Why would two allen key sets be different?

bungle73

I just bought a torque wrench, and I was just doing some bolts up on my bike. I was staring them off with an allen key from a set that I've had for years, and then swapping to the torque wrench to finish them off. There's something weird about them though. When I went to select the bits for the torque wrench, I selected what was supposed to be the same size as the allen key I was using,but it wasn't. It was one size different, even though they were supposed to be the same. Odd.

kingstongraham

What number was it?

haydenm

I once bought a set of silverline allen keys and barely any of them fit, really terrible tolerances and the sticker on the holder was stuck on upside down. Could it be a quality control issue?

Matthewfalle

Buy cheap buy twice.

milemuncher1

Imperial versus metric?

daniel_b

This is the comprehensive set that I have, as recommended by someone on here - works a treat combined with a quality Sealey wrench - and that is only £30 - £45 the pair, for a bells and whistles setup, versus the apparent 'bike specific' ones you get for the same or more cash.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-33323-TX-Star-Hexagon-Mechanics/dp/B00HNU6JVE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1516722747&sr=8-2&keywords=draper+bit+set

arthur_scrimshaw

Daniel B wrote:

This is the comprehensive set that I have, as recommended by someone on here - works a treat combined with a quality Sealey wrench - and that is only £30 - £45 the pair, for a bells and whistles setup, versus the apparent 'bike specific' ones you get for the same or more cash.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-33323-TX-Star-Hexagon-Mechanics/dp/B00HNU6JVE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1516722747&sr=8-2&keywords=draper+bit+set

There's no yellow in that?

daniel_b

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

This is the comprehensive set that I have, as recommended by someone on here - works a treat combined with a quality Sealey wrench - and that is only £30 - £45 the pair, for a bells and whistles setup, versus the apparent 'bike specific' ones you get for the same or more cash.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-33323-TX-Star-Hexagon-Mechanics/dp/B00HNU6JVE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1516722747&sr=8-2&keywords=draper+bit+set

There's no yellow in that?

I don't know WHAT you mean

It's functional though, so the normal rules are not applied so stringently, and works a treat with this badger:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-8-inch-2-24nm-1-47-17-70lb-ft-Micrometer/dp/B000RO1ZCG/ref=sr_1_2?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1516723267&sr=1-2&keywords=sealey+torque+wrench


Nuts how cheap they both are - that's actually £40 the pair - when I bought them some 3 years (ish) ago, they were £30 and £20.

Versus this (Just picked one at random off of Wiggle) for £56, down from £70 apparently, and a range of 3-15nm, versus 2-24 on the sealey, and a pretty limited range of bits.

bungle73

KingstonGraham wrote:

What number was it?

One was a 3 mm that turned into a 4, and the other a 4 that turned into a 5.

bungle73

Matthewfalle wrote:

Buy cheap buy twice.

Surely a size is a size?

lesfirth

Milemuncher1 wrote:

Imperial versus metric?

As Milemuncher says,The set you have had for ages is probably imperial sizes . Like 3/32 of an inch etc.

imposter2.0

Bungle73 wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

What number was it?

One was a 3 mm that turned into a 4, and the other a 4 that turned into a 5.

Something wrong with your original set by the sound of it. I can't think of any bolt on a typical 'modern' bike that would need a 3mm hex.

bungle73

lesfirth wrote:

Milemuncher1 wrote:

Imperial versus metric?

As Milemuncher says,The set you have had for ages is probably imperial sizes . Like 3/32 of an inch etc.

But they're in millimetres. And I doubt any mainstream store would have been selling imperial sized allen keys for probably about 30 or 40 years.

bungle73

Imposter wrote:

Bungle73 wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

What number was it?

One was a 3 mm that turned into a 4, and the other a 4 that turned into a 5.

Something wrong with your original set by the sound of it. I can't think of any bolt on a typical 'modern' bike that would need a 3mm hex.

Seems like it. It was from Halfords about 20 years ago.

cougie

Clearly you've worn down the old set over the years....

daniel_b

cougie wrote:

Clearly you've worn down the old set over the years....

lol, VERY evenly!

keef66

Imposter wrote:

Bungle73 wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

What number was it?

One was a 3 mm that turned into a 4, and the other a 4 that turned into a 5.

Something wrong with your original set by the sound of it. I can't think of any bolt on a typical 'modern' bike that would need a 3mm hex.

I had some bottle cage screws which required a 3mm allen key in an improbably shallow head. Madness. Or maybe they came with the frameset and were just to stop the rain getting in. Either way when I attached the cages I replaced them with some chunkier ones even I couldn't bugger up after 10 years of winter riding and gallons of spilled drink.

daniel_b

keef66 wrote:

Imposter wrote:

Bungle73 wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

What number was it?

One was a 3 mm that turned into a 4, and the other a 4 that turned into a 5.

Something wrong with your original set by the sound of it. I can't think of any bolt on a typical 'modern' bike that would need a 3mm hex.

I had some bottle cage screws which required a 3mm allen key in an improbably shallow head. Madness. Or maybe they came with the frameset and were just to stop the rain getting in. Either way when I attached the cages I replaced them with some chunkier ones even I couldn't bugger up after 10 years of winter riding and gallons of spilled drink.

Good call same here, and also seen some on the brake pad ajustments - ie the springs that moves the pads away\closer to the rim, and also on Hayes MTB brake levers too, to secure them on the handlebars.

imposter2.0

Yeah, ancillary bolts could be 3mm, like bottle cage screws and/or brake pad retainers - maybe. But nothing like that needs a torque wrench on it anyway...

Matthewfalle

Bungle73 wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

Buy cheap buy twice.

Surely a size is a size?

A size is a size, an Allen key is not always an Allen key.

Wheelspinner

Imposter wrote:

Yeah, ancillary bolts could be 3mm, like bottle cage screws and/or brake pad retainers - maybe. But nothing like that needs a torque wrench on it anyway...

Thomson X2 stem faceplate bolts are 3 mm Hex, and I think I've had a Ritchey C260 stem that was the same. Stupidly small in that application I reckon.

bungle73

It was the bolts on my stem, and the bolts on some new cranks.