Torque Wrench at Aldi

Pickled Pig
Pickled Pig Posts: 233
edited September 2011 in Road beginners
I'm thinking of splashing out on a torque wrench to stop me biting holes in my bottom lip when tightening my carbon seat post.
Any opinions on http://uk.aldi.com/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_20979.htm from Aldi next week?

Comments

  • kayakerchris
    kayakerchris Posts: 361
    I suspect that the range will be too high for bikes. Most torque wrenches are for ranges in the 40-80 range when you are looking for 2-20 for a bike and carbon.
    www.hand-surgery.co.uk
    www.dupuytrens.co.uk
  • thescouselander
    thescouselander Posts: 549
    Whatever you get make sure it's calibrated - a lot of torque wrenches are pretty useless at low torques and uncalibrated wrenches could be a few 100% out at low extreams. Also make sure you're operating in the middle of the range for the wrench - without seeing the details that Aldi wrench looks far too big.
  • Monkeypump
    Monkeypump Posts: 1,528
    The fact that it comes with 17, 19 & 21mm sockets might suggest it's designed for bigger things than bikes!
  • JimboM
    JimboM Posts: 380
    Monkeypump wrote:
    The fact that it comes with 17, 19 & 21mm sockets might suggest it's designed for bigger things than bikes!

    Yep, they're pretty much the standard size for wheel nuts on cars so that wrench is going to be a tad overkill on a bike
    Cannondale Synapse 105
    Giant FCR3
    GT Avalanche 3.0
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  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    Ritchey Torque key does the job for me. Does saddle/stem/bars and costs about a tenner. The head can be changed as well by just soaking it in hot water to soften the glue.
    More problems but still living....
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    I have a similar one from Aldi. It is very nicely made though no calibration certificate. Basically, I use it for the cassette and BB (I have a BBB one for everything else). Don't know about the accuracy but I just use it to make sure I tighten things up about the same as they were previously!

    Certainly way too big for the seat post!
    Faster than a tent.......
  • g00se
    g00se Posts: 2,221
    From experience - when getting cheaper low-torque torque wrenches for bikes - go for ones that start around 2NM and not 5NM.

    I bought a cheap 5-25NM from a well know large DIY chain and I swear that the 5NM setting was much higher than it should have been.

    I got this in the end with a big CRC discount at the time:

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=11142

    One of the good things with it is that the 2NM click is quite noticeable - whereas a lot apparently can have low settings that are easy to miss.
  • g00se
    g00se Posts: 2,221
    Also, look for the ones with 1/4" heads. Then you can get cheap small sockets and allen/bits/star heads from the usual DIY sources.
  • Pickled Pig
    Pickled Pig Posts: 233
    Thanks for advice I'll look elsewhere. Not sure why the socket size suggests intended use though - my socket set goes from 6mm to 28mm and I use on my bike without a problem and I was hoping to get a torque wrench to cover a wide range of applications, including torquing up a 32mm motorbike front sprocket.

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