Collection: Hobson-Zingo Tools

HOBSON-ZINGO

Summary: Our own line made up mostly of Rivendell-approved (and then private-labeled) Taiwan bike tools made by Taiwan’s best bike tool maker, who also makes car tools, and — let’s make this clear—knows how to make cutting tools that hold an edge, allen wrenches resist rounding out, and so on.

They’re made with as little plastic as possible, usually none. The maker took a month to wrap his head around that, but the enviro point finally hit home. What this means is that if you really think you need a padded handle here or there—for a master-link tool you’ll use five times a year at most and already has handles that can’t cut cheddar cheese— then wrap it with foamy bar tape and twine it off. Or do that or just to personalize it, but don’t think you’re improving it. A Hobson-Zingo is usable and ready for action “as received.”

Ironically and surprisingly to us and probably to you, some of the first-batch tools came packaged in plastic. It’s not as much plastic as you’ll take home from any shopping extravaganza, but it’s more than our goal of zero, and we’ll fix that going forward.

Also, there’s a little more chrome than we’d like to see.  What are we gonna do? Reject them and piss off the maker and kill the program, or make a check list for next time around? The latter, of course.