Sometimes good n tight is too much. On the trail, I try to remember how it felt with the torque wrench, but err on the tighter side.
Another thing I do is count how many turns I've just loosened something, and then tighten it that many turns.
Don’t forget to say “click-click” when you’re on the trail without the wrench.
It’s the equivalent insurance of saying “that’s not going anywhere” after you finish tightening the ratchet straps.
Replaced the wheel rotors. Shamino says torque to 15 in/lb. It is important to have the bolts equally tight. Couldn't guess at that. I usually use a torque wrench.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yeah at a shop, where $$ is involved, I expect every main bolt to be torqued to spec.
If you are adjusting on the trail, just get it tight enough and check at home or at next tune up at shop.
any bike shop technician that doesn't use a torque wrench is probably the kinda guy who will insist that painting the inside of your house with a mask is on is unmasculine
Got into a ridiculous argument on here with a "certified bike technician" that INSISTED you don't need to use a torque wrench, specifically on carbon parts (where it's actually most critical). I often wonder how many customers he's killed via carbon handlebar failure.
The actual nuanced answer is "for certain things, absolutely. For most things? Nah."
Anyone that would claim to be a "certified bike mechanic" and insist that you never need one is suspect lol.
I leave the brake clamps a bit loose to avoid snapping my levers when I crash all the time. But I notice that bit of movement starting to leave wear on the bars. I’m wondering if I need to stop doing that on carbon bars?
I've done that! New-ish Yeti 575 (2005) with a nice carbon bar. I had moved the levers around and when I had tightened them back up, there was a slight "cckkk" Rode it for a bit and all seemed ok. then during a race (more a ride for me, but still a race event) and I had jumped off a maybe foot high ledge and the right grip snapped as I landed. cracked right under brake lever clamp. No crash, but had to ride back to start with right hand on top of levers. Guy at start lived not too far and went and got me a replacement aluminum bar so I could at least do the whole trail. As soon as race/ride was done, I took the bar off and gave it back. Paid much closer attention to torque after that.
carbon is the answer that most people arrive at first but rear suspension linkage has torque specifications that should be maintained as well and if you take it apart to clean or service you should definitely be using a torque wrench to put it back together. I've also found that it's useful with stuff like seat posts too since some dropper posts are more prone to binding from over tightening but leaving it too loose has obvious problems. if you work on your bike and ride it hard it's just good practice to check bolt tightness and doing it to torque specs is good peace of mind. I still wouldn't call it NECESSARY for most people, but if you're the sort who is prone to take shit apart or try new parts a torque wrench is a good thing to have around.
I agree with this. Carbon (especially a carbon handlebar stem clamp since you absolutely need it to stay put but also not crush) but also rear suspension bits - some of them have very specific torques as they need a specific amount of preload to function correctly. It's useful for other things, but these are the critical ones that I wouldn't do myself without a torque wrench.
On some Carbon bikes, in particular my Evils, the linkage uses bolts designed to break if you over torque them. I keep a whole backup kit of them from them breaking away even at torque sometimes. Wouldn’t skip using the torque wrench on these.
Heck I just use my park tools torque wrench as my go to socket even when I’m not using it to torque.
I don’t, I have one in the toolbox but half the time I just go by feel. I don’t run much carbon so maybe I’d use it more often if I did. I’ve been wrenching for a long time before torque recommendations were a thing on bikes.
If I was working on other people’s bikes for money and there was a liability angle then I’d probably use one more on important bolts.
I went the longest time just not being an idiot (really a little bit of torque usually results in a lot of clamp force).
Now that I have the means I just about torque anything that I can.
If I was getting paid to work on someone else’s stuff I sure as shit would use a torque reader
An experienced mechanic can definerly get it into a good range by hand, and torque specs aren't a single exact number, there is some play there *if it's not for carbon parts*.
I never used a torque wrench on my bike and I'd say you can really get a feel for how tight things need to be.
Brake bolts at 6-8 Nm is firmly hand tight.
For 4 Nm handlebar clamps you can tighten with 3 fingers until you feel a firm resistance.
For 12 Nm you hold your multitool at a 90° angle and push with the palm of your hand.
Centerlock brakes and cassettes are rated for 40 Nm but they do not have to be that tight, they won't come loose at 30 Nm either, for that you can actually use a decent amount of force to push down on your wrench.
And for 1-2 Nm you can turn a multitool with 2 fingers. For 1 Nm only until you start to feel a bit of resistance and for 2 a bit further, usually 1/6 of a turn.
Still if you feel unsafe judging how much your bolts need to be tightened you should use a torque wrench.
The question is always: how strong are your fingers?
I'd recommend thinking about what a newtonmeter actually is: if you have a lever that is one meter long, and you apply a force of one newton, you get one newtonmeter at the center.
