In my travels around the world wide web I’ve come across a number of bike repair tool lists for the person looking to set up their own home shop. The Pedal Wrench will soon post our own version of such a list. The one item I find absent from most of these tool lists I’ve seen is a shop apron.

When I think about what an apron does for me when I work on bicycles, I might place it in the highest priority tier of bike repair necessities. While an apron won’t loosen a pedal that’s been installed too tightly, it will provide you with many benefits while you perform the task. The evil chain ring monster is always looking to leave it’s mark on clean clothes and they tend to be permanent scars. Alleviating the concern for grease stained clothing is a huge advantage in the situation of a tight pedal because you get to focus on the pedal itself.

Walking up to a bike in a bike repair stand with all of the tools to complete the task at hand is an enormous time saver. Let me give you an example, a new chain installation. Before I leave the work bench I will put the new chain, master link, chain tool, rag, and lube in the pockets of my apron. I walk up to the bicycle and remove the old chain with the chain tool. I measure and cut the new chain to the proper length, again with the chain tool. The old chain and chain tool go in my pockets. After I install the new chain on the bike I take the master link out of my pocket to connect the ends. The rag is used to remove the sticky goo that comes on the new chain and wipe off the excess lube after it’s applied. At the end of that simple task the apron saved 3 or more trips to the workbench. That efficiency gain is huge over the course of building a complete bicycle or many repairs.

Go buy a plaid apron with ruffles from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It will keep your clothes cleaner and it has pockets to hold small items and tools. While this apron would offer some of the benefits I’ve discussed, over time the shortcomings would become more apparent. So what makes a bike mechanic’s apron more functional? Durability, comfort, and performance are the three aspects that I look at in an apron.

The durability is very important, but harder to judge at the time of purchase. Some aprons fall apart under normal use, some withstand the affects of everyday bike shop life, but disintegrate when washed, and some stand the test of time. Generally, the pockets and straps will fail first.

As heavy bicycle tools fill the pockets and the hours wear on in the bike shop, the comfort of an apron becomes an issue. Most “high end” shop aprons have gone to a criss cross strap design that better distribute the weight of the apron and tools on the bike mechanic. This design sets the straps wider on the shoulders and almost completely removes the weight on the neck. The simple two strap design that can be seen on the previously mentioned plaid apron is not what a bike mechanic wants. Trust me.

How does an apron perform well? For me, it’s all about coverage and containment. The more area an apron covers the more shorts and shirts I save from grease and grime, and that saves money. The pockets of a shop apron should hold a generous amount of bike tools, and most do. The key is for those bike tools to stay put until needed and be easily accessible when needed. I have nightmares of an apron that would throw my tools all over the floor in a loud metallic discord each time I bent down. It made me the laughing stock of the bike shop which has probably scarred me for life, not to mention all of the time I spent picking up my tools.

Now I’d like to introduce you to the Fox Wrench Apron from Fox Racing Products. This apron has been my friend in the bike shop for almost a year now. The cotton construction has withstood the test of time and multiple trips to the washing machine. The pockets of the Wrench Apron are well thought out and hold everything you need regularly and then some. They very rarely spew bike tools and bike parts on the floor of the shop, saving me time and face. It even has a beer pocket and bottle opener for after all the repairs are finished. The inside hand pockets allow me to put my keys, wallet, or cell phone away without sticking my greasy hands in the pockets of my shorts or pants. While the apron is as comfortable as they come, the pockets are large enough to excessively overload, so remember to empty them every once in a while or the back and shoulders will suffer.

Up until this point, the only aspect I’m not psyched on is the graphics, but those don’t really matter, and they are unique. At around $30, this apron is a great value for a great product and will probably be the last apron you buy for your shop. It also works great for BBQing.

• 100% Cotton.
• Screen printed graphics.
• 4 large pockets, 1 pocket w/ flap, 4 smaller pockets for tools, 1 pen pocket and 2 hand pockets on inside.
• Special side pockets sized to fit a beer bottle; also comes with a custom Fox head bottle opener.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 10:56 pm and is filed under Tools, Repair Tips, Mechanical Hints, Friends, Daily Rant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.