Shaun Hughes and his toolbox...

Wrenched: Shaun Hughes

Queensland local, Shaun Hughes has been spinning spanners on the world cup and EWS circuits for the past 7 seasons. During that time, the bike’s he has worked on have won World Championships, World Cups, and most recently, EWS races. During the long race season, Shaun essentially lives his life on the road. As a pro mechanic, Shaun’s toolbox is his everything. Its contents include more than 100 individual tools, plus all sorts of other gadgets and wizardry that allow him to handle any bike situation at a race. To learn more about Shaun’s set-up, [R]evolution caught up with him in the pits at the last EWS race of the season. The following day his team rider, Richie Rude, won the overall championship. So it’s safe to say that Shaun does a pretty bloody good job of his job.

[R]: Okay so give us a run through of your toolbox… let’s start with the case – what brand and spec is it?

Shaun: The case I currently use is the ‘Pelican 1550’ model. I’ve had that for five years now. The pelican stuff comes with nothing inside, so all internals have been designed around what works best for me. It’s seen a few changes over the years, but now it is pretty close to perfect for what I need it for. I can strip and rebuild every part of our team bikes (including fork and shock) with everything that is in that box.

Okay so how many tools do you carry in your box?

It all weighs 18kg including grease, oils, and a pretty comprehensive small spare parts box. I have recently started travelling with it inside a Ion travel bag, just so it is easier to move around, but also so it doesn’t attract any unwanted attention from people at baggage claim.It’s amazing how easy people are able to get away with stuff at that end. I don’t have an exact number of tools, there are A LOT of small special tools, which make up the numbers… but if I had to throw out a number, I’d say close to 100.

How much $ in total are we talking for your entire box/tools set-up?

As for cost of setup, once again, counting all tools, it’s over 5g… In addition to the tools, the spare parts inside hold a lot of value. I have over $300 in Ti Bolts alone.

Which is the single most expensive tool that you carry?

My most expensive tools are my Abbey Tools. Titanium Hammer $250, Hanger Alignment Tool, $250, Headset/bb press, $400. That’s probably the winner there. I don’t want that to sound like an ad for Abby Tools though, love the tools, but I have to pay the same as everyone else for them.

How much of a nightmare can it be getting it on a plane and dealing with baggage fees?

Getting it all around the world is sometimes a little difficult. It is always an extra piece of baggage, so sometimes extra fees, but flying as much as I do, I get status on a few major airlines, so it is usually included in my flight. I do travel with extra boxes though, whether that is a team bike, my own bike, or spare parts, so yep those excess baggage fees are always part of the equation. I have a team credit card though, so, Yeti usually pays.

Does it ever get lost in transit? What is the longest you’ve had without them after a flight?

I have arrived at airports and my tools haven’t turned up countless times! It is always a relief to see it on the conveyer belt at baggage claim. The longest I have had it missing was two weeks. I was travelling from Barcelona Spain, to Mont St Anne Canada, and it never showed up. I was pretty stressed, but I finally got a phone call saying it was still in Spain. That was after the race had happened though. Luckily, all us mechanics are a friendly bunch, and I was able to borrow the tools needed to keep me going. The worst experience was in Chile two years ago, I had to pay a friend of a friend coming from Santiago to the race venue (6hrs away), to bring it from the airport, because no one from the airport wanted to drive it out to me, even after it was their fault it went missing in the first place. It turned up the morning of the first practice day for the race, and I was stressing for a while there

It is insured?

Ha yep! It is most definitely insured. Travelling around the world and relying on that one piece of luggage turning up can be pretty stressful. So it’s nice to know, if it does go missing, in the long run I can eventually get the funds to replace it all, but the hours I have spent dialing it all in is priceless.

In addition to the tools you carry, how many spares do you lug around to each race?

I usually travel with enough spares to build the bikes twice. In Europe and the USA, I have a team van with everything I need to fix the bikes, when travelling remotely, I pretty much always carry an entire bike in spare parts for each rider. Our sponsors are great too, and they usually have supplies wherever we go. Wheels, tyres and rims are the hardest to transport everywhere though.

It looks like you’ve got a little ‘book of secrets/diary’ in your toolbox, what type of information does it contain?

My little black book… A lot of people notice that. Every mechanic should have one. I have every setting from every bike I have worked on in there. I think it’s about my fifth identical looking one. Little tips, tricks, things learnt, everything that goes on in a season is written in there. Ideas for bikes, paint jobs, parts lists… It’s all in there. A couple of World Champion bike setups in there that are pretty wild. But, it is my secret little Black Book.

What five individual tools do you use most during race weekend?

1. My Beta T-Handled sliding Allen wrenches. Best allens ever.
2. Knipex non marring adjustable spanners. Every mechanic needs these.
3. Yeti shock bolt pin guide tool.
4. My grease gun.
5. My Butter B2. Short explanation: a tool that fits on the drive side dropout, and halts the chain at tension, when the wheel is out. Makes it easy to clean, and I hate a floppy chain while I’m working on the rest of the bike.

Which tools do you go through (break) the quickest?

Um, I don’t think I’ve broken a tool this season… It’s usually people who use them without asking that break them. Maybe a plastic tyre lever, although I don’t use that for tyres, usually popping the top off beers.

Are all of your tools stock or do you custom tweak some of them a little?

Most of my tools are pretty stock, but I go out of my way to find the perfect tool for the job. I’ve got a lathe at home, so I make a few adaptors for things, and I have made a few tools for certain jobs in the past, but the stuff in my setup is usually stock.

Which is the one bicycle tool that has the most room for design improvement?

I can’t really think of a tool that needs any crazy improvements. I try to find the best, so that I don’t need to replace them every season. Although, there are things that just wear out over time.

As a mechanic, are there some perks to the job? Do you get free shit (bike parts) for yourself or does everything go exclusively to your riders?

Ha, the perks. I do have bikes and other things as part of my salary. They are definitely not free. I’ve seen A LOT of mechanics come onto the scene and expect to be given everything straight up, and they usually don’t last a season. I have worked really hard with my team sponsors to help develop and improve every product that makes its way onto our team bikes and sponsor list, and that has its own perks. I do get prototype parts to test, which is rad. And there is a good amount of schwag that comes with the job. I can’t complain about that. And then there’s the secret handshake between a rider and their mechanic… Usually padded with folding sheets of paper with value…