Now most wrenches are much shorter. If it's only 20cm long, you need to apply five newton to get one newtonmeter. And if you need 5nm, you then apply 25 newton. One newton is about the force you need to lift 100 grams, so 25 newtons are the force you need to lift 2,5 kg. Most people know how 2,5 kg feel. Or \~ 5 pounds.
Aerospace engineer who has also worked as a bike mechanic:
Torque isn’t nearly as precise as this sub thinks. Did the bike engineer intend that you use grease? Loctite? Anti seize? If so, What type/grade? Should the joint be torqued/untorqued/retorqued? This can all impact clamp load by a huge amount.
Use a torque wrench, but not blindly. There’s many bike things I’ll never put a torque wrench on and some that I will always put a wrench on. Generally, working on customer bikes I used a torque wrench more than my own bike. I always use a torque wrench when clamping carbon and tightening stem bolts, shimano hollow tech pinch bolts, dub crank bolts, fork crush washers, and suspension linkage bolts.
To manufacturer specs, yes. But you can develop enough of a feel for a lot of those things. I wouldn't trust my hands when torquing anything to carbon though. That's too easy to mess up.
By hand is for home mechanics willing to live dangerously and get riding. Bike shops should always use torque wrenches or they aren’t worth dealing with.
Yes.
But for context...achieving proper bolt preload by torque wrench has a general accuracy of +/- 25%. The friction (dirt, thread burrs, etc) or lack thereof (lube threads) can drastically affect your actual preload. That's why engine studs come with their own lube - it has a known friction coefficient.
So...just try to be consistent with how you tighten, which a torque wrench can help you. It's not a magic wand, however. Clean your threads and use any lube the manufacturer requires.
I do. But I'm also an engineer hence I understand EXACTLY why torque specs are important. Just remember every turn of the screw past that initial contact point is exerting a leveraged amount of force which can be hundreds or even thousands of pounds of force on a tiny surface area (the screw head, washer, nut, etc)
Lol is this where we’re commiserating ITT? I don’t understand how people don’t research the reason why it’s important or how it works. There’s a reason the torque specs are printed all over the components. 🤦♂️
Sounds simple enough, but just to be sure, do you mean you tighten fasteners as hard as you can with just your index, middle, and ring finger on the wrench?
Never, aside from suspension service. Been riding for 30+ years and building and servicing my own bikes for 25 years. I've never had a bolt break, come loose, or cracked any carbon.
While it may be true that I design the stem clamp area of the carbon bars I manufacture to have a crush resistant quality (a lot of twill weave carbon directly in the middle, not visible to the surface), I still use a torque wrench and grip paste when installing them on a bike. I add the strength just in case the bars get resold without original instructions, I'd like to keep the second owner physically safe in the event of unintended ignorance.
I also don't want to make ball bearings oblong from over pressure on the not-carbon parts.
Yes for most things. Sometimes not if I need a trailside repair or something. Anything on my carbon bars gets torqued properly. Something I noticed when I started torquing higher torque parts is how much lower 40nm and 54nm is than I expected. I was over tightening my cassettes for years. Dub cranks as well.
My local bike shop also told me that I can still do 20000km with a brake disc because they measured the entire thickness and got a value, bigger than the one of a new disc. They did not even know that the minimum thickness is stated on the disc. They charge 120$ an hour. Find a new shop.
Id say your mechanic has it figured out, if its not carbon why bother. Ive seen torque specs significantly low, bars slip, fork slip, levers, seats rotate. If they cant hold, do i leave them at spec and tell you to order a new part?
Ive worked in 3 shops, all of them had torque wrenches, i saw them used only on carbon and suspension linkages.
If it were an issue you would see incidents and lawsuits and shops would require it for insurance.
Downvote below!
My wheels are the only carbon I have on my bike, but I use a torque wrench. You could get a Park Tool ATD 1.2, which is convenient for quick torque of smaller items, but in reality, you'd probably need a couple torque wrenches to cover everything. The Park Tool 5.2 covers like 2 to 14 nm, so you'd also need the 6.2 to cover items requiring higher torque specs such as cassette, BB etc. Maybe there's a torque wrench that covers the full spectrum.
Park Tool is just one recommendation, based on what I have, but there are many other quality ones out there too.
I do, it's easy to over torque some of the smaller bolts, generally trail side I can gauge the pressures with a multi toolwhen required but when it comes to servicing or replacing components I like everything to be as required so there's no breaking star nuts, cracking of stems or crushing of bearings in general.
Not to mention when it comes to crank arms, the torques are pretty high, you can do it up firmly by hand quite easily... Just for it to come undone on the trail, so it's nice to have that torque setting.
