Dumbest question of the year !

shipley
shipley Posts: 549
edited November 2018 in Workshop
I’ve just (finally !) bought a torque wrench set in the Black Friday sales which is something I should’ve done years ago.

So here’s the stupid question.......is there a standard setting for various components or is it dependent on the component and therefore should it be displayed on the component ? By component I mean seatpost collar / stem bolts / bottle cages etc.

Answers please when you've stopped laughing !!

Comments

  • big_harv
    big_harv Posts: 512
    Manufacturers will have specced this, but Park Tools publish recommended torque values.
  • Not a dumb question at all. Lots of parts have varying torque values. If you're lucky the clamp or bolt you are tightening will have the max torque written somewhere (often on stems or seatpost clamps).

    The dumbest question of the year was whether Di2 shifting would work without the battery connected...
  • A lot of critical components have values marked on them ( seat post, stem, cranks and the like) some you can just tighten, until they feel ‘tight enough’ ( saddles, nutted axels etc ). It depends how critical overtightening damaging them is, and risky under tightening them is.
  • shipley
    shipley Posts: 549
    Thanks guys
  • Bumo_b
    Bumo_b Posts: 211
    I always go for less if I am unsure of the torque and struggle to find the value online, most times nothing more than 4nm with carbon. Obviously if it is written on the part or you have the spec for your exact part then follow that. If an item has multiple bolts then I lighlty finger tighten from corner to corner, then go up 1nm from 2nm each round to keep the torque across the item even.
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    generally:

    4-6 Nm for stems, 'bars, seat posts
    40 Nm for casettes.

    thats it really.

    remember to copperslip everything that doesn't move, normal moly everything that does move.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    When you store the torque wrench wind the dial back to zero. I was pretty sure this was the right thing to do but still asked the mechanic in work.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • lincolndave
    lincolndave Posts: 9,441
    redvee wrote:
    When you store the torque wrench wind the dial back to zero. I was pretty sure this was the right thing to do but still asked the mechanic in work.

    Yes it is the correct thing to do, I learnt that many years ago when I was an apprentice
  • shipley
    shipley Posts: 549
    Great, thanks again all.

    4-6nm is what most bolts on my CX bike state so that's a good shout. Wrench arrived yesterday so i will have a play. The instructions say to wind it back to zero when finished.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    Shipley wrote:
    The instructions say to wind it back to zero when finished.

    You're doing it all wrong, who RTFM before using a new tool/gadget etc? :lol:
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.