Cup-and-cone preload is a two-wrench job: one holds the cone at its setting while the other torques the locknut against it. The 1612PB ships that pair, two double-ended pen-end wrenches, one carrying 13/14 and 15/17, the other 13/14 and 15/16, in flex plus carbon steel thin enough to slip the cone-to-locknut gap.
Out of stock
Couldn't load pickup availability
Free US shipping on orders $75+
Some exceptions apply — see shipping policy
Forged in Zreče, Slovenia since 1919. Sponsors professional road and mountain-bike race teams.
View full details
Cone wrenches are the thin-jawed flat wrenches used to set and adjust the bearing preload on cup-and-cone hubs. Their thin profile lets them slip between the locknut and the cone on a standard hub; a job that a regular wrench is too thick to do. The 1612PB set covers four popular cone sizes from two double-ended wrenches: 13/14 × 15/17 and 13/14 × 15/16.
Cup-and-cone hubs are less common on modern wheels than sealed-cartridge hubs, but they're still in service on many older builds, lower-tier OEM wheels, and a number of specialty wheelsets where the serviceability of a cup-and-cone system is preferred to a sealed cartridge. For workshops servicing the older catalog, this set is the right answer; for a workshop that only sees modern sealed-bearing hubs, the cone wrenches see less use but are still the tool to reach for when an older hub comes through.
The two-wrench set lets you put a wrench on the locknut and another on the cone at the same time; the only way to torque the cone against the locknut while keeping the cone position fixed. A single cone wrench can adjust the cone, but resetting the locknut against an adjusted cone requires the second wrench.
Compatibility
- Hubs: cup-and-cone front and rear hubs with 13, 14, 15, 16, or 17 mm cone-and-locknut combinations.
- Bikes: legacy and lower-spec builds; some specialty wheelsets.
Specs
- Set contents: two double-ended cone wrenches.
- Sizes: 13/14 × 15/17 and 13/14 × 15/16.
- Material: premium flex plus carbon steel.
- Finish: chrome plated per ISO 1456:2009.
Built in Zreče, Slovenia
Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and sponsors professional road and mountain-bike race teams. The cone wrenches are built to the same construction standards as the rest of the Unior wrench line: premium flex plus carbon steel for the working faces, with ISO 1456:2009 trivalent-chrome plating for corrosion resistance. The thin-jaw profile is what makes them cone wrenches in the first place; the construction is what makes them last through years of bench work.
Pro tip from our mechanics
When servicing a cup-and-cone hub, set the cone preload to “just bind, then back off a hair” before locking the locknut against it. A cone that's tightened down too far will pit the bearing balls within a few rides; a cone that's too loose will let the axle wobble. The two-wrench technique (one on the locknut, one on the cone, working against each other) lets you set that preload precisely. The full wheel-truing workflow is in How to true a bike wheel →
Tech Tips
How to true a bike wheel