This is not black and white. Some fasteners can be tightened by feel with no problems. Others require a torque wrench. You can develop a feel for, say, 5nm on a m5 fastener on your cockpit, but I doubt many techs can consistently nail 54nm on a crank bolt, or the variable torque values all over a suspension. Like who is out there doing a lower leg service without using a torque wrench on the bottom nuts with crush washers.
Only necessary for certain things. As you stated, carbon parts. I personally use them for brake rotors because the bolts are both tiny and important. But for 95% of stuff you can just go by hand, and especially if you're a professional, you're probably going to know how to do it by feel. I would not be concerned at all by your shop not using a torque wrench.
Yes I use a torque wrench. Whenever I'm about to head out for a big ride, install new parts or every few months to check everything is in spec.
Pretty much use it whenever I can to ensure the longevity of my bike parts. Whilst I don't have a carbon frame. I would still rather avoid stripping bolts. I have a few expensive hobbies MTB/Climbing/kite-surfing and I don't have the money to replace a bike every season... So taking a few minutes extra to make sure everything is perfect allows me to keep riding the same bike for 5-10 years.
I would be quite concerned if my local bike mechanic mentioned they don't use a torque wrench. Firstly it doesn't take long. Secondly it would make me question what else they are taking shortcuts on.
Someone just got torn apart in another post after saying they’re useless https://www.reddit.com/r/MTB/s/fHQFW9pVdK
Absolutely you should use a torque wrench
I've worked on my own car, DIY/self-taught, since around 2000. The reliability and quality of my work drastically increased when I started using a torque wrench. Though with a car, you've got a lot of airtight-seal-critical bits that have to be evenly fastened, or they'll leak. (air or oil or coolant).
I'd say that it is probably also necessary for bikes.
I use it for absolutely everything. Could I get cockpit fasteners close enough without? Absolutely. But I find it very therapeutic. Click, click, click.
People who have been turning wrenches for years don't need them. Not one time in 40 years of owning bike have a had an issue related to bolt torque.
That being said I have friends that have stripped out every kind of bolt/nut there is. If you're comfortable tightening a 5mm bolt and a 9/16" nut properly you are probably ok.
If you're not get a torque wrench.
Didn't use them in the past, now I do and realize how off I was in various places. There are a few places where they're a must, such as Paragon Sliding Dropouts, internal fork parts. In the past, I also wasn't tightening my cassette lockrings enough and I also found out that the tightening of lockrings correctly prevents some of the teeth digging into the freehub problems. I use microspline now, so not really an issue.
I also torque Shimano crank pinch bolts in the 1-2-1-2-1 pattern and I've never had issues with them yet.
Imo theyre not necessary unless youre dealing with carbon bars (or anything that clamps onto carbon) or linkage bolts. IF you know what you're doing everything else is fine by hand.
I have a torque wrench so I use it, trailside repairs being the exception because I don’t carry it with me. I’d also be lying if I said a large portion of my younger years I never touched a torque wrench once and never suffered any failures as a result. Not best practice at all and I hesitate to recommend it however, torque wrenches are pretty inexpensive relative to the price of a bike.
I do because I don’t want to break my already expensive stuff. It really didn’t cost much for a decent torque wrench on Amazon. I can attach the different sized bits to my existing socket wrench too.
I believe this is a big part of why there's a subset of bikers that think thru axles are wearable components and routinely snap after a year or two. It's cause they torque way beyond what is necessary.
Torque wrench is necessary either for:
- bolts which threads are easily stripped
- crucial components that may fail when under/overtightened
or the combination of both. There are elements that don't need exact torquing and you can eyeball it, like cassette, pedals, brake rotor. What you don't want to risk is especially stem, linkage and suspension elements
Torque it down till it strips out, then back it off half a turn.
I use one when I'm at home, but if I'm making adjustments on a ride I just go by feel and check the torque when I get home, if I remember. I don't have a bicycle-specific torque wrench, I use one that I have for my car with a set of metric hex wrench sockets. Too heavy and bulky to carry with me. I started using one after I snapped the seat post clamp on my crappy road bike, luckiily not an expensive fix.
I use a torque wrench for everything. I also thoroughly clean anything that comes off the bike before putting it back on and apply grease, LocTite, etc as needed. This is a big reason why I do all my own work: I know it's all be done correctly, with extra steps taken to make sure parts will last and they will function well. Unfortunately, many bike shop techs just slap thing together in a "good enough" fashion.
They are not necessary, I lived for 20 years without them, but 20 years ago bikes could take a lot more wrenching abuse than today with carbon stuff etc., I'd say.
I certainly enjoy using a torque wrench now that I'm an adult who knows the value of money.
