Crank Brothers Speedier Lever

Crank Brothers Speedier Lever gets your tyres off without knuckle damage and puts them back on without pinching.

We all love things that make our life a bit easier and this tyre lever from Crank Brothers sets out to do just that, albeit for a tiny, tiny proportion of your life.

The aptly named Speedier Lever replaces Crank Brothers' old telescopic Speed Lever and enables you to remove and replace your tyre more swiftly.

Constructed using a tough nylon composite material which is rigid enough to prize off all but the tightest of wire bead tyres, the Speedier Lever resembles a knuckle duster and you hold it like one. But instead of it being designed to cause damage, the extra plastic is there to help save your knuckles from getting grated in the spokes when the lever gets moving along the beading as you chase the lever around the rim, prizing the tyre off as it moves round.

The nylon material is kind on your rims and won't tarnish your beloved carbon hoops or gouge your coloured rims.

On really tight tyres you will still need a second tyre lever to make the initial opening before slipping in the speed lever and sliding it along the hoop.

The opposite end is designed to help you put the tyre on. It has a kind of hooked claw that clips over your rim and you run it around your rim like you do taking the tyre off. All it takes is the initial seating of the tyre and then you zoom around the tyre wall and it all gets tucked in without any worry of pinching the inner tube, That is always the nightmare of fitting a tyre and in my opinion this is the best feature of this tool.

This is a great tool to have in your saddle pack for those times of emergency at the side of the road but isn't quite sturdy enough for workshop duties. After about 10 tyre changes the lever looks used and a bit tired (pun intended). Maybe if they widened the tool by a few mill it might give it the added integrity it need to stop it looking so worn so quickly?

For £6, you only get one lever, which is fine for getting folding tyres off but those can normally be peeled off with your hands. Crank Brothers seem to be assuming that you already have a lever to do any other type. I would like to see another lever bundled in that clips neatly to this as its buddy.

What I really did like about the speedier lever is the ease in which it helps you put the tyre back on without pinching the tube. We've all done it, and we all know how hissing annoying it is.

Verdict

The Speedier Lever makes tyre removal and replacement well, speedier.