Shimano Steps Lockring Tool

Replace a worn chainring on a Shimano STEPS drive unit and you'll hit the lockring before you hit the chainring. It's the fastener that secures the chainring to the motor spindle, and it doesn't share a profile with anything else on the bike. Generic cassette tools won't engage it; generic BB tools won't fit it. The Shimano STEPS Lockring Tool 1724.SSL is Unior's drop-in equivalent for Shimano's OEM TL-FC39: the right tool for the job, with red anodizing that makes it easy to find on a workshop bench full of silver-finish hardware.

Compatibility

The 1724.SSL fits the chainring lockring on Shimano STEPS drive units E6100, E7000, E8000, E9000, and EP8. That covers the bulk of the current Shimano e-MTB and commuter line, including the EP8 platform that ships on most current-generation MTBs. If you service Shimano-equipped e-bikes at any volume, this tool covers every drive unit you're likely to see on the stand.

Specs

• Fits Shimano STEPS E6100, E7000, E8000, E9000, and EP8 drive units
• Direct replacement for Shimano TL-FC39
• CNC-machined aluminum body, red anodized
• Pairs with Unior 1725/CF Crowfoot and a 1/2″ drive torque wrench for installs at Shimano-specified torque
• Article number: 1724.SSL

How it's designed to be used

This is a torque-spec tool, not a hand-tighten tool. The 1724.SSL's external profile is shaped to seat into a crowfoot adapter (Unior's 1725/CF) and from there onto a 1/2″ drive torque wrench. The combination lets you hit the lockring's specified torque value without guessing or stripping the splines. Shimano publishes the torque value in the STEPS service manual for each drive unit; install to that figure rather than to feel.

The red anodizing is more useful than it sounds. When the lockring tool is on the spindle, mid-install, the red marking is what tells you at a glance whether you've still got the tool engaged or whether it's walked off. On a silver-tool bench the visual cue saves seconds, and on a black-anodized bench it saves a missed-torque event.

Built in Zreče, Slovenia

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and is the official technical partner of multiple World Tour and downhill teams. The 1724.SSL fits Unior's broader pattern of building one-purpose tools that match an OEM service-manual procedure exactly. There's no second function bolted on, no compromise to make the tool also work as something else; it's the lockring tool for Shimano STEPS, and it does that job the way Shimano's service manual says to do it.

Pro tip from our mechanics

The lockring tool is one of three things that change about e-bike service relative to analog bikes; the others are the stand (heavier bikes need more lift) and insulated tools (live electrical near the work area). Our e-bike servicing guide walks through what's different and where the 1724.SSL fits in the workflow: Servicing an e-bike: what's different from an analog bike →