight-piece hex key set (or allen keys, if you prefer) – sized from 2mm through to 10mm – and an eight-piece Torx key set from T10 up to T50, which should cover every eventuality.

The Professional Hard Case Toolbox packs in almost everything you’ll need when working on your bike in the comfort of your garage

Next, there’s a 15mm pedal wrench, boasting a dual-compound handle for extra grip and two cone wrenches (13mm/14mm and 15/16mm), crafted from high-quality steel.

The chain tool also boasts a dual-compound handle and is versatile enough for use on eight, nine, ten and 11-speed systems.

A high-density steel cable cutter, for use on SIS cables, is next on the list, with a multifunctional head design to continue the theme of versatility and you also get four spoke wrenches – wrapped in what PRO says is a comfortable blue coating and boasting an optimised shape – in 3.6mm, 3.75mm, 4mm and 4.4mm.

A BB-remover for cartridge bottom brackets is also thrown in, and – handy if you also ride a bike with Shimano Hollowtech II bottom brackets – there’s a tool specifically for the latter too, which is also suitable for thru-axle centrelock lockrings and includes a crank cap installation tool.

Price: £199.99
Website: PRO
UK distributor: Madison

Remover tools for both the cassette and freewheel include an integral safety pin on the cassette remover though, as you’d expect from a Shimano subsidiary, it’s been designed for Shimano cassettes.

Tyre levers and flat head and PH2 screwdrivers are also in, as you would expect, with the former optimised for easy and light tyre disassembly. A chainring bolt driver and crank extraction tool complete the set, which all comes at a very reasonable £199.99.

That’s 22 tools in all, all packed into versatile hardcase toolbox which should pack away neatly into wherever you count your home workshop. So why this and not others? Well, price for starters – it’s a very reasonable cost for a top quality collection of tools and handy storage case.

It also boasts everything you’re ever likely to need for your bike when working on it at home – so why spend a lot more on significantly bigger tool kits, when half of the tools will be redundant to you anyway?