Fitting carbon components - should I have a torque wrench?

daniel_b

Hello all,

I have a fairly comprehensive toolkit from Wiggle, which pretty much covers me for any jobs I am likely to carry out on my bikes.

I do not have a torque wrench, and have a fair few carbon bits - would it be advisable to purchase one, and if so are there any recommendations? And would it need to be cycling specific, or would any torque wrenceh suffice?

Is there a magic way to finding out what amount of pressure you would need for seatclamp\stem\handlebars etc, or would they all be the same?

bernithebiker

Quite useful to have one that goes from 2 to 20Nm, and a bonus to have a bigger one than can do up to 80.

I have a small Syntace one that works well and does almost everything on the bike. (the bigger one I use on the car/quad/tractor).

There'll be a webpage somewhere giving recommended torque for different size bolts, (but of course different manufacturers and materials (alloy/carbon) will vary these figures).

As a rough guide, M5 (like on many stems) is about 4 to 6Nm, M6 (seat collar, etc.) about 6 - 8Nm.

Normal allen keys are different lengths for a reason. As long as you don't go crazy hanging off a key, it should be difficult to knacker a bolt using the right size (length) key.

In terms of bolt/thread strength, it's steel, Ti, alloy, in that order.

daniel_b

Thanks for your reply,

The two I have found so far are:

Shimano:
http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/2799/products/Pro-3-15-Nm-torque-wrench-set.aspx?utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=PriceComp&utm_term=Froogle&utm_content=None&utm_campaign=PriceComp1


Giant:
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=20794


Both get excellent reviews on Bikeradar, and although the Shimano is technically better value I am sure, it only covers 3-15, where as the Giant covers 2-24.

sungod

of those two i'd get the giant

i've got one of these...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-STW1012- ... B000RO1ZCG

comes with calibration certificate, mine is now in it's 4th year, still matches a calibrated wrench at work

for bits i got...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Expert-2 ... sim_diy_13

...bit excessive maybe, but it's sometimes handy to have the longer shaft bits, and torx fasteners seem to be creeping onto bikes more these days, so it's come in useful, no wear so far, excellent quality

daniel_b

sungod wrote:

of those two i'd get the giant

i've got one of these...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-STW1012- ... B000RO1ZCG

comes with calibration certificate, mine is now in it's 4th year, still matches a calibrated wrench at work

for bits i got...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Expert-2 ... sim_diy_13

...bit excessive maybe, but it's sometimes handy to have the longer shaft bits, and torx fasteners seem to be creeping onto bikes more these days, so it's come in useful, no wear so far, excellent quality

Thanks SG - this is uber useful - I did not really know what I needed, and so was looking for cycling specific sets - howver if what you have posted above does the same job as the Giant (And a whole lot more I guess with the accessorie set?) then that makes a whole load more sense surely, and for a few £'s more.