Torque wrench purchase

Crazyjenkins01

Hey guys,

Need to look for a small setting torque wrench.
Have been looking at the Park Tools TW 5.2 but wondering if there are any other options for a little less wonga????

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

The Rookie

Learn to do it by feel! Cheapest and for an experienced spanner merchant it actually gives better tensile load results than a torque wrench.

paul_the_pedaller

I bought a M Part torque wrench because it has a good signal when the torque is reached, the head clicks. Only criticism I have is due to parallax with the scale seemingly being a long way from the graduations it'd be easy to set to the wrong values. If I was buying another one it would be with a vernier type setting, such as the Teng 1492AG-E, 5-25 Nm or a 5Nm Park tool will do the majority of common adjustments.

Crazyjenkins01

That's a good shout Rookie, problem being I do this at work for values in the 10x what my bike needs!!!

Thanks for input Paul

larkim

Surely the "learn to do it by feel" perspective may lead to "learning" incidents where expensive items are trashed because your hands didn't yet know the difference between a suitable force and a crushing force? Or alternatively components come loose because you were too cautious?

davesnothere

I bought the lifeline one (they seem to have rebranded as x-tools) - less than £30

Works perfectly, the click when you reach torque setting is quite subtle but you get the hang of it pretty quick

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/x-tools-essential-torque-wrench-set/

Crazyjenkins01

Thanks Dave, i'll have a look

joncomelately

My only experience is with the Lifeline Essential one for about £20, but it does me fine for the headset and stem bolts - not carbon, so I'm not overly concerned. A lot of chat in the reviews about the torque limit feedback mechanism being subtle, but personally I think it's bloody obvious.

LimitedGarry

larkim wrote:

Surely the "learn to do it by feel" perspective may lead to "learning" incidents where expensive items are trashed because your hands didn't yet know the difference between a suitable force and a crushing force? Or alternatively components come loose because you were too cautious?

´
You know, judging by what I've seen so far, majority of professional mechanics do not reach for a torque wrench unless handling carbon components, which rely greatly on grip paste.
While there's a good reason why torque specs exist from an engineering point of view, they're in most cases simply guidelines, more than actual requirements. Kinda like "do not clamp the dropper" or "do not degrease the cassette while it's on the freehub".

orraloon

DavesNotHere wrote:

I bought the lifeline one (they seem to have rebranded as x-tools) - less than £30

Works perfectly, the click when you reach torque setting is quite subtle but you get the hang of it pretty quick

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/x-tools-essential-torque-wrench-set/

Just got this wrench delivered ex Wiggle, 24 without the heads. 1/4" drive which fits std small socket / hex heads. Is fine.

02gf74

paul_the_pedaller wrote:

I bought a M Part torque wrench because it has a good signal when the torque is reached, the head clicks. Only criticism I have is due to parallax with the scale seemingly being a long way from the graduations it'd be easy to set to the wrong values. If I was buying another one it would be with a vernier type setting, such as the Teng 1492AG-E, 5-25 Nm or a 5Nm Park tool will do the majority of common adjustments.

I have the m part torque wrench; as above - there is Vernier on the twist handle so it is not too hard to figure out the setting.

it is this one.


re doing up by feel - it was ok for stell and aluminium frames and but for carbon fibre parts which are much easier to crush, a torque wrench is much recommended. doing up seat clamp bolts according to torque has meant I have not had a post slip - doing up by feel until it is "tight enough" was a bit of hit and miss.

cougie

There's been a few group tests done in the mags. Google for results. Tbh I do it by hand on my carbon post and frame and no dramas yet Nd it's been a good few years.