which torque wrench ?

bertypreston
bertypreston Posts: 158
edited April 2011 in MTB buying advice
Im done with tightening things up and hoping that they are tight enough/not too tight, decided to dig deep and get my selofa proper tool.

had a look on google & ebay , theres loads under £25 , just dont know which is best suited to bicycle nut tightening.

can somebody please send me a link to an online seller (ebay is fine with me)

Cheers in advance.

Rob

Comments

  • gtd.
    gtd. Posts: 626
    Norbar torque wrenches are good, Roebuck (Buck and Hickman) and Halfords (Professional) are re-branded norbars
    Mountain: Orange Patriot FR, SubZero & Evo2LE.
    Road: Tifosi Race Custom.
    Do it all bike: Surly Disc Trucker 700c/29er
  • had a look on website, firstly they are £69-£79 ! secondly if i were to spash out whats best 40-200Nm, 60-300Nm, or 8-60Nm ?

    Ta
  • Rich9
    Rich9 Posts: 1,635
    I'm no expert but I'd have thought 8-60Nm. For example, stem bolts are only supposed to be tightened to 5Nm
    2014 Whyte T-129S
  • I went through the same search recently. About the only commonly available "affordable" torque wrench that goes low enough for bikes (should go from about 2NM to 20NM for 95% of bike jobs) is this one:

    http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... FUQ8wIwAg#

    Or you could just learn by tightening til it snaps / strips threads / rounds the bolt - then that's too tight so dont do it again. If it falls off - that's too loose. ;)

    ##Edit: also available here a bit cheaper and with some reviews:
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Torque-Wrench-M ... 862&sr=8-3

    And I forgot to say it doesnt come with any hex bits etc. You'll ned 3/8 socket type bits for whatever you want to tighten - hopefully youll have these in your existing socket set.
  • crispi03
    crispi03 Posts: 1
    http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/SubCategor ... 334_202376

    I use this tool frequently....it is not the best, nor the worst either....and I wrench on bikes for money.

    And, reduce torque values (20 to 30%) by first applying this stuff that, in the shop, have dubbed "space jelly"

    http://www.amazon.com/Finish-Line-Bicyc ... B0012RIEM6
  • gtd.
    gtd. Posts: 626
    had a look on website, firstly they are £69-£79 ! secondly if i were to spash out whats best 40-200Nm, 60-300Nm, or 8-60Nm ?

    Ta

    Norbars are expensive but accurate and easy to use. I use the Roebuck version at work SL1 iirc and the small and medium Halfords ones at home which are cheaper but just as easy to read but bargain ones appear on ebay from time to time the Norbar SL0 is best for bikes as its available in 1-20 or 4-20 Nm

    If you think they are expensive you should see the price for Snap-On Digital torque wrenches.

    If you want something cheap and accurate you can got pre set torque keys Richey do a 5Nm one but thats around 17 quid

    I use this Halfords Professional Torque Wrench 8-60Nm Cat code: 200238-0

    but if I was to buy again I'd get the SL0
    Mountain: Orange Patriot FR, SubZero & Evo2LE.
    Road: Tifosi Race Custom.
    Do it all bike: Surly Disc Trucker 700c/29er
  • couldashouldawoulda
    couldashouldawoulda Posts: 186
    edited April 2011
    crispi03- welcome to the forum. I must say that is a strange first post with a link included to something in the USA and then something lube related?

    I'm not generally suspicious but ..... now I am.

    Is he spamming? God I hate that!
  • GTD: that halfords wrench is far far too highly strung for a bike: 8NM+. Theres only one or two bolts on an alli bike that need that kind of torque, way way less for anything with carbon ( eg 2NM for rotor bolts, 4NM for Stem bolts etc).
  • gtd.
    gtd. Posts: 626
    The only thing I've used it for on my bike is square taper crank bolts and the two clamping bolts on the non drive side mega exo crank as I wanted them tight without snapping something.

    I tighten everything by feel usually, I only have torque wrenches for stretch bolts on engines and stuff.

    I may buy a smaller wrench, probably a 1-20 Nm SL0 someday when I'm not spending on other stuff
    Mountain: Orange Patriot FR, SubZero & Evo2LE.
    Road: Tifosi Race Custom.
    Do it all bike: Surly Disc Trucker 700c/29er
  • GTD- I agree with you! I got paranoid about torque when I got some carbon bits. Otherwise I dont think I needed it and could survive without it.

    BTW IME after getting the torque meter I realised I seriously over tightened smaller bolts and slightly under tightend larger ones.
  • Think I might just invest in some good double head , long handled hex keys instead , looking around the bike theres not actually that much I can see with torque specification, no carbon either.

    Thanks for the help anyways, may invest in the sealy one at a later date. Rob
  • turpinr
    turpinr Posts: 255
    GTD. wrote:
    Norbar torque wrenches are good, Roebuck (Buck and Hickman) and Halfords (Professional) are re-branded norbars
    norbar
  • This one is bike specific and comes with the relevant allen and torx drivers.
  • ^^ yer but i hear it rubbish and brakes a lot due to poor quality torque bar inside.

    click wrenchs are never going to be good that why none of them have a lifetime warrenty unlike the rest, beam ones i am told are by far the best ie TW1 style.
    London2Brighton Challange 100k!
    http://www.justgiving.com/broxbourne-runners