Looking for a torque wrench

david7m

Any abvise or seen any deals?
Dave

david7m

Park tools is about £100 - didn't want to spend that.
But this looks OK - https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2433338695

Dave

Killerclown

david7m wrote:

Any abvise or seen any deals?
Dave

It depends on the range you need, and your budget.

I use one of these

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod155414

It has enough range for everything on most bikes, except possibly higher torque cranks ( the sort that need 40N.m. or there about) but it’s quite a nice bit of kit for the price.

david7m

Was hoping to keep under £50 and that looks like a nice little set with decent reviews!
Dave

daniel_b

Sealey range off Amazon will do the trick.

imposter2.0

If it's for bike use (ie predominantly bar, stem and seatpost), then it's difficult to see further than the Ritchey Torque key. It's all I've ever 'needed'...

fenix

Pretty sure there's been a few group tests of them ? On here or CW ?

Never felt the need for one personally.

Vino'sGhost

Hi David,

This is one of those things where you can get a so so set for less than £50 and it will be ok. but at somepoint you might want one for higher torque stuff like bottom brackets, some cranks, disk rotors etc and thats another 50 or 60 and then youll have it all covered.

If you can afford it theres a unior one available from Halfords (so if BC you get 10% off) it does 5 - 110nm and is 3/8 It will save you money in the medium term.

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-m ... ch-5-110nm

photonic69

I'd stay well clear of such a wide ranging 5-110Nm torque wrench. At that price and wide range it's likely to be vague at any given setting. Might as well guess unless you are using the higher range.

Most bike torques are around 5-10Nm so get one that covers 2-20 or so and you'll be fine. I use 120Nm on my car's wheel nuts as reference. That CRC one looks perfect. It wont be as accurate as a Wera costing £110 more but it will be in the ball park.

Vino'sGhost

PhotoNic69 wrote:

I'd stay well clear of such a wide ranging 5-110Nm torque wrench. At that price and wide range it's likely to be vague at any given setting. Might as well guess unless you are using the higher range.

Most bike torques are around 5-10Nm so get one that covers 2-20 or so and you'll be fine. I use 120Nm on my car's wheel nuts as reference. That CRC one looks perfect. It wont be as accurate as a Wera costing £110 more but it will be in the ball park.

mmmm Wera.

Most of the torque wrenches are made by a british company (name escapes me) and then rebadged, sometimes they look slightly different.

As it happens, I think youre right about the wide ranging onees

david7m

Thanks all for the replies. Gonna have the CRC one
Dave

janwal

That’s a good price. I have the same one from Rose Bike’s that I got on offer and at present are £50 posted.They appear with lots of different names on them if you look around. Probably all made in the same Chinese factory!

ayjaycee

For low range (ie. most stuff on a carbon bike), I've got a Park Tools thing which has been properly calibrated by an aircraft engineer mate of mine in his workshop. Another mate has got one from Superstar Components and it seems as accurate as mine but cost less than half. I don't know whether they still sell them but it looks very similar to those sold under in-house brand names by the usual suspects such as Evans, Wiggle etc. FWIW, I've also got a Ritchey Torquekey which can be had for well under £20 (with bit set) and which is also accurate against my Park jobbie. It is a simple thing which is pre-set to 5NM only and, again, will do most jobs on a carbon bike. As somebody else mentioned, I would stay away from anything that claimed to do a range anything like 5 - 100NM.

Somebody else will be along in a minute to tell you that you don't need a torque wrench and should just use the force.

Vino'sGhost

I’m not sure how accurate the wrenches need to be.

Perhaps with the exception of a few forks and shocks about right is good enough

Shimano cassette 40nm yet the dealer notes say 30 to 50 mm that’s a massive difference.

Stem 5 to 6 nm 20%

Plus 4% variance on most torque wrenches.

I use one because why not but I don’t recall crushing things or them coming loose in the thirty years before that.

Thinking about what you’re doing and why is what’s needed, not removing brain.

veronese68

Vino'sGhost wrote:

I’m not sure how accurate the wrenches need to be.

Even if the wrench is 100% accurate the clamping pressure will vary according to the amount of resistance in the threads. As you say about right is good enough. Giving a torque setting gives manufacturers a get out if some gorilla breaks something by overtightening it.

craigus89

The only time I've used a torque wrench and found it useful is when something needs to be tighter than I thought. I bought one out of concern I may crush some of my carbon bits as I'm sure is the reason many buy them, but I can't think of a situation where without the torque wrench I would have fitted it any tighter anyway.

Killerclown

Craigus89 wrote:

but I can't think of a situation where without the torque wrench I would have fitted it any tighter anyway.

They are invaluable for tightening up stem bolts on Carbon, and HT 2 type cranks, where getting the right torque is critical. Not enough and you’ll have problems of one sort, too much, and you’ll have equally serious problems. You’d be surprised how crap most people are at judging the correct torque by feel / not using a proper torque tool.

Vino'sGhost

Killerclown wrote:

Craigus89 wrote:

but I can't think of a situation where without the torque wrench I would have fitted it any tighter anyway.

