Quote Originally Posted by lunacycles View Post
So I guess I am confused: is there still a problem? I am not sure I understand what you are asking for as far as "advice" goes.
The tools ended up being $45 for what are essentially two sockets. The price I found in my earlier searches was $60 to $90 (depending on foreign exchange rates.)

Prior experience says that when a special "tool" is not readily available, often that's because there's an alternate way of doing the task with generic tools. So - I was hoping someone had a trick to hold the "cone" steady while I tighten the locknut with a standard socket. I was also posting as a form of product review.

Quote Originally Posted by lunacycles View Post
My mantra about the LBS was simply to suggest they can be your best resource when you can't do it on your own, even if you bought your parts online.
There's ten or so LBS's that I'd consider local enough to bike to, but I've not found any of them to be the perfect LBS for me. Perhaps they've fragmented the local market too much...