5 sided allen key tool

Uncle Choppy said:

I've just got a new Marin "Muirwoods" bike and it seems very nice.

Enjoy - you have a good machine.
My 14yr son gained one of these last year - it is a superb bike equally
at home for town use and touring.
....and of course it is stealth black ;-)
Last year it was used for cycle-camping and the IOW Round the Island as
well as day-to-to day riding.

Quoted message said:

However, it has five-sided, "security" allen key nuts securing the
wheels and seatpost.
Marin only supply one key with the bike and, for obvious reasons, I'd
like a spare.

Does anybody know what these things are called or have any idea where
I could get one?

They 'key' seems to come as part of a set with the skewers but if you
find a friendly shop they _may_ split the set for you and just sell you
the key. I got a spare one this way from Marin dealer in Southampton and
was charged £3.00 - not bad as it left them with skewers without a key.

I note that Edinburgh BC is selling something similar called a:
"Trans X Security Tool Type Skewer Set Plus Seat Bolt"

However I suggest you call a few dealers.
You may end up with spare skewers too though ;-(

We now keep one attached to the bike's seatbolt, using the small bolt on
the 'key', and one at home in the toolkit.

John B

John B said:

Uncle Choppy said:

I've just got a new Marin "Muirwoods" bike and it seems very nice.

Enjoy - you have a good machine.
My 14yr son gained one of these last year - it is a superb bike equally
at home for town use and touring.
...and of course it is stealth black ;-)

I like it but I'm not experienced enough to know exactly how a good
bike would feel compared to a poor one.
It feels quite light to me but that has instantly been countered by
the rather hefty D-lock (Kryptonite) and cable that I've now got to
lug about to try and deter would-be thieves!

What's amazing is that it's actually the right size for me. I really
wanted one of the Edinburgh Bike Co-op "Revolution Courier" models.
However, being short (5'7"😉, with very stumpy legs, their 18" frame
was too big for me :-( (there's another thread about this somewhere.)
The Marin came in a 15" frame and seemed the nicest (to me) out of the
two available Hybrids at that size.

Quoted message said:

I note that Edinburgh BC is selling something similar called a:
"Trans X Security Tool Type Skewer Set Plus Seat Bolt"

THAT'S IT! That key looks exactly the same as the one I've got -
thanks John.
As I bought the bike from EBC, I'll ask their advice. £13.45 plus
£3.50 postage is a lot just to get a spare key but I'll have to go
with that if I can't find one anywhere else.

Thanks again for the help
Brendan

(and yes the stealth black Muirwoods is rather sexy, although the
sight of my 41 year old, sweating, bloated carcass on top of it isn't.)

Uncle Choppy said:

John B said:

Uncle Choppy said:

I've just got a new Marin "Muirwoods" bike and it seems very nice.

Enjoy - you have a good machine.
My 14yr son gained one of these last year - it is a superb bike equally
at home for town use and touring.
...and of course it is stealth black ;-)

I like it but I'm not experienced enough to know exactly how a good
bike would feel compared to a poor one.
It feels quite light to me but that has instantly been countered by
the rather hefty D-lock (Kryptonite) and cable that I've now got to
lug about to try and deter would-be thieves!

What's amazing is that it's actually the right size for me. I really
wanted one of the Edinburgh Bike Co-op "Revolution Courier" models.
However, being short (5'7"😉, with very stumpy legs, their 18" frame
was too big for me :-( (there's another thread about this somewhere.)
The Marin came in a 15" frame and seemed the nicest (to me) out of the
two available Hybrids at that size.

Quoted message said:

I note that Edinburgh BC is selling something similar called a:
"Trans X Security Tool Type Skewer Set Plus Seat Bolt"

THAT'S IT! That key looks exactly the same as the one I've got -
thanks John.
As I bought the bike from EBC, I'll ask their advice. £13.45 plus
£3.50 postage is a lot just to get a spare key but I'll have to go
with that if I can't find one anywhere else.

Thanks again for the help
Brendan

(and yes the stealth black Muirwoods is rather sexy, although the
sight of my 41 year old, sweating, bloated carcass on top of it isn't.)

5 minutes with a grinder on a standard hex key that was a bit bigger to
start with...

Uncle Choppy said:

Quoted message said:

I note that Edinburgh BC is selling something similar called a:
"Trans X Security Tool Type Skewer Set Plus Seat Bolt"

THAT'S IT! That key looks exactly the same as the one I've got -
thanks John.
As I bought the bike from EBC, I'll ask their advice. £13.45 plus
£3.50 postage is a lot just to get a spare key but I'll have to go
with that if I can't find one anywhere else.

They're £10.50 including postage from this reliable eBay seller:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160118397295

~PB

Uncle Choppy said:

I've just got a new Marin "Muirwoods" bike and it seems very nice.

The Marin website lists $430, or £217.50 for the Muirwoods. Brixton
Cycles list £435, exactly double the US price.

