Multispeed Chainwhip

A chainwhip is the cassette-holding half of the cassette-removal workflow: the lockring tool turns the lockring; the chainwhip stops the cassette from spinning with it. The 1660/2DP-US is Unior's revised multispeed chainwhip, sized to cover everything from a 6-speed legacy cassette through current 12-speed including SRAM AXS Flattop. Two upgrades over the old version make this the workshop default: a magnetic chain retainer that replaces the old spring-tension design, and a double-dipped ergonomic handle that doesn't fight your grip under load.

The magnet matters more than it sounds. A spring-tension chain retainer holds the chain against the cog with constant pressure, which works fine until the chain falls slack during a cog change or a cassette swap. The chain falls off the cog, you reset, and on a busy bench that's three or four extra steps a day. The magnet holds the chain segment in place against the chainwhip body when it's not engaged on a cog, so the chain stays parked when you set the tool down. Pick the tool up, drop the chain on the cog, and the magnet releases; no reseating step.

The double-dipped handle is the other one. The chainwhip works against the lockring tool's torque, which means the handle's load profile is high: a stuck lockring takes 50 N or more on the chainwhip side to hold steady. A bare steel handle in a sweaty hand is hard to grip at those forces; the bi-material grip stays positive even when the bench is hot and the day's been long.

How to use it

Wrap the chain segment around one of the larger cogs on the cassette; for most workflows, the third or fourth cog from the largest end. The magnet releases as the chain seats. Hold the chainwhip handle counter-rotational to the lockring tool's swing. As the lockring turns counter-clockwise, the chainwhip resists clockwise; the chain pulls tighter against the cog as the resistance builds, which locks the engagement. Keep the handle steady through the break-free.

The 1660/2DP-US fits any cassette in current production with derailleur-style cog teeth. SRAM Flattop chains size and engage the same way as conventional chains for the purpose of cassette holding; the Flattop plate geometry doesn't change the cog-tooth engagement, so the chainwhip works on AXS Red, Force, Rival, Apex, and the AXS Eagle Transmission cassettes.

Compatibility

• All derailleur-style cassettes from 6- through 12-speed
• Shimano HG, SRAM HG, SRAM XD/XDR
• SRAM AXS Flattop chains and AXS Eagle Transmission cassettes
• Campagnolo cassettes 9-speed through 12-speed
• Microshift and Sunrace cassettes

For 10-tooth small cogs on SRAM AXS X-Range cassettes, a chainwhip wrapped around the small cog is awkward; we recommend the Cassette Wrench X Range instead, with the chainwhip as backup on the larger cogs. Single-speed and fixed-gear builds need the Singlespeed Chainwhip 1659/2DP, which has an integrated lockring tool for fixed-gear lockrings.

Specs

• Double-dipped ergonomic bi-material handle
• Magnetic chain retainer (replaces old spring design)
• Compatible with 6- to 12-speed including SRAM Flattop
• Article number: 1660/2DP-US

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 chainwhip revision; magnet over spring, bi-material handle, full Flattop coverage; was driven by feedback from professional mechanics who use the tool every working day. The previous design worked; this one is faster across a day of cassette work, which is the kind of compound saving that pays back the tool inside a season of shop use.

Pro tip from our mechanics

Most home mechanics buy a chainwhip and use it on one or two specific cassettes, which makes any chainwhip feel fine. Buy the tool you'd want if you had ten cassettes to do in an afternoon. The magnet and the handle on the 1660/2DP-US are the details that show up across that volume of work, not on the first swap. Pair it with the Integrated Cassette Lockring Wrench 1670.8/2BI-US and you've got the full cassette-removal toolset in two pieces. The cassette-replacement workflow walks through holder-and-lockring pairing per drivetrain: When and how to replace your cassette →