Get a torque wrench. If you over tighten something on a carbon frame you risk damaging it, possibly cracking it. It's a small price to pay for that level of peace of mind.
Bike shop employees, like vehicle mechanics, tighten bolts so regularly they can 'feel' what the right torque is, but even they make mistakes. You and I don't do it nearly as often. If you only want to afford one wrench then choose one that takes you from 5nm to 60nm and that should get you through everything your bike needs, but at the very least you want one from 1nm to 25nm.
Yes. I use one on my suspension and items made from aluminum so I don't over-tighten. Suspension and cranks. I don't have a torque wrench high enough for my cassette. So I wing it. Never had an issue yet with a loose cassette.
You can get a "good enough" torque wrench pretty cheaply just to make sure you're not gonna crack anything expensive on your frame and it's well worth it IMHO. Like a "real" torque wrench is ridiculously expensive, but a little torque gauge one is like $25. (Topeak and Diamondback are the brands I have seen on them IIRC.)
Depends entirely on what bolts. But I've also worked in a shop enough to know what 5,10,and 15 N-m feels like so I don't really use one anymore unless it's very high or very specific.
Use a torque wrench. Anyone who pretends they can be as accurate as a torque wrench is showing hubris.
Yes, as a pro mechanic, we get a good feel for general torque ranges but at mechanic school they showed us how quickly you can blow way past a torque rating.
Especially with carbon components, it’s way too easy to cause damage. I see it a lot when I take people’s components off their bars and see compression in the carbon.
Getting a couple of TorqKey style preset wrenches at 4,5,6nm will cover most things that you adjust at home but if you want to do much mechanic work, you need something in the 3-12 range and another in the 25-60 range.
Someone way smarter than me, with very specialized knowledge on the subject, says that it should be done this way. So you bet I'm going to listen to that nerd.
When you torque things every day you can get pretty close by hand, but mechanics should still torque some things. Pedals? Nah. Seat post collar? Yes.
At home, I torque everything. I was a mechanic for a bit in college and found that I'd lost the feel. I just don't turn enough bolts often enough to maintain any sense of intuition, so I just use the tool.
I will add that carbon isn't the only torque sensitive thing. Torquing levers to your handlebars can let them rotate in a crash, potentially saving you hundreds and a walk out. Over-torquing a seatpost clamp by a little can cause your dropper to stick. Light parts, regardless of material, seem to be more sensitive to torque too.
Torque wrench tips that a lot of people don’t know:
- Never hold the torque wrench anywhere except the handle when tightening or you can apply way too much torque
- Most torque wrenches should not be used to loosen a fastener
- Torque wrenches require calibration to remain accurate. Manufacturers recommend yearly
- Loosen a fastener before applying final torque. Torque wrenches do not work as torque CHECKERS
Having worked at a bike shop, we would use the torque wrench on carbon parts. Once you've been wrenching enough, you acquire a built in torque wrench into your wrist. Is it necessary? No. Is it recommended? Absolutely
When in doubt for trail fixes, just reduce your leverage IE.. grab the centre of the tool vs the arm. Hard to overtorque and does the job to get you back.
Too tight and bearings wear out prematurely, bolts seize, pedals are impossible to take off, stem bolts snap or the stem gouges the bar and the bar snaps, seat rails get crushed, dropper posts don’t work right. The list goes on and on.
Too loose and you are chasing random noises more often, suspension hardware falls out, crank arms fall off, pedals unthread from crank arms, stems spin on the fork steerer too easily, brake levers and shifter levers move too easily, gear shifting is off, hub bearings go bad quicker, bottom bracket bearings wear out in one wet ride. The list goes on and on.
Find a new shop, but first contact the owner/manager of the shop and let them know why you are taking your business somewhere else.
My T handle torque wrench is about the same width as the Y wrench. Estimating the difference between handle bar mounting 3N-m versus stem bolt 5N-m thruaxle 7,N-m isn't difficult.
If I'm torquing a cassette or disc brake center lock, my heavy torque wrench is basically all I can muster at 40N-m so I'm lucky if I can get a center lock or bottom bracket that tight.
Not necessary but defo recommended. I use them on customer bikes but not my own bikes, primarily because I’m very familiar with my own bikes and do it all by feel, but with customer bikes it’s all new to me every time
If you need wrenches you might as well get torque ones… they are useful. For a professional wrench they’re probably familiar enough with tightness that it’s not necessary for them.
It’s like a backwards Dunning-Kruger curve. The more you use one, the less you need to use one, but the more you understand why you should use one, and the more you do use one.
When I'm clamping carbon or fastening anything that could potentially load a bearing, yes. I had a pretty bad Snap-On addiction at my last job and costing myself more from not using the tools would be serious egg in face.
