Taiwanese tool maker Birzman has a number of new gadgets coming our way in the new year, set to make everything from regular at-home maintenance to storing your bike easier, plus even some shop-specific tools too. There are tubeless tire specific tools, a compact internal cable routing kit, rotor wear & e-bike-specific tools, plus a combination home workstand that will hold your bike between rides…
Birzman tools for the home & professional bike mechanic
This mega Wedge Wedge 2.0 tire lever is a good example of Birzman’s gadgets, designed to offer some extra leverage to pry stubborn tubeless tires on & off. The notch in the end of the fixed lever is placed over the opposite side of the rim bead, then the hook grabs the stubborn tire bead, stretching it over the rim – pulling the tire, instead of prying against the rim. The long body offers plenty of leverage, plus enough room to squeeze in road, gravel, and XC-sized mountain bike tires. Birzman also has a new more traditional short set of one-piece Tubeless Tire Levers that have an integrated clip that can hook over the rim bead to ease tire installation.
Birzman Tubeless Repair Kit
The new Tubeless Repair Kit is a pretty common tubeless tire plug setup, but it all has been designed to fit into the casing shape of a standard small CO2 canister. That way it can be stored on the bike in typical C)2 carriers. The kit includes a files to roughen up the hole, a plug insertion needle, and a set of 5 plugs. Birzman will also likely sell it as a kit together with a CO2 cartridge, a thread-on inflator, and a carrier to mount to behind a bottle cage.
Birzman Internal Cable Routing Kit
Their new Internal Cable Routing Kit also gets a sleek alloy case, that tucks enough cable/wire/housing end adapters to work with rim or hydraulic brakes and mechanical or electronic shift setups.
Everything fits inside the body of the 120mm long x 21mm diameter cylinder, then a strong magnet on one end or a flexible extension with a strong magnet on the other helps you guide the cables inside your frame, then retrieve them from the other end.
Besides the neat overall package, it also includes a spike/awl embedded in the end to clean up the opening of a freshly trimmed section of housing.
Birzman Halo Valve Head
The new Halo pump head is meant to be a simple, but low cost solution to work with both Presta & Schrader valves. Birzman says the reverse lever direction (clamp down to lock) is more intuitive, and works well to compress the internal O-ring for secure engagement/seal. A low-cost plastic version & more premium alloy lock version will be available.
Birzman Rotor Wear Indicator
The new Rotor Wear Indicator is a simple gauge to tell you how thick your braking surface is. Pick your brand of brakes and try to insert your rotor. If it fits, your rotor has worn beyond the recommended minimum thickness for that brake system, and should be replaced.
Birzman Bottom Bracket & Lockring Socket range
Birzman has made plenty of Bottom Bracket Sockets before, but now adds a few more to fit a wider range of bike setups, specifically catering to more e-bike standards. These will also be available in special home e-MTB tool kits designed to work with common e-bike systems.
Birzman Feexstand
The new Feexstand is a combination bike repair stand and just a place to store your bike. Designed with a simple set of two legs on one side you can just hang your non-driveside chainstay & seatstay over the adjustable hooks to keep the bike upright….
Or flip the stand down and mount your bike with the front wheel removed like a Euro road pro mechanic stand. The Feexstand slides the fork mount back & forth to fit any front center length, resting the BB on a soft mount. Interchangeable endcaps on the front hub mount fit QR road, 12, 15 & 20mm thru-axles with standard or Boost spacing.
A few of the new tools & gadgets are already available, with the remainder set for early 2020 release, when retail pricing will also be made public.