Three-Way Wrench 4, 5, 6mm Straight Tip Hex

Stem clamps at torque. Seatpost binders the moment the post starts to slip. The medium-hex sizes on a Y-handle when the bolt needs to be tight and the ball-tip format has reached the end of its working range.

The straight-tip cluster is the finishing tool for the 4, 5, and 6 mm hex sizes. Where a ball-tip wrench engages the recess on a small contact patch and works at angle, a straight-tip drops square into the recess on the full hex flat and transmits torque on the whole working surface. On bolts past about 8 Nm of working torque (most stem face-plates, every seatpost binder we've seen, every crank pinch bolt), the straight-tip is the right tool. Reach for the ball-tip first, switch to straight-tip for the snug-down.

The shanks are chrome-vanadium steel, hardened and tempered. Tips are black anodised for a clean fit into the hex recess. The polypropylene handle is the same geometry as the ball-tip Y-handle in the line, so the two tools feel identical in the hand and the switchover between them is one motion at the bench.

What it's for

4 mm straight-tip is the right finish for stem face-plate bolts (typically 5 Nm on aluminum bars, lower on carbon depending on the bar's published spec) and brake-lever clamps. 5 mm covers seatpost binder bolts and stem steerer-clamp bolts, both of which need to hold a slipping interface under load. 6 mm is the size for disc-brake caliper-mount bolts (which see thermal cycling and benefit from the full-flat engagement of a straight-tip) and some older-design chainring bolts.

Specs

• 4, 5, 6 mm straight-tip hex sizes on a three-arm Y-handle, 122 mm across the arms and 65 g
• Chrome-vanadium steel shanks, hardened and tempered
• Black anodised tip finish for corrosion resistance and recess fit
• Trivalent chrome plating to ISO 1456:2009 on the non-tip shank surfaces
• Plastic-injected polypropylene handle
• Hex keys manufactured to the ISO 2936 dimensional standard for metric hex keys
• Manufactured in Slovenia and covered by Unior's lifetime warranty

Built in Zreče, Slovenia

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and sponsors professional road and mountain-bike race teams. The straight-tip Y-handle is the finishing tool in our shop's hex kit, paired with the ball-tip Y-handle for angled-access work and the long-arm L-keys for high-leverage pulls.

Pro tip from our mechanics

The straight-tip Y-handle takes a stem face-plate bolt to about 80% of its working torque comfortably. For the final 20% on a published spec (say, 5 Nm on an aluminum bar with carbon-bar tolerance below), you want a torque wrench. The Y-handle gets you there fast; a torque wrench gets you there to spec.

For the hex sizes the Y-handle covers vs. the sizes that demand a long-arm L-key, and where the working-torque crossover lives between ball-tip and straight-tip: Hex and Torx wrenches: how to pick the right tool for the job →.

FAQ

Which bike bolts do the 4, 5 and 6 mm sizes cover? These are the three most common medium hex sizes on a modern bike. 4 mm handles stem face-plate bolts and brake-lever clamps, 5 mm covers seatpost binder bolts and stem steerer-clamp bolts, and 6 mm suits disc-brake caliper mounting bolts and some older chainring bolts. Torque each fastener to the figure published by the component manufacturer.

Should I buy this or the ball-tip Y-wrench? Pick the ball tip (item 624910) when you need to reach a bolt at an angle, and this straight tip when the bolt has to come up tight. A straight tip drops square into the recess and bears on the full hex flat, where a ball end engages on a smaller contact patch. Both use the same handle geometry, so plenty of mechanics keep the pair and switch to the straight tip for the final snug-down.

Is the same Y-handle made in other sizes or in Torx? Yes. Item 624908 is the same wrench in 2, 2.5 and 3 mm straight-tip hex and weighs 36 g, and item 624911 is the Torx version in T10, T15 and T25. This listing is item 624909, article 1781/2HX-US, the 4, 5 and 6 mm straight-tip hex.

How big is it and what is it made of? It measures 122 mm across the arms and 106 mm tall, the handle is 16 mm wide, and it weighs 65 g. The blades are premium chrome vanadium steel, hardened and tempered, trivalent chrome plated to ISO 1456:2009 with a black anodised tip, on a plastic-injected polypropylene handle. Unior covers it with a lifetime warranty.