Forged Ratcheting Combination Wrench

A ratcheting combination wrench gives you the cycle speed of a ratchet handle without the bulk or the size restriction. The box-end ratchets in both directions; slide a button on the head and the wrench reverses. The open-end is a normal open-end, so you have both access patterns on one tool. The 160/2 series covers 15 sizes from 8 to 24 mm, with a 72-tooth box-end mechanism that delivers 5° engagement for tight-workspace work.

What it does well

The 72-tooth ratchet mechanism is the design choice that makes this wrench valuable. Five-degree engagement means a fastener you’re cycling in a tight workspace advances every 5° of wrench rotation; fine pitch that lets the wrench work in cramped spaces where a coarser ratchet would need to be lifted off and re-positioned.

The reversing mechanism is a slide-button on the head. No need to flip the wrench over to change direction; the cycle from tighten to loosen happens at the wrench head. That keeps the geometry of your grip consistent and the workspace clear.

The combination geometry; open-end on one side, ratcheting box on the other; means you have both access patterns at the same size in one tool. Slip the open-end onto a fastener you can approach from the side; drop the box-end onto a fastener you can approach from above.

Where it earns its space in the bike shop

• High-cycle fasteners in constrained workspaces. Where a normal wrench would need many re-positions.
• Cable-anchor nuts on derailleurs and brakes. Quick cycling without re-positioning.
• Wheel-axle nuts on solid-axle bikes. Fast engagement on bolt-on hubs.
• Pedal-mount bolts. Where the box-end gets the high-torque seating and the ratchet speeds the assembly.

Why “forged” is the meaningful word in the name

A ratcheting mechanism puts asymmetric stress on the wrench head every cycle: the pawl engages on the forward stroke and releases on the return, which means the wrench body sees an alternating load pattern. Stamped or machined-from-bar-stock wrenches develop fatigue cracks at the box-end-to-handle transition; forged wrenches don’t, because the grain alignment from the forging step resists fatigue.

That’s why this set’s name puts “forged” in front: the metallurgy is what determines whether the ratcheting mechanism lasts.

Specs

• Size range: 8 mm to 24 mm (15 sizes)
• Box-end: 72-tooth ratchet, 5° engagement
• Direction: reversible via slide-button on head
• Stop-ring: included on box-end to prevent over-walking the wrench past the fastener
• Construction: heat-treated, forged chrome-vanadium steel

Made in Slovenia, since 1919

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and sponsors professional road and mountain-bike race teams. We’ve been wanting to bring the 160/2 series to the US catalog for a while; the ratcheting combination wrench is a workhorse in European bike shops, where shop space tends to be tighter and the cycle-speed advantages of a ratcheting box-end are more obvious in daily use. The 72-tooth mechanism, the reversing slide-button, the stop-ring on the head; each detail reflects what European mechanics asked for in the design.

Pro tip from our mechanics

If your shop work involves a lot of cycle counts in awkward spaces, this is the wrench that pays back the upgrade cost in saved time. For the framework on combination wrench types: Combination wrenches in the bike shop →.