Kickstarter has been a springboard for some of the most interesting new gear we’ve seen over the past year. This winter, a bike tool product, Fix It Sticks, caught our eye on the crowd-funding website.
Essentially, Fix It Sticks offer the leverage of a three-way hex wrench but in a lighter, more packable format. We got our hands on a set (two sticks) to get a feel for how they worked.
The aluminum sticks weigh in at a scant 1.7 ounces per pair. Each stick is about four inches long with a steel bit on both ends.
A slot in the middle allows you to fasten in the second stick, creating a T-handle with some serious torque, as seen above.
They are as thin as pencils and fit easily into even the most crammed saddle bag. The sticks are made to replace a multitool or the three-way hex wrench common in many bikers’ toolkits.
When they become widely available the sticks will come with multiple hex head size options as well as screwdriver bits.
The sticks are made of aluminum. The (non-removable) bits are steel. While we’re big fans of the design, we feel they are a bit overpriced at $35 for a set.
You can get simple L-shape hex wrenches at a hardware stores for a few bucks. Granted, they’re not as sleek (and they don’t have the fit-together leverage feature), but they can still do the job.
If you want the T-handle leverage and a tool made just for biking, then the Fix It Sticks are a fine option. But don’t just ask us, the company has met its Kickstarter funding and then some — with just a few hours to go, Fix It Sticks have more than 900 backers and the brand has raised more that $40,000 (twice its original goal).
Funding for Fix It Sticks wraps up at 2:00PM Eastern Time on Friday, February 15. If you’re looking to streamline your on-road bike repair setup, you can reserve one of the first sets of these sticks by supporting the effort as the brand works to start up and perhaps forge a new way of thinking about bike tools.
—Patrick Murphy is an assistant editor.