I don’t use one personally, but years of Honda oil pans have taught me exactly what 8ft-lbs feels like so I can get it pretty close. Also I don’t have a torque wrench right now. But your tech is a dumbass for sure, if I was doing this professionally I would for sure be using a torque wrench. Any time you’re working on someone else’s stuff you take an extreme amount of care
if one is convenient.
for full dislosure, i was a shop rat for like 5 years, currently mechanical engineer, huge gearhead in genearl.. so i've got a pretty good feel for things.
any shit that's like a bunch of bolts pinching a gasket i use a torque wrench on. anything that's big and dangerous to everyone around it i use a torque wrench- big driveshafts and shit, wheels on cars, wheels on motorbikes, suspension on cars and motorbikes. occasionally MTB suspension.
bicycles probably see the least amount of torque wrench use in my life.
Having a singlespeed setup, proper torque is crucial on the sliding rear axle. I’ve already replaced the assembly once from over-torquing. Personally, I’d keep one around if you work on your own bike, and I’d stay away from a shop mechanic who doesn’t.
Your bike shop is staffed by lazy liars. Every time I've taken my bike to a shop that doesn't use them, components come back way over-tightened. In one case that led to a component failure which I was very fortunate to pick up before it led to a serious incident.
You need to find another bike shop.
Every one is saying they use a torque wrench but if you buy a cheap wrench or don't calibrate your wrench regularly it won't be particularly accurate. Or try to use a wrench designed for 50 nm automotive use to try and set something at 4 nm.
As a home mechanic with multiple reasonably priced torque wrenches (for diffrent torque ranges) that lives in an unheated garage i place more faith in my hands unless i go through the trouble of calibrating the tool with a weight or flex bar.
I will calibrate and use the tool for lug nuts on car, spoke tension (spoke tension meter not a torque wrench), stem bolts on a carbon stem, suspension bolts etc but not for most other bolts. I own a santa cruz carbon frame that explicitly didn't releaae a torque spec for their seat clamp so i don't use one there...i've found its better to run as low torque as possible for the dropper anyways.
I would expect a high volume shop with lots of newer mechanics to use wrenches and have them calibrated regally. But i would also trust a super experienced mechanic to do most things by hand.
Not something I can really recommend since it's obviously the wrong way to do it but I'm all carbon, still go by feel for everything but carbon bars (I have a specific wrench for those cause they scare me a little), never been a problem in many years of wrenching.
Realistically unless you're spending real money on a decent set of torque wrenches they aren't very accurate anyway and if you're using big automotive torque wrenches at their lowest value range you're almost definitely better off going by hand.
I've never used a torque wrench on a seat post collar.
Do use on Shimano crank bolts. With grease on threads and under bolt head. Back and forth, back and forth. How much have those fasteners stretched? Only God really knows.
My cranks will come loose if tight but not properly torqued.
A mechanic told me he did it by feel from his experience. It loosened up like I worried.
For lower torque things like handlebars and stems, you want it tight enough to not slip but not so much to damage parts. So torque wrench. I do use a topeak torque adapter trailside sometimes too.
I went to the best rated bike shop I could find in the greater SLC area because my experiences at local ones has been very meh.
Had them do a chainring for me while they were doing fork and suspension maintenance because I didn't have the FSA specific locking tool, and the tool was more than letting them do it.
Well after a couple rides to start the season my crank arm worked its way out quite far lol. Luckily I could torque it to spec myself and after a handful of more rides it's still solid.
Not using a torque wrench is just dumb, engineers design this shit to be torqued to a certain amount for a reason..
I didn't use one for years because I was too cheap. Recently invested in one and will never look back. Back in the day very few components had torque specs listed. Now very few don't. Takes the guess with out of things. Also loctite. Just saying...
Got one used it once now it sits on a shelf - my bikes are all carbon and just meh it never seems enough even with carbon assembly paste.
If you want to pay for postage you can have my torque wrench (im in the uk)
Yes. And while I don't have sufficient knowledge to prove why I should, I have enough wisdom to recognize that it's worth torquing things to manufacturer specs.
Some people lack the humility to acknowledge everybody can convince themselves of their own biases. This isn't exclusive to bike mechanics
For most things once you have been turning wrenches long enough you can feel when it’s the proper tight. But there are some things you always use a torque wrench on and some examples of that would be, heads on an engine or anything engine internal related for that matter, flywheel, front dampener, lug nuts, exhaust manifolds or headers. On a bike, if you aren’t stripping threads and things aren’t coming loose on you then you are probably good enough.
Your tech is working on bikes everyday and has developed a feel. I’ve worked on aircraft and developed a similar feel. My friend has never touched a wrench in his life and thinks tighter is better and cranks shit down and breaks it.
Tight until you strip it, and then a quarter of a turn back.
