🔧 SHIMANO TL-FC32 Hollowtech II Bottom Bracket Tool Review

Great tool. I've been working on my bikes for the last forty years. I don't buy new bikes regularly. I needed this tool because I bought a new mountain bike (Moots YBB) about fifteen years ago. By the way: If I pay for quality and workmanship, I'll be successful. Anyway, after ten years of riding I had to replace the bottom bracket axle. I think I bought it through Performance Bicycle.

If you have a Shimano bottom bracket with Hollowtech II bearings you will need this tool as there is no other way to get them out. This tool has one and ONLY one purpose in life and that is to remove that lower brace. So if your splines are of the Hollowtech II type, this is the tool you need. Shimano have parts that only they make and unfortunately for us bike wrenches that means they spend a lot of money to buy tools just for their own parts. It is what it is. If you don't have this tool…

So I don't like buying tools that only fit one brand/part. I made the mistake of buying the "fake" first. Well it ripped my bottom bracket off and I couldn't get the correct torque due to the teeth slipping off/rounding off. See fig. At least in the review. This high quality Shimano worked as expected, while the "fake" did not. So the point is that it would be cheaper for me to buy this in the first place. IF you are thinking of getting a "fake" because you are doing the bike wiring yourself…