Spanners
Browse used bottom bracket spanners for sale from riders across the UK. These engage the notches or splines on an external bottom bracket cup so you can fit and remove it — a 16-notch 44mm pattern for most Shimano Hollowtech II cups, with other diameters and tooth counts for SRAM DUB, Campagnolo and T47. Anyone servicing a threaded bottom bracket at home needs the one that matches their cups exactly.
Socket type or handled spanner?
Socket-style tools take a 1/2in or 3/8in drive and you turn them with a ratchet or torque wrench, which is the sensible choice given BB cups are usually specified around 35 to 50Nm. Handled spanners have the bar built in and are quicker for a job you do once a year, but you are back to tightening by feel. Well-known examples include the Park Tool BBT-79 for Shimano-pattern external cups and the Shimano TL-FC series tools. Some tools cover two patterns on opposite ends, which is worth having if you own bikes from different makers.
Spanner or removal tool?
A spanner only helps if the bottom bracket threads into the frame. If your shell is BB86, BB92, PF30 or BB30, the bearings are pressed in and there is nothing to unscrew — those need removal tools, meaning a drift or puller and a press. Check the shell before buying: a threaded shell shows a visible cup with notches or splines on its outer face, while a press-fit one shows a plain bearing seat. Both types sit under bottom bracket tools.
What should I check on a used spanner?
Put a light in it and look at the driving faces of each spline. They should be square and crisp; rounding, burring or a visibly reduced tooth height means it has been used on a mismatched cup or turned while not fully seated, and it will cam out and destroy the alloy notches on your bottom bracket. Measure or count carefully rather than trusting a listing — 12-notch and 16-notch tools look similar in a photo, and the 44mm and 48.5mm diameters are close enough to confuse. On socket types, check the drive square for rounded corners and, on aluminium-bodied tools, look for cracks radiating from the drive hole where someone has applied too much force. Surface rust on the steel is cosmetic; deformed splines are not.
How much is a used one worth?
There is little to go wrong in one of these, so a sharp used example is worth around half of new and will outlast several bottom brackets. Sellers listing the exact tooth count and diameter are the ones to deal with, since a mismatch makes the tool useless to you. Buy new if the splines show any rounding at all, or if you need a pattern for a less common standard where a near-fit is tempting — the cost of a new tool is a fraction of a crankset, and this is not the place to improvise.