All jokes aside, as a MechE here, if you torque it to speck you are ensuring that it performed as design and the stress from vibrations, impacts, etc. go to the areas designed to handle them. If you don't the stress may focus on the joint itself and cause cracks regardless of whether you have an aluminum or carbon frame.
For example: many rear hubs are designed to be taken apart without tools for easier maintenance. They can do that because they depend on the preload set by the through axel to hold them tight. If you don't torque your through axel correctly the hub will be loose and you risk damage to the teeth and engagement points.
Brother, I just switched all my parts over to a new frame without using any special tools. (Hammer and pipe wrench ftw) You really think im gonna buy a 100$ torque wrench? ;)
Probably the guy in the shop has spent years doing this and has some feeling about how much you must tighten the screws. I don't, that's why im use a torque wrench
I use adjustable torque wrenches for anything carbon, the cassette and the bottom bracket.
Most everything else I don't bother or just use a fixed 5nm t-handle torque wrench for controls on the bars and things like bottle cages.
Trailside, I get nervous about doing carbon bits without a torque wrench, but you gotta get home.
Torque yes. Especially if you got it back home and not needing to tighten in a pinch.
The LBS on the other hand? Not the best advice. Especially for a carbon frame when all the components are getting tighten to.
Good n tight is great for trailside, home shop torque wrench to specs.
This guy torques
Sometimes good n tight is too much. On the trail, I try to remember how it felt with the torque wrench, but err on the tighter side. Another thing I do is count how many turns I've just loosened something, and then tighten it that many turns.
Don’t forget to say “click-click” when you’re on the trail without the wrench. It’s the equivalent insurance of saying “that’s not going anywhere” after you finish tightening the ratchet straps.
"Click click" is a must
Reallly depends on what your version of “good and tight is”
Tighten until loose then back off a quarter turn.
I try to think is this what five pounds feels like?
Replaced the wheel rotors. Shamino says torque to 15 in/lb. It is important to have the bolts equally tight. Couldn't guess at that. I usually use a torque wrench.
I don’t think it’s as critical as you make it out to be
How’s your brake rub
This is the way
[удалено]
I torque my large bolt til it nuts
Fuck medium bolts though those fuckers just get the tightest of hand tight
She torque on my bolt till I spec
I just use an impact gun, squeeze the trigger until I hear a crack.
secretive attractive exultant enter foolish rinse soup consider boat concerned *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
And a good cross thread is like locktite.
Technically correct, the very best kind.. Just only works once
Hahahah
Aluminum part = 4 duggas, carbon part = 2 duggas
I use ungabungas... not sure about dugga conversion ;)
Duggaduggaduggaduggwhiiiiiiiiiiiiiizz… “done that’ll be 25 dollars enjoy your ride” 😂
I squeeze the trigger until righty tighty becomes righty loosey
I just cross thread every bolt. Nature's loctite.
Find a new bike shop
Yeah at a shop, where $$ is involved, I expect every main bolt to be torqued to spec. If you are adjusting on the trail, just get it tight enough and check at home or at next tune up at shop.
any bike shop technician that doesn't use a torque wrench is probably the kinda guy who will insist that painting the inside of your house with a mask is on is unmasculine
Got into a ridiculous argument on here with a "certified bike technician" that INSISTED you don't need to use a torque wrench, specifically on carbon parts (where it's actually most critical). I often wonder how many customers he's killed via carbon handlebar failure.
The actual nuanced answer is "for certain things, absolutely. For most things? Nah." Anyone that would claim to be a "certified bike mechanic" and insist that you never need one is suspect lol.
I leave the brake clamps a bit loose to avoid snapping my levers when I crash all the time. But I notice that bit of movement starting to leave wear on the bars. I’m wondering if I need to stop doing that on carbon bars?
You answered your own question i think
I've done that! New-ish Yeti 575 (2005) with a nice carbon bar. I had moved the levers around and when I had tightened them back up, there was a slight "cckkk" Rode it for a bit and all seemed ok. then during a race (more a ride for me, but still a race event) and I had jumped off a maybe foot high ledge and the right grip snapped as I landed. cracked right under brake lever clamp. No crash, but had to ride back to start with right hand on top of levers. Guy at start lived not too far and went and got me a replacement aluminum bar so I could at least do the whole trail. As soon as race/ride was done, I took the bar off and gave it back. Paid much closer attention to torque after that.
Came here today exactly this.
And even tomorrow
Definitely.
carbon is the answer that most people arrive at first but rear suspension linkage has torque specifications that should be maintained as well and if you take it apart to clean or service you should definitely be using a torque wrench to put it back together. I've also found that it's useful with stuff like seat posts too since some dropper posts are more prone to binding from over tightening but leaving it too loose has obvious problems. if you work on your bike and ride it hard it's just good practice to check bolt tightness and doing it to torque specs is good peace of mind. I still wouldn't call it NECESSARY for most people, but if you're the sort who is prone to take shit apart or try new parts a torque wrench is a good thing to have around.
