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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on June 12, 2014 at 4:40am

As a new daddy, this will be my first father's day!  I decided to go on a mtb trail ride with my father-in-law. 

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on June 12, 2014 at 4:42am

I'm sure he would appreciate a bike. :-)

I work on bikes in the basement a lot. Last Christmas, my youngest son (who happens to work in a hardware store) gave me a cool little tool. It's a cheap telescoping magnetic LED flashlight. I use it all the time. Examples:

• When I refurbish bike parts, I often want to disassemble them and soak the steel bits in white vinegar to take care of rust. The magnet allows me to unambiguously distinguish between plain old steel, stainless steel (which can skip the bath), and other metals (aluminum, titanium) which don't like that sort of spa treatment.
• While working on a bike, it's not uncommon for bearings, washers or other small bits to wander off and find their way under the workbench or into some inaccessible corner. The light and telescoping feature help you find the part. If it's plain steel, bonus! You can grab it with the magnet.

If your dad works on his own bikes, he'll probably find something like this useful.

I also use my cheapo Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner frequently. That's a little more expensive though.

I tend to be lit up like a Christmas tree. If your dad only uses one rear blinkie, give him a second one so he always has a backup (or continues to blink if one light's batteries dies). Buy rechargeable!

Finally, tools break or get lost. If you can identify that little wrench he's missing from his collection for which he always needs to substitute an adjustable wrench, he'll appreciate that. (I have a broken 8mm wrench I've never replaced, substituting 5/16 most of the time.)

From one dad...

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