Torque Wrenches

thefartingcockeral

Hi all.
What sort of torque wrench would you recommend for tightening cranks up with 45-55nm.
Is there one which does the lesser nm as well as the higher ones or is it a matter of getting 2 different ones?

Wooliferkins

Two. As you need a left and right handed torque ability if you're going to do bottom brackets then a push through wrench from a tool shop is a good investment as bike specific ones only torque R/H threads. A small one for the wee stuff is ideal

sungod

for that sort of torque, i just tighten it until it feels about mnghhhhh, and it's tight enough

i've actually compared to a torque wrench, works out within the range, once components that chunky have seated you feel the difference in oomph

for 2-24 Nm, this...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-8-inch-2 ... B000RO1ZCG

good set of bits (but overkill unless you have other uses than just the bike)...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Expert-2 ... sim_diy_17

Monty Dog

You only really need a 5Nm pre-set one for stem / seat collar bolts e.g. Ritchey Torquey.
For bottom brackets, cassette lockrings etc there's little risk of breaking anything so a good firm heave is all you need - once you know what 40Nm feels like.
I have two torque wrenches, little and big, and they rarely get used - if you're competent mechanically and you don't try and strong-arm anything then it's mainly down to common sense. I've seen people break stuff with torque wrenches as they weren't really thinking about what they're doing.

thefartingcockeral

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will use a good uummph as I am an engineer by trade but do not own a torque wrench yet.

pinno

My torque wrench has a ratchet mechanism so it can go in both directions. The only downside is that the lower limit is 40nm so its not ideal for stems and smaller stuff. You can get the smaller ones with ratchets.

Like this:



Or this, 2 - 22nm, 1/4 inch drive: