Handle for Pedal Taps

The Handle for Pedal Taps is the bar that turns a thread-chase or thread-cut operation from a hand-pressure job into a controlled leverage job. The crank arm is aluminum, the pedal thread is 9/16" × 20 TPI, and the alignment on the first turn determines whether the tap cuts cleanly or cross-threads. The right handle holds the tap square; a wrench-on-shank substitute holds it whatever-way.

The 1695/4BI handle has a square-drive socket in its center hub that grips the square shank of the pedal tap set, the left reaming tap, or the right reaming tap. The positive square engagement keeps the tap seated in the handle without slipping. A handle that grips the shank poorly would let the tap drift; the drift compounds into off-axis thread cutting.

What the handle actually changes

Two things. First, leverage. The handle is long enough to apply controlled torque without lunging at it; important because the first turn of a thread cut requires fine torque control, and a short or slippery handle costs you that control. Second, alignment. The square-drive grip holds the tap in line with the handle, helping keep it perpendicular to the work face throughout the cut. A handle that lets the tap pivot in the grip cuts the thread at a slight angle, which a pedal will thread into but not bottom out against.

This handle is specific to the pedal-thread tools; Unior's M3 frame taps, M5 frame taps, and the BSA bottom-bracket tap set are separate tools outside its listed compatibility — if you're prepping bottom-bracket threads, the modular frame-prep system has its own handle, the 1695.1/4BI.

Where it fits in the Crank Saver workflow

The 1695/4BI handle ships separately, but it's one of the four components of the Crank Saver Kit (the others being the left reaming tap, right reaming tap, and pedal-thread inserts). For a shop that already has the taps and inserts, the handle is the part to add. For a shop starting from zero, the complete Crank Saver Kit is the single-purchase path into the full pedal-thread-rescue workflow.

Specs

• Square-drive engagement for square-shank taps · weight 515 g
• Officially listed for: pedal tap set 1695.1 · reamer/tap set 1695.2 · pedal reaming taps 1695.1AL and 1695.1AR
• Article number: 1695/4BI

Built in Zreče, Slovenia

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and sponsors professional road and mountain-bike race teams. The 1695/4BI is part of Unior's broader machinist hand-tool catalog, which includes thread-tap handles across pitch ranges that go well beyond bicycle thread sizes. The bicycle subset is the same construction at the size that the workshop actually needs.

Pro tip from our mechanics

The handle's positive square grip is what makes the alignment feel obvious as you start the cut. A loose handle on a small-pitch tap feels deceptively similar to a square one; you only learn the difference after the first cross-thread. Our workshop hand tools guide covers the pedal-thread-rescue workflow and the rest of the workshop tool layer: Workshop hand tools every bike shop needs →

FAQ

Which Unior taps does the 1695/4BI handle drive? Unior lists it for the pedal-thread tools: the 9/16" x 20 pedal tap set 1695.1, the left/right reamer and tap set 1695.2, and the left and right pedal reaming taps 1695.1AL and 1695.1AR used in the Crank Saver workflow. The M3/M5 frame taps and the BSA bottom-bracket tap set are not on its compatibility list.

Is this handle included in the Crank Saver Kit? Yes. The Crank Saver Kit (1695MB1-US) packs this handle together with the left and right pedal reaming taps and both left- and right-side thread insert packs in a metal box, so if you own the kit you already have the 1695/4BI. Buying it on its own suits shops that already own the taps.

How does the handle hold a tap? The center hub has a square-drive socket that engages the square shank on the tap. The square fit stops the tap rotating loose in the handle and keeps it seated while you feed it into the thread, so the cut stays on axis.

How much does the 1695/4BI weigh? 515 g on Unior's datasheet, which publishes no other dimensions for it. The double-ended design gives you a long lever on each side of the tap, and that symmetry is what lets you feed torque in evenly from both hands.