Tire levers are one of those tools you don't think about until you're standing on the side of the road with a flat and realize you left them at home. The Park Tool TL-1.2 set gives you three levers made from a glass-reinforced nylon that's stiff enough to get under tight tire beads without snapping, but smooth enough that it won't chew up your rim or gouge the tube you're trying to save. The material choice matters more than you'd think—cheap levers flex when you need rigidity, and metal levers can scratch rims or pinch tubes during installation.

The business end of each lever has a thin, tapered tip that slides between the tire bead and rim without requiring excessive force. Once you've hooked the bead, the curved design lets you run the lever around the rim to unseat the rest of the tire. A spoke hook on the opposite end clips onto a spoke to hold the lever in place while you work with the second one, which is genuinely useful when you're dealing with a stubborn tire that wants to snap back into the rim channel. Three levers might seem like overkill for most flats, but tight tire and rim combinations sometimes need that third lever to get things moving.

These are the same levers Park Tool has been making for years, just with updated molding. They fit easily in a saddle bag, jersey pocket, or frame bag, and the bright blue color means you can find them at the bottom of a gear bin without digging. At this price point, there's no reason not to keep a set in every bag and bike you own. Losing a lever on a ride is annoying; not having one when you need it is a long walk home.... Read More