They are invaluable for tightening up stem bolts on Carbon, and HT 2 type cranks, where getting the right torque is critical. Not enough and you’ll have problems of one sort, too much, and you’ll have equally serious problems. You’d be surprised how crap most people are at judging the correct torque by feel / not using a proper torque tool.

critical? dont talk pish.

veronese68

Vino'sGhost wrote:

critical? dont talk pish.

It's all he knows how to do. :roll:

redvee

The CRC X-Tools Torque Wrench looks identical to the Jobsworth offering from Planet X but cheaper though I paid £30 for mine from Planet X when I bought mine. One tip I learned is to store the wrench with the dial wound right off.

ayjaycee

ayjaycee wrote:

Somebody else will be along in a minute to tell you that you don't need a torque wrench and should just use the force.

Told you so!

craigus89

ayjaycee wrote:

ayjaycee wrote:

Somebody else will be along in a minute to tell you that you don't need a torque wrench and should just use the force.

Told you so!

Which proves your point, or proves your point was wrong?

Killerclown

Vino'sGhost wrote:

Killerclown wrote:

Craigus89 wrote:

but I can't think of a situation where without the torque wrench I would have fitted it any tighter anyway.

They are invaluable for tightening up stem bolts on Carbon, and HT 2 type cranks, where getting the right torque is critical. Not enough and you’ll have problems of one sort, too much, and you’ll have equally serious problems. You’d be surprised how crap most people are at judging the correct torque by feel / not using a proper torque tool.

critical? dont talk pish.

It’s fairly critical if the stem rotates on you, or the crank detaches at speed.

Vino'sGhost

Killerclown wrote:

Vino'sGhost wrote:

Killerclown wrote:

Craigus89 wrote:

but I can't think of a situation where without the torque wrench I would have fitted it any tighter anyway.

They are invaluable for tightening up stem bolts on Carbon, and HT 2 type cranks, where getting the right torque is critical. Not enough and you’ll have problems of one sort, too much, and you’ll have equally serious problems. You’d be surprised how crap most people are at judging the correct torque by feel / not using a proper torque tool.

critical? dont talk pish.

It’s fairly critical if the stem rotates on you, or the crank detaches at speed.

if you ride around with a loose Stem because you didnt think about nipping it up youre an idiot and better off out of the gene pool.

likewise with your cranks. Mind you Shimano even have a little tag on their cranks so that idiots like you don't kill themselves

david7m

Very pleased with the CRC job! Interesting to see that 5nm is more than I had done by hand previously.
Dave

photonic69

david7m wrote:

Very pleased with the CRC job! Interesting to see that 5nm is more than I had done by hand previously.
Dave

Yes! I too found that my "expert hand judgement of torque " was quite a bit less than the wrench told me for 5&6 Nm. Obviously both our wrenches are way out and faulty and we should trust "The force"

daniel_b

Just for reference, these are the items I bought as recommended by a chap on here some 5-6 years ago, really good quality, and a vast range of bits for less than £50:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-8-inch-2-24nm-1-47-17-70lb-ft-Micrometer/dp/B000RO1ZCG/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1541154921&sr=1-1&keywords=Sealey+3%2F8-inch+sq+2-24nm%2F1.47-17.70lb.ft+Torque+Wrench+Micrometer+Style+Drive

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-33323-TX-Star-Hexagon-Mechanics/dp/B00HNU6JVE/ref=sr_1_5?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1541154965&sr=1-5&keywords=draper+bit+set

david7m

PhotoNic69 wrote:

david7m wrote:

Very pleased with the CRC job! Interesting to see that 5nm is more than I had done by hand previously.
Dave

Yes! I too found that my "expert hand judgement of torque " was quite a bit less than the wrench told me for 5&6 Nm. Obviously both our wrenches are way out and faulty and we should trust "The force"

david7m

Daniel B wrote:

Just for reference, these are the items I bought as recommended by a chap on here some 5-6 years ago, really good quality, and a vast range of bits for less than £50:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-8-inch-2-24nm-1-47-17-70lb-ft-Micrometer/dp/B000RO1ZCG/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1541154921&sr=1-1&keywords=Sealey+3%2F8-inch+sq+2-24nm%2F1.47-17.70lb.ft+Torque+Wrench+Micrometer+Style+Drive

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-33323-TX-Star-Hexagon-Mechanics/dp/B00HNU6JVE/ref=sr_1_5?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1541154965&sr=1-5&keywords=draper+bit+set

Nice sets!

For once i read the instruction and wasnt aware you arent supposed to use the torque wrench as a wrench.

Dave

edward.s

I have a Wera which is, I suspect, made under contract by Norbar. Its 1-25nm and very nice to use. If you are in Park Tools spending range then I'd go for the Wera instead for sure.

Other than that, I also have one of the M-part ones with a bit set in the case and at the cheaper end its plenty good enough, I only got the Wera as I am a tool junkie and I had some (non-bike related) fixings which were supposed to be 2nm and the M-part one doesn't go that low.