I always use a Campy one on fixed cups which are Campy sized - the jaws are much harder than the Var but the Var comes in handy for non Campy sizes though I have only one other jaw size. For really non standard fixed cups I use an English made tool that does not not have jaws but relies on friction to grip the cup - I used one of these for years before getting the Campy and Var tools and I have never not managed to get a cup out with one of these. Before that I used a home made version of the same tool with a long 16mm headed bolt with two nuts to grip the cup. That also never failed... But the Campy and Var tools do make the job a lot easier. With the 16mm bolt method a lot of force was needed to clamp the cuup between the two nuts and then again to remove the cup from the tool after it had been removed. Tacx also made (and perhaps still does) an economy version of the Campy/Var tools and used carefully works well too.
Hilary Stone, Bristol, British Isles
tobit linke wrote:
> I'd consider the shop type fixed cup tools
> (Campy, VAR, Cobra - which are the ones I've used) functionally equal
> for standard -normal torque/36mm cup- applications.
>
> The big advantage of the VAR seems to be the huge range of sizes for the tool insert:
> 16.1, 35.1, 35.5, 36.1, 36.8, 37.8 and 38.1mm are available to this day.
>
> The distinguishing feature of the Campag - aside from being pretty- are the flattened sides of the cylinder,
> which allow you to mount the tool in a vise and turn the frame.
> This makes the use of extentions on the handle unecessary and thus prevents bent
> handles (which I've seen on both VAR and Campa models in shop use).
>
> Tobit Linke, Dortmund, Germany