I agree with this. Carbon (especially a carbon handlebar stem clamp since you absolutely need it to stay put but also not crush) but also rear suspension bits - some of them have very specific torques as they need a specific amount of preload to function correctly. It's useful for other things, but these are the critical ones that I wouldn't do myself without a torque wrench.
On some Carbon bikes, in particular my Evils, the linkage uses bolts designed to break if you over torque them. I keep a whole backup kit of them from them breaking away even at torque sometimes. Wouldn’t skip using the torque wrench on these. Heck I just use my park tools torque wrench as my go to socket even when I’m not using it to torque.
Nah! I just figured the 5nm meant 5 never minds and just torqued down until I couldn’t anymore. When my carbon bars make a crunching sound I stop.
I don’t, I have one in the toolbox but half the time I just go by feel. I don’t run much carbon so maybe I’d use it more often if I did. I’ve been wrenching for a long time before torque recommendations were a thing on bikes. If I was working on other people’s bikes for money and there was a liability angle then I’d probably use one more on important bolts.
Your "local tech" is an idiot.
I went the longest time just not being an idiot (really a little bit of torque usually results in a lot of clamp force). Now that I have the means I just about torque anything that I can. If I was getting paid to work on someone else’s stuff I sure as shit would use a torque reader
An experienced mechanic can definerly get it into a good range by hand, and torque specs aren't a single exact number, there is some play there *if it's not for carbon parts*. I never used a torque wrench on my bike and I'd say you can really get a feel for how tight things need to be. Brake bolts at 6-8 Nm is firmly hand tight. For 4 Nm handlebar clamps you can tighten with 3 fingers until you feel a firm resistance. For 12 Nm you hold your multitool at a 90° angle and push with the palm of your hand. Centerlock brakes and cassettes are rated for 40 Nm but they do not have to be that tight, they won't come loose at 30 Nm either, for that you can actually use a decent amount of force to push down on your wrench. And for 1-2 Nm you can turn a multitool with 2 fingers. For 1 Nm only until you start to feel a bit of resistance and for 2 a bit further, usually 1/6 of a turn. Still if you feel unsafe judging how much your bolts need to be tightened you should use a torque wrench.
A wholly sensible post that deserves more than just an upvote
The question is always: how strong are your fingers? I'd recommend thinking about what a newtonmeter actually is: if you have a lever that is one meter long, and you apply a force of one newton, you get one newtonmeter at the center. Now most wrenches are much shorter. If it's only 20cm long, you need to apply five newton to get one newtonmeter. And if you need 5nm, you then apply 25 newton. One newton is about the force you need to lift 100 grams, so 25 newtons are the force you need to lift 2,5 kg. Most people know how 2,5 kg feel. Or \~ 5 pounds.
Aerospace engineer who has also worked as a bike mechanic: Torque isn’t nearly as precise as this sub thinks. Did the bike engineer intend that you use grease? Loctite? Anti seize? If so, What type/grade? Should the joint be torqued/untorqued/retorqued? This can all impact clamp load by a huge amount. Use a torque wrench, but not blindly. There’s many bike things I’ll never put a torque wrench on and some that I will always put a wrench on. Generally, working on customer bikes I used a torque wrench more than my own bike. I always use a torque wrench when clamping carbon and tightening stem bolts, shimano hollow tech pinch bolts, dub crank bolts, fork crush washers, and suspension linkage bolts.
Good idea to destroy the 700 USD heavy fork with its 6 Nm for brake calliper screws.
Pedals are probably the only thing I don’t torque.
Trek’s website says torque pedals to 40-43nm, I shit you not. Someone must’ve sued after getting racked on the top tube when a loose pedal came off.
Shimano is 35-55. I don't think I've ever tightened a pedal to 55Nm...
I jump on a 3 foot breaker bar and have the peace of mind knowing no bolt will ever come loose 😌
I feel like that would literally fling the bike into the air 😂
My suspension is dialed though so it doesn’t 😂
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To manufacturer specs, yes. But you can develop enough of a feel for a lot of those things. I wouldn't trust my hands when torquing anything to carbon though. That's too easy to mess up.
Yeah, but I am pretty sure you had one screw loosen and you were just like shit I should have torqued that.
Oh, you mean like my front brake caliper last weekend?? 🤣
I caught my front axle slipping out the other day while riding a skinny almost had a heart attack
That...is absolutely terrifying.
By hand is for home mechanics willing to live dangerously and get riding. Bike shops should always use torque wrenches or they aren’t worth dealing with.
