Park Tool Compact Crank Wrench And Puller

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If you are a home mechanic that doesn’t have a ton of space to house your bike-specific tools or have a small tool box that you take with you everywhere you go like I do, space is of the essence. That’s what makes the Park Tool Compact Crank Wrench and Puller so great. Picking one up for my mobile tool box, here are my impressions:

Compactness:

This tool does a lot more than what it appears. Accompanied with an adjustable wrench, one can remove the 8mm bolts that hold the cast majority of crankarms together. By flipping it around, thread the puller onto the crankarm and extract it by using that same adjustable wrench. Its small but does everything you need.

Compatibility:

This tool fits all cranks using 22mm x 1 threads and square tapered bottom bracket spindles, Power Spline cranks from SRAM, splined Shimano Octalink, and ISIS (Yes, the terrorist group) Drive bottom bracket spindles that do not use a self-extracting system. That’s covers a large majority if cranksets out there.

Important things to note about compatability: With this tool being so versatile, it’s easier than one would think to get mixed up on what to use for what. Removing the oversized puller end when using it on Octalink or ISIS systems wouldn’t extract the arm at all and using the oversized puller end for square tapered systems would pull against itself which could cause damage to the crankarm. Just be aware on which system you are using this for and use the correct configuration and you shouldn’t have any issues.

Tips for Use:

One of the biggest issues mechanics have with these is either cross threading the crankarm threads or pulling out these threads by not having the puller not threaded enough into the crankarm. The best thing you can do is unthread the outer piece of the puller and thread it on the crankarm. Then snug it on using a wrench so you know it’s all the way on there. If the threads of the crankarm somehow get cross-threaded, you really only have one chance to get the crankarm off so make sure the puller is as deep in there as possible. If the threads get pulled out, the crankarm will have to be sawed off.

Below is a video walking you through the entire crankset removal and install process. Give it a watch before using this tool for the first time.

Bottom Line:

This is a must have for any home mechanic who has limited space or takes a set of tools everywhere they go. It’s put together very well and should last forever. Removing crankarms is nearly impossible without it. Be careful using it as it can be installed wrong. As long as you install it right, and use the correct configuration, the crank puller will do it’s job every time.