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 replacement 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 motor-spindle lockring on STEPS E6100, E7000, E8000, E9000, and EP8. Official coverage is those five STEPS drive units. Unior does not list EP801, EP6, or non-Shimano motors on this tool.

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. Official dimensions: width 30 mm (B), outer diameter 59 mm (D), 32 mm hex (SW), 45 mm (D1), 25 mm (D2), 93 g

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 sponsors professional road and mountain-bike race 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 →

FAQ

Which Shimano STEPS motors does the 1724.SSL fit? Unior lists the chainring lockring on STEPS drive units E6100, E7000, E8000, E9000, and EP8. That is the official five-code list on the 1724.SSL page and datasheet. The tool is for that lockring, not for a cassette lockring or a bottom-bracket cup.

Is the 1724.SSL the same as Shimano's TL-FC39? Unior's own wording is Replacement for Shimano TL-FC39. It is CNC-machined aluminum, red anodized, with a 32 mm hex (SW) that takes Unior's 1725/CF crowfoot. Use it to install and remove the STEPS chainring lockring the same way the OEM tool does.

How do I apply the specified torque with this tool? Seat the 1724.SSL on the lockring, then drive its 32 mm hex with the 1725/CF crowfoot on a 1/2 inch drive torque wrench. Unior specifies that pairing so the lockring can be fitted as Shimano specifies. Use the Newton-metre figure from the STEPS service manual for that drive unit; Unior does not reprint the number.

Does it fit EP801, EP6, Bosch, or other e-bike motors? No claim is published for those. Official coverage stops at E6100, E7000, E8000, E9000, and EP8. Bosch, Yamaha, Brose, Bafang, and Fazua lockrings use different tools (the Fazua sibling is 1724.FR60). Do not add a newer STEPS code unless Unior lists it.