Help: Abbey Bike Tools announce 10th-anniversary tool kits

Published November 22, 2022 01:15AM

Procrastinating to the last, I drag my cursor across and click the email notification.

Ah, it’s from Abbey Bike Tools; the brand is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Always wanted some of those tools, far from my area of expertise or passion, though.

Heck, those are some shiny limited edition tools, and woah, look at that price tag! Anyway, I’ve enough to be procrastinating around at the moment, this is one for our resident tool nerd, Dave Ro…. Oh yeah, crap! I guess this is one for me.

Where do I even start? Ok, think, Ronan, think! It’s just like with any other piece: start with ‘what is it?’

Well, that’s simple. Abbey has just announced two limited edition tool kits to celebrate the brand’s tenth anniversary. A two-piece Crombie and Whip combo, or a three-piece Crombie, Whip and HAG combo.

The HAG is Abbey’s derailleur Hanger Alignment Guide (I knew that one), and the Crombie is a “game-changing” cassette lockring tool. Now knowing those two, there’s no prizes for guessing that the Whip is a chain whip tool, again for cassette removal.

The tools get some fancy “celebratory finishes” and are delivered in a custom engraved commemorative walnut box. Beyond just looking dam good, the anniversary tools also get the 6/4 titanium, 7075 aluminium, precision CNC machining treatment, saving 344 grams compared to their standard counterparts with delicate hand welds for that extra bit of specialness.

The HAG gets dressed up the most with machined flutes and logos instead of the standard laser engraving. Meanwhile, both the titanium Crombie cassette lockring and chain whip tools get a satin bead blast finish.

All of the tools are built in Abbey’s workshop in Bend, Oregon, while the walnut boxes are produced in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Yep, fair enough. Questions like: why does the walnut box have a micrometer etched on the casing and a matching t-shirt, yet there is no micrometer in either kit? Presumably, the micrometer acts to demonstrate the precision with which Abbey tools are manufactured.

The tenth-anniversary kits product page on Abbeybiketools.com states the tools are “not recommended for use on neglected bikes.” Is this an insider tool nerds joke, or is there a genuine reason why these tools shouldn’t be used on a sub-immaculate bike?

The answer to both questions is: I don’t know. But I’ll ask ~~Dave~~ Abbey (Tools, not Mickey).

Ok, Ronan, nailed it. Bring it home strong with the basics: price and availability.

The tenth-anniversary kits are available for pre-order now, with just 100 of the three-piece and 50 of the two-piece kits available. As is the case with any limited edition, weight-weenie, or anniversary offering, the kits don’t come cheap. The Crombie and Whip two-piece is priced at US$300, while the three-piece set costs US$650. Abbey hopes to start shipping the kits between December 12-15th, hopefully in time to land under the Christmas tree.