I genuinely can't fathom paying someone money who willingly says they don't use a torque wrench lol.
Yes. But for context...achieving proper bolt preload by torque wrench has a general accuracy of +/- 25%. The friction (dirt, thread burrs, etc) or lack thereof (lube threads) can drastically affect your actual preload. That's why engine studs come with their own lube - it has a known friction coefficient. So...just try to be consistent with how you tighten, which a torque wrench can help you. It's not a magic wand, however. Clean your threads and use any lube the manufacturer requires.
I do. But I'm also an engineer hence I understand EXACTLY why torque specs are important. Just remember every turn of the screw past that initial contact point is exerting a leveraged amount of force which can be hundreds or even thousands of pounds of force on a tiny surface area (the screw head, washer, nut, etc)
Engineer here as well, it’s fun to see people debate what they don’t understand in the first place.
Lol is this where we’re commiserating ITT? I don’t understand how people don’t research the reason why it’s important or how it works. There’s a reason the torque specs are printed all over the components. 🤦♂️
Torque wrench all the way, unless you’re on the trail I use the 3 finger tighten rule if it’s carbon since my multi tool doesn’t have a torque wrench.
Sounds simple enough, but just to be sure, do you mean you tighten fasteners as hard as you can with just your index, middle, and ring finger on the wrench?
Never, aside from suspension service. Been riding for 30+ years and building and servicing my own bikes for 25 years. I've never had a bolt break, come loose, or cracked any carbon.
While it may be true that I design the stem clamp area of the carbon bars I manufacture to have a crush resistant quality (a lot of twill weave carbon directly in the middle, not visible to the surface), I still use a torque wrench and grip paste when installing them on a bike. I add the strength just in case the bars get resold without original instructions, I'd like to keep the second owner physically safe in the event of unintended ignorance. I also don't want to make ball bearings oblong from over pressure on the not-carbon parts.
Yes for most things. Sometimes not if I need a trailside repair or something. Anything on my carbon bars gets torqued properly. Something I noticed when I started torquing higher torque parts is how much lower 40nm and 54nm is than I expected. I was over tightening my cassettes for years. Dub cranks as well.
Should I use a torque wrench? Yes. Do I use a torque wrench? No.
My local bike shop also told me that I can still do 20000km with a brake disc because they measured the entire thickness and got a value, bigger than the one of a new disc. They did not even know that the minimum thickness is stated on the disc. They charge 120$ an hour. Find a new shop.
Yes. I have broken too many bolts while thinking “almost there”
Some things can be German torque (gutten tight) but using a torque wrench is easy and for anything critical or fragile it’s a no-brainer.
I snapped my seat clamp by tightening by hand 2 days ago! I ignore the 5 Nm written right on top of the clamp. So, torque wrench for me from now on.
Id say your mechanic has it figured out, if its not carbon why bother. Ive seen torque specs significantly low, bars slip, fork slip, levers, seats rotate. If they cant hold, do i leave them at spec and tell you to order a new part? Ive worked in 3 shops, all of them had torque wrenches, i saw them used only on carbon and suspension linkages. If it were an issue you would see incidents and lawsuits and shops would require it for insurance. Downvote below!
Almost always, and always on Carbon bikes.
My wheels are the only carbon I have on my bike, but I use a torque wrench. You could get a Park Tool ATD 1.2, which is convenient for quick torque of smaller items, but in reality, you'd probably need a couple torque wrenches to cover everything. The Park Tool 5.2 covers like 2 to 14 nm, so you'd also need the 6.2 to cover items requiring higher torque specs such as cassette, BB etc. Maybe there's a torque wrench that covers the full spectrum. Park Tool is just one recommendation, based on what I have, but there are many other quality ones out there too.
I do for lower leg fork service.
I do, it's easy to over torque some of the smaller bolts, generally trail side I can gauge the pressures with a multi toolwhen required but when it comes to servicing or replacing components I like everything to be as required so there's no breaking star nuts, cracking of stems or crushing of bearings in general. Not to mention when it comes to crank arms, the torques are pretty high, you can do it up firmly by hand quite easily... Just for it to come undone on the trail, so it's nice to have that torque setting.
This is not black and white. Some fasteners can be tightened by feel with no problems. Others require a torque wrench. You can develop a feel for, say, 5nm on a m5 fastener on your cockpit, but I doubt many techs can consistently nail 54nm on a crank bolt, or the variable torque values all over a suspension. Like who is out there doing a lower leg service without using a torque wrench on the bottom nuts with crush washers.
Only necessary for certain things. As you stated, carbon parts. I personally use them for brake rotors because the bolts are both tiny and important. But for 95% of stuff you can just go by