Torque wrench, which one?

wilwil
wilwil Posts: 374
edited October 2008 in Workshop
I want a torque wrench without spending £100s. I have looked at the Park TW1 and TW2 and the BBB. The Park looks slightly antiquated but if it works well that's OK.

Any recommendations?

Comments

  • joeyhalloran
    joeyhalloran Posts: 1,080
    i have no recommendations but will be awaiting the reply of someone who does. I need one to :P
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    yes same here!! :)
  • mathi
    mathi Posts: 110
    Syntace 8)
  • Ash_
    Ash_ Posts: 385
    I've got the BBB one and the only downside I can see with it is that the ratchet feels a little wobbly / insecure in use.

    I think for the money it's a decent enough bit of kit though...
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    I've got a Halfords Pro one. Well reviewed in the motorbike press, and it's a nice bit of kit. I think it was £50ish IIRC.
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • djb1971
    djb1971 Posts: 565
    Sealey do a small torque wrench for around £20-£30
  • simmo3801
    simmo3801 Posts: 486
    I also bought and use the BBB one. I think the wobbly problem comes from the length of the hex head sockets so i generally hold the socket to make sure it grips when first loosening or finally tightening bolts. I'm quite happy with it and find i faff less when doing jobs as I can just tighten to torque. :D
    Giant Anthem X3 2013
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    Before buying a torque wrench please look up the forces that you will need to be doing up.

    Some are very very low and are at the lower level of most wrenches. and that is the important end. it is easy to over torque low settings but harder to over torque the big numbers.

    also look at torque screwdrivers.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
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  • simmo3801
    simmo3801 Posts: 486
    The BB one is good for the lower end of the torque scale. It covers things like stem bolts, brakes, saddle etc.
    Giant Anthem X3 2013
  • Lagavulin
    Lagavulin Posts: 1,688
    I've got the BBB TorqueFix. With hindsight it's not the greatest piece of kit but for £41 it ain't bad. If the same tolerances for the bit set and the wrench were used for the international space station and the shuttle then there'd likely be problems but it has to be better than a wild stab in the dark.

    It arrived before I picked up the carbon bike and when I tried it out on the Allez and MTB's I'd been undertightening the bolts by feel/dead reckoning alone.
    2010 Cannondale CAAD 9
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  • robbarker
    robbarker Posts: 1,367
    You need two to cover all the torque settings required for bike maintenance.

    A wrench that is capapble of the massive torque needed to fit a Campag ultra torque bottom bracket will nto be accurate for the delicate touch required to fit a bolt to a carbon stem.

    I use both the Park torque wrenches - they are not as easy to use as the clicky types but are accurate if used carefullly, and they don't go out of calibration.
  • wilwil
    wilwil Posts: 374
    robbarker wrote:
    You need two to cover all the torque settings required for bike maintenance.

    A wrench that is capapble of the massive torque needed to fit a Campag ultra torque bottom bracket will nto be accurate for the delicate touch required to fit a bolt to a carbon stem.

    I use both the Park torque wrenches - they are not as easy to use as the clicky types but are accurate if used carefullly, and they don't go out of calibration.

    Doesn't the bigger one with the black handle do the full range? I'm mostly only interested in the stem, seat-pin etc
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    wilwil wrote:
    Doesn't the bigger one with the black handle do the full range? I'm mostly only interested in the stem, seat-pin etc

    Rob is right. It'll do the full range......but it's not really designed to be accurate at the low torques.
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  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    wilwil wrote:

    I'm mostly only interested in the stem, seat-pin etc

    then get the one that has those values in the middle of its range. not at either end.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    I have a Sealey model, does 2-24nm, cost about £32, seems fine, does for my stem and seatpost which need 6-9nm.
  • method
    method Posts: 784
    One of these:
    http://www.norbar.com/Products/tabid/54 ... fault.aspx

    You can get them for about £60 - £70 maybe cheaper now. I heard that the BBB ones weren't that accurate, I don't know how much truth is in that though. But the Norbar ones are very accurate, which is the whole point of this I guess.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    Which model are we talking about here?
  • method
    method Posts: 784
    Its the SL0 on the Norbar site I think, its also here: http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/m ... _4_20.html

    Its easy to set the torque and feels very solid, its easy to feel when you get to the correct torque as well.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    Ah thanks for that. I take it, as I am a bit of a numpty, that this torque wrench will suffice for most of the jobs on a bike and that a smaller one is necessary for the 'little' jobs ie stems and handlebars etc.
  • method
    method Posts: 784
    4-20 will do most of the small jobs, on my bike for example, the stem and seatpost clamp are all supposed to be 4nm, I've not found much yet that's outside the lower range of this.
  • Gav2000
    Gav2000 Posts: 408
    I think mine came from Screwfix for about £20. It's made by Draper and comes in a rigid plastic box and seems fine.

    Potentially the best torque wrench tip I was given is always reduce the torque back to 0Nm (or whatever the unit is) when you store it so the wrench retains it accuracy and springs etc don't get stretched. I'm not sure if this is true but it seems kind of logical and is worth doing just in case.

    Gav.
    Gav2000

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  • method
    method Posts: 784
    Gav2000 wrote:
    I think mine came from Screwfix for about £20. It's made by Draper and comes in a rigid plastic box and seems fine.

    Potentially the best torque wrench tip I was given is always reduce the torque back to 0Nm (or whatever the unit is) when you store it so the wrench retains it accuracy and springs etc don't get stretched. I'm not sure if this is true but it seems kind of logical and is worth doing just in case.

    Gav.

    I heard that too, as you say, it seems to make sense. I always do it.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    Would this model be ok for cranks and larger parts like that?
  • method
    method Posts: 784
    The trouble with the larger parts is finding an attachment that fits the wrench, to enable you to do it. Cranks I just do by feel.
  • joeyhalloran
    joeyhalloran Posts: 1,080
    if you only remove your cranks occasionally and you are on friendly terms with your lbs you could ask them to do it.
  • pinnacleroadie
    pinnacleroadie Posts: 66
    I use a Cyclo Tools torque wrench with range 2-24Nm.

    Seems a good quality tool and costs around £50.

    See it at http://www.twowheelsgood.co.uk/index.ph ... 06313.html
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    PinnacleRoadie wrote:
    I use a Cyclo Tools torque wrench with range 2-24Nm.

    Seems a good quality tool and costs around £50.

    See it at http://www.twowheelsgood.co.uk/index.ph ... 06313.html
    It looks identical to my Sealey, same range as well, I suspect there are a few out there with different branding.

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