Customer Reviews

Park Tool BT-2 4th Hand Brake with Locking Ratchet

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a common tool offered by several companies all of which do the same basic thing. This tool does a great job with that basic thing. What's different between this & some of the others is a locking ratchet. I've read previously that the lock is something between unnecessary & inconvenient. It may be unnecessary, but it is a convenience that makes it possible to pull to the right tension & then let go, relax & either free up your other hand &/or not worry about over tensioning the cable while your focusing on securing it. I use the tool on my brakes as well as derailleurs, it is on the latter where having your other hand is helpful & it is also important not to accidentally over tighten the cable. Rarely has the lock engaged when I didn't want it to, it hasn't been a big deal. If, however, you are the kind of person who yells at your garden hose when it gets stuck on a corner, the lock could be similarly irritating.

With or without the ratcheting mechanism, the tool gets 5 stars. A 4th Hand is one of those tools for which there is no substitute. The ratchet will save some of the 4th-hand dance whereby you try to hold the adjustment while you snug the fitting, but truthfully, that's really not all that difficult. On the flip side, the ratchet can actually interfere in situations where you really have to finesse the cable as you snug down the fitting. Given my preference, I'd use the version without a ratchet/lock, but if handed one with, no problem.

The tool feels flimsy, rattles, since the entire thing is wobbly, the part that pulls the cable moves sideways and often slips off of the cable. The handles slide off, what the heck? It's unusable: as you squeeze it the handles slide off and you loose grip. What a junk! I'm very disappointed. It's going back.

This tool is ok, a bit overpriced for what it does and how it's made. It includes no useful instructions, and none exist on the Park Tool site either, so you are left to your own devices.

I recently received this tool. It works well and you can disable the ratchet feature if you want (hold it back by hand or use a rubber band). The one thing I disliked was the fact that the blue handle covers slide on and off the tool very easily.

This is a fantastic tool and critical for anybody who maintains their own bicycle. Setting cable tension on the brakes was so easy, than you can get the brakes set perfectly on the first try. Setting cable tension on the derailleurs takes a little bit more finesse because the tool works so well, its really easy to set the tension far too stiff. Once you figure out how much tension is needed, the tool allows you to set the derailleurs in a matter of minutes with a lot less fuss and frustration. This is a must for anybody who wants to work on their own bicycle.

It works although the handles slide off easily and the ratchet "catch" is a little loose and not always in the proper position to lock the tool in place. Fix those two problems and you have a 4-5 star tool.

I needed to swap out my cables and decided to finally get the BT-2 4th Hand. What can you say, built well, just works.

This is a great tool for any level bike mechanic. It really gets your cables nice and tight, which really improves my shifting on my bike. Appropriately named too (4th hand).

This tool is very nice for adjusting or setting up your breaks, but make no mistake, even with this tool the process is still a chore. They help but are somewhat difficult to use in their own right.

Bottom line: I'd recommend them but make it a low priority.