Pete Biggs said:

They're £10.50 including postage from this reliable eBay seller:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160118397295

Thanks for that Pete. I'll probably get a set from there then.
As for all the spare skewers, they might come in handy for medium-
security kebabs!

Thanks for the other suggestions folks. I'm afraid that I know even
less about angle grinders than I do about bikes, so that isn't really
an option for me. However, my Father-in-law has all kinds of lathes
and things as he restores/repairs old fishing reels so he might be
able to help.

Tom - I do realise that the Marin seems rather expensive. I did
originally want an EBC "own-brand" bike as they seem like good value
but my stumpy legs ruled those out. I did have a 20% introductory
voucher from EBC as I'd registered when they announced they were
opening the Manchester shop so this brought the price down. To be
fair, I did try the only other bike that fitted me (a Giant somethong
or other) and although it was nice enough, it didn't seem as nice as
the EBC Revolution or Marin.
To be honest, as a hobby guitarist, I've got used to paying the same
price in pounds as dollars (i.e. approx. double) for most musical
gear. So while it doesn't seem fair, it's at least a familiar
scenario...

Brendan

Tom Crispin wrote on 21/05/2007 07:06 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Uncle Choppy said:

I've just got a new Marin "Muirwoods" bike and it seems very nice.

The Marin website lists $430, or £217.50 for the Muirwoods. Brixton
Cycles list £435, exactly double the US price.

The difference is not quite what it seems.

The Marin website actually says $490 or about £250. You were looking at
the 2005 model on their archive page.

US prices are always given without sales taxes so its equivalent to our
price - VAT. So the equivalent UK price is £370, a 50% not a 100%
difference.

Import duty accounts for another 15% and then there is shipping costs.

Finally you need to check it's the same bike - the same name is often a
different bike on opposite sides of the Atlantic although that doesn't
seem to be the case here from a cursory check.

There is still a difference left but much of it is down to the different
costs of retail in the US and UK.

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

Uncle Choppy wrote on 21/05/2007 07:48 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Pete Biggs said:

They're £10.50 including postage from this reliable eBay seller:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160118397295

Thanks for that Pete. I'll probably get a set from there then.
As for all the spare skewers, they might come in handy for medium-
security kebabs!

Let me understand this. You have some special security skewers on your
bike but because you only have one special key to undo them you are
going to replace them with a set of security skewers with
.....errr....one special key to undo them. Have I missed something?

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

In article <[email hidden]>, _
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

5 minutes with a grinder on a standard hex key that was a bit bigger to
start with...

I wuz gonna say that. OTOH if he hasn't got a bench grinder already it
does add to the cost a bit ...

"Rob Morley" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I wuz gonna say that. OTOH if he hasn't got a bench grinder already it
does add to the cost a bit ...

Or go to a key cutters who might be able to cobble something together for
you from one of their standard lumps of metal or a slightly oversized allen
key.
I got a pack of allen keys of all sizes from Wilkinsons for £2 which gives
you plenty of spares in case the first grinding goes wrong!
--
peter

Cheap train tickets database
http://www.petereverett.co.uk/tickets/

Email sent to this address is generally deleted upon arrival
Visit website if you want to contact me

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The Marin website lists $430, or ¶œ217.50 for the Muirwoods. Brixton
Cycles list ¶œ435, exactly double the US price.

Is it the same spec? American makers often sell radically different bikes
under the same name in different markets.

You're right. 'Our' one is a higher spec (deore rear mech instead of
alivio etc).

Tony Raven said:

Let me understand this. You have some special security skewers on
your bike but because you only have one special key to undo them you
are going to replace them with a set of security skewers with
....errr....one special key to undo them. Have I missed something?

Mr Choppy wants a spare key handy in case the original one gets lost.

The level of security is quite low -- but at least it's higher than what
ordinary skewers or standard allen key ones provide.

~PB

Pete Biggs wrote on 21/05/2007 11:19 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Tony Raven said:

Let me understand this. You have some special security skewers on
your bike but because you only have one special key to undo them you
are going to replace them with a set of security skewers with
....errr....one special key to undo them. Have I missed something?

Mr Choppy wants a spare key handy in case the original one gets lost.

So are the two keys compatible then?

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

Tony Raven said:

Quoted message said:

Mr Choppy wants a spare key handy in case the original one gets lost.

So are the two keys compatible then?

Bound to be. The brand names may be different but products look exactly the
same. The "key" is just a regular pentagon - hence my comment about the
security being low.

~PB

Tony Raven said:

Let me understand this. You have some special security skewers on your
bike but because you only have one special key to undo them you are
going to replace them with a set of security skewers with
....errr....one special key to undo them. Have I missed something?

Sorry if I wasn't too clear. As others have said, I just wanted an
extra key as a spare. The "Trans X" skewers that John B spotted have
(what appears to be) exactly the same key so it is a way to get a
spare.

I understand that these things are just to deter opportunists who
happen to be looking for wheels but only have a standard allen key
set. I didn't fit the skewers (they came with the bike) but as they're
there, I'll use them. It's just that I'd be happier with a spare key,
just in case.

Cheers
Brendan