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Silca HX-Three Travel Essentials Kit

8
£35.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Excellent quality and great fitting hex keys, but for the money I'd like to see ball-ends on the long sections
Weight: 
408g

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Silca's HX-Three Travel Essentials Kit is a top notch set of hex keys but, as David pointed out with the HX-Two kit he tested, they don't come cheap. With tight tolerances and a great feel in the hand they are ideal for virtually any job on the bike; the only thing lacking really is a ball-end on the long section.

  • Pros: Perfect fit in practically every bolt head, solid and durable feel to them
  • Cons: No ball-end makes them difficult to use in tight spaces

With a constant flow of bikes and components passing through my hands every month, I need to make a lot of adjustments and the hex key is my most-used weapon of choice.

> Find your nearest dealer here

Now, you can pick up a set of hex keys to cover the range of sizes found on a bike for a couple of quid, and you can get a good set for about £15, so why pay so much for the Silcas?

The main reason is how tight the tolerances are: they are just a snug fit into any bolt head I tried, without the slightest bit of slop. This is increasingly important for undoing soft titanium or aluminium alloy bolts found on a lot of top-end kit these days, or if you're a commuter you know what it's like trying to remove a stubborn bolt that's corroded into the frame from months of riding in salt and rain (especially if you have the slack maintenance routine that I did). I've rounded or knurled the head of many a bolt with cheap hex keys.

As I mentioned above, the only real downside is the lack of a ball-end on the long section. Getting in to tighten or loosen bolts with limited space, like between the brake bridge and seat tube, it's always nice to be able to hold the key at an angle once you've got things started if you are loosening. The hex keys found in both the HX-One and HX-Two have them so it's a shame not to see them here.

In the pack you get hex keys to fit pretty much everything you are going to need on a bike: 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10mm. They are a good length too, for plenty of leverage.

Durability should be excellent. The Silcas are made from heat treated S2 tool steel, which is usually used for impact tools like hammers and chisels, so it shouldn't matter if you drop one. We've had the HX-One Home and Travel kit in the office for over two years as the main tool kit and the keys barely have a mark on them.

They are finished in a satin chrome and then have textured polymer coating added for grip – not that I found it made a significant difference to all-metal versions.

Although £35 for a set of hex keys might seem excessive, it isn't massively pricey for professional level tools, and this is exactly what the Silcas are. Pedro's L Hex Wrench Set, for example, scored highly and will set you back £29.99.

> Beginner's guide to bike tools

If you don't need workshop-grade hex keys then it's probably not worth investing so much money, as there are plenty on the market at a much cheaper price point, but if you do go for the Silcas, the only drawback is the lack of ball-end.

Verdict

Excellent quality and great fitting hex keys, but for the money I'd like to see ball-ends on the long sections

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Silca HX-Three Travel Essentials Kit

Size tested: High strength S2 steel tools

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Silca says, "HX-THREE is SILCA's offering for the mechanic who's simply looking for the highest quality hex keys. These tools boast the same 9 step heat treated S2 tool steel and exceedingly tight tolerances of HX-ONE and HX-TWO, while also featuring the same high-engagement satin chrome finish as HX-TWO. Each tool is hand finished with a high-grip textured polymer coating and the set stores in a custom molded holder with high-contrast size markings."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

From Silca:

High strength S2 steel tools

Precise tool interface dimensions

Polymer coating for superior grip

Laser etched size indication

Compact tool holder

Hex Wrenches: 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10mm

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Absolutely great on any bolt head.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Tight tolerances.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

No ball-ends.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

If you want your tools to last a long time and are willing to pay for it then these are hard to knock. It's just that lack of ball-end that niggles.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 40  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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2 comments

Avatar
Jack Osbourne snr | 5 years ago
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Ball ends are fine if it's a good quality steel bolt head that you're using it on and the required torque is under about 4Nm.

Unfortunately, lots of bolts on bicycles can be either poor quality or worse still, aluminium. All of these factors, or simply corrosion in a bolt head, can result in a ball end hex rounding it out, even if you're careful.

I would suggest anyone doing regular maintenance invest in a set of each ball and plain end.

There are lots of good hex key sets available eg Bondhus (who apparently make the Park P-handle sets), but from experience of other Silca tools, the quality pretty much justifies the premium price.

 

 

Avatar
henryb replied to Jack Osbourne snr | 5 years ago
0 likes
Jack Osbourne snr wrote:

Ball ends are fine if it's a good quality steel bolt head that you're using it on and the required torque is under about 4Nm.

 

 

I agree - ball ends are great for the bit wher you're loosening or tightening with little load, but use the non-ball end for real tightening or loosening. I got this set, with both ball and non-ball ends (and rather nice colours):

https://www.toolstation.com/wera-ball-end-multi-colour-hex-key-set/p71306

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