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i just looked in on this thread because i was wondering what kind of complicated work you were doing that would require you to own a torque wrench. I'm generally under the assumption that i don't need a torque wrench ,well maybe for assembling a motor,connecting rods, headbolts,stuff like that. However recently i bought a giant carbon stem for my road bike and i just put it on and went riding ,on the second ride i hit a solid bump and the handlebars shifted with a loud creak/pop, i looked down and the torque specs are printed right on the stem, i revised my planned ride to spin by my local bike shop,i'm 30 year friends with the owner. I borrowed the torque wrench, set it on the recommended setting and started tightening,it didn't seem to want to click. I called over to the head mechanic(owners brother) to find out if the wrench actually works right. He came over and we backed off on the torque setting just a bit and it clicked, we decided to leave it at that. The point of this (hardly) little story is there are very few things in bicycling that actually require torque wrenches. I may have used one on rotor bolts when i first got disc brakes,12 years ago,havn't bothered since.I've never had a problem with improper torque on something that i remembered to tighten
. If you tighten things sensably you'll probabely be ok,but if you have to own a torque wrench knock yourself out. If you need a shopping list of specialized bike tools that are more important than a torque wrench; deraileur hanger alignment tool,spoke tensionometer,freewheel lockring tool/chain whip,there are a couple others that depend on the type of headset and bottombracket that are on your bike.
. If you tighten things sensably you'll probabely be ok,but if you have to own a torque wrench knock yourself out. If you need a shopping list of specialized bike tools that are more important than a torque wrench; deraileur hanger alignment tool,spoke tensionometer,freewheel lockring tool/chain whip,there are a couple others that depend on the type of headset and bottombracket that are on your bike.The same reason you would use a torque wrench to assembly an engine is the same reason you use a torque wrench on a bicycle.herbn said:i just looked in on this thread because i was wondering what kind of complicated work you were doing that would require you to own a torque wrench. I'm generally under the assumption that i don't need a torque wrench ,well maybe for assembling a motor,connecting rods, headbolts,stuff like that. However recently i bought a giant carbon stem for my road bike and i just put it on and went riding ,on the second ride i hit a solid bump and the handlebars shifted with a loud creak/pop, i looked down and the torque specs are printed right on the stem, i revised my planned ride to spin by my local bike shop,i'm 30 year friends with the owner. I borrowed the torque wrench, set it on the recommended setting and started tightening,it didn't seem to want to click. I called over to the head mechanic(owners brother) to find out if the wrench actually works right. He came over and we backed off on the torque setting just a bit and it clicked, we decided to leave it at that. The point of this (hardly) little story is there are very few things in bicycling that actually require torque wrenches. I may have used one on rotor bolts when i first got disc brakes,12 years ago,havn't bothered since.I've never had a problem with improper torque on something that i remembered to tighten
You even confirmed it your self when the handle bars you installed with out using a torque wrench came loose. What if that had happened on a gnarly DH section.
Today's light weight, higher precision parts require the use of a torque more than ever.
Wow...herbn said:
If I roll back the clock to 1991 when I was riding a 35 pound trek with giant motorcycle size brake levers I might be able to agree with you. But in the current times I prefer to not break nice new parts I buy or have the pivot bolts on my frame come loose when I'm miles out in the woods.
I don't have a good picture of it (this is the one off the eBay auction I won), but a 0-150 inch-pound dial torque is perfect for most low-torque bike fasteners, and can be had for $30-40 if you're a patient bidder.
This S&K wrench would normally go for $150-200 new. I wanted to be certain it was in good shape, so took it to a local calibration shop who tested it and gave it a clean bill of health.
What I like about the dial torque is it's got none of the complicated innards that a click-type wrench has (coil spring, balls & detent, ratchet), and instead uses a bending beam much like a beam-type torque wrench, combined with a dial indicator. It's all neatly tucked away inside the protective casing, and calibration is a matter of setting the dial to '0'.
And unlike the problem a previous poster experienced, the dial gives you an instant and real-time torque read-out, so there's little chance of over-torquing an already properly torqued bolt, or missing a soft click as can happen on some click-type wrenches.
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This S&K wrench would normally go for $150-200 new. I wanted to be certain it was in good shape, so took it to a local calibration shop who tested it and gave it a clean bill of health.
What I like about the dial torque is it's got none of the complicated innards that a click-type wrench has (coil spring, balls & detent, ratchet), and instead uses a bending beam much like a beam-type torque wrench, combined with a dial indicator. It's all neatly tucked away inside the protective casing, and calibration is a matter of setting the dial to '0'.
And unlike the problem a previous poster experienced, the dial gives you an instant and real-time torque read-out, so there's little chance of over-torquing an already properly torqued bolt, or missing a soft click as can happen on some click-type wrenches.
Save your money, you don't really need one to work on bikes.
You come with a built-in torque sensor and a brain that can reassess situations and adapt to complex operations, so learn and hone that basic skill of feeling the torque instead.
But, if you must, I would suggest that you wait until it's your birthday and drop hints like mad for one of these:
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I've got the 713R size 6 model myself and very nice it is, except, I never needed to use a torque wrench to build, maintain or fix a bike be it made from aluminium or some exotic material(s).
Every now and then I take the 713R out of storage, have a little play with it, sync it with the laptop and then I put it away again. Probably perfect for assembling space shuttle components, but not really needed for bikes.
That having been said, once you acquire a torque wrench, take the trouble and learn how to use it properly; take note of it's limitations and apply it to only where it's really needed.
You come with a built-in torque sensor and a brain that can reassess situations and adapt to complex operations, so learn and hone that basic skill of feeling the torque instead.
But, if you must, I would suggest that you wait until it's your birthday and drop hints like mad for one of these:
I've got the 713R size 6 model myself and very nice it is, except, I never needed to use a torque wrench to build, maintain or fix a bike be it made from aluminium or some exotic material(s).
Every now and then I take the 713R out of storage, have a little play with it, sync it with the laptop and then I put it away again. Probably perfect for assembling space shuttle components, but not really needed for bikes.
That having been said, once you acquire a torque wrench, take the trouble and learn how to use it properly; take note of it's limitations and apply it to only where it's really needed.
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