Torque wrench - worth the bother?

Steve2020

Excitingly, I am about to build a new bike with carbon frame. Torque wrenches seem to get recommended much more now than I ever remember before. I dont want to ruin my dream frame but I dont really want to buy one either. I've got a nice new toolset I am looking forward to using!

Are they really necessary? The only bits I think I am likely to overtighten and cause damage are the front mech, seatpost and stem (the only things where I would crush carbon if I overtightened).

Will i be ok if I am just v cautious and tighten things to what feels like the minimum necessary? What do people with torque wrenches think - did you find you were overtightening alot and the torque wrench 'reined you in'?

thexvw

I had the same dilemma a few months ago. I decided to buy one in the end and I found I was under tightening. Still glad I bought one though.

allezscotia

Steve2020 wrote:

Excitingly, I am about to build a new bike with carbon frame. Torque wrenches seem to get recommended much more now than I ever remember before. I dont want to ruin my dream frame but I dont really want to buy one either. I've got a nice new toolset I am looking forward to using!

Think this kinda says that you should buy one.

salsarider79

Or tighten to what you think is about right, then ask your LBS to check everything. You may also need some carbon prep for the seatpost, but again, ask your LBS.

Ash_

Well worth the money - it's surprising how wrongly things can be tightened - especially as you say you don't want to ruin your new frame.

Also, many manufacturers these days will only honour their warranty if a torque wrench has been used (and this is components too, not just frames). I'm not quite sure what the legality is on this one, but I suppose they could argue that using a torque wrench is what constitutes proper use / assembly.

I'd say get one.

BUICK

If you didn't get one and you DID overtighten something and mash up your frame, or suffer the legendary 'catastrophic failure', how daft would you feel? I use a torque wrench even on my cheap aluminium commuter because it's cheaper to have a torque wrench than to replace valued parts. And it makes me feel manly.

Monty Dog

If you've no experience of mechanical assembly, it's pretty difficult to know what the correct tightness feel like. Multi-bolt stem plates for example are particularly difficult to get even tightness. The Ritchey Torque Key for about £12 is a good investment if you've got 4mm Allen screws

simmo3801

I bought the BBB torque wrench which is quite small and came in a box with both hex heads and a torx head. I have found it invaluable as I changed my brake calipers before and they kept moving but when I changed them on my new bike with the torque wrench it was a doddle. Nice workstand helps too like the Park PCS10

Mickyduck

I have owned a Norbar torque wrench for over 20 years well worth the money just remember to wind off the torque before you put it away.

gkerr4

thexvw wrote:

I had the same dilemma a few months ago. I decided to buy one in the end and I found I was under tightening. Still glad I bought one though.

This is my experience - I found I as under tightening things too - I bought the two park tools models (two ranges) to assembly my S-Works roubaix SL framset - to be honest it wasn't really needed and now they just sit in the garage collecting dust - £80 worth too,

Lagavulin

I bought a BBB TorqueFix from Parkers when I ordered my Izoard. £42 I think it was. First thing I did was check the bolts on my Allez. I too had been undertightening but only carbon on that other than the cages is the wrapped seatpost.
Compared with totalling a frame I could ill afford to replace I viewed £50 as a worthwhile investment. Better safe than sorry, no?

djaeggi

I use mine quite a lot, both on the bike and car. Well worth it, IMHO.

However, if you chose not to buy one, an easy way to get the torque ballpark right is to use a) a calculator and b) kitchen scales. For a given torque and allen key/wrench length (works better with a wrench), work out how much force you need to apply to get that torque. Then, get a feeling for how much this is in practice by pressing on the kitchen scales. You won't get it exactly right but this helps you judge things!

PJCM

Certainly no harm in getting one, other than to your wallet.

There are two types to consider; beam and clicker. Beams are cheaper, never lose calibration but are more difficult to read/use. Clickers usually cost more but are very simple to use. They theoretically lose calibration over time, but this probably would never be an issue for a home mechanic provided they are dialled back to their lowest setting before storing.

Most wrenches on the market are clickers because they are better suited for automotive use - often repetitive tasks like torquing engine heads and for accessing hard to reach fixings.

I purchased a Park TW-2 beam type for bigger fixings (eg: crank bolts) and a Norbar 4-20Nm clicker for finer work (eg: stem bolts).

For parts most prone to damage, a lower torque range wrench like the Norbar would be all you need.

The Norbar is often rebadged (eg: ITM, Syntace) and a price premium applied. Totalcycling.com is where I got mine.

Overall, it gives me the peace of mind to work on high-end equipment and I generally found I was under-tightening stuff.

ride_whenever

You could always jury rig one with a set length bar and fishing scales, then you can just pull to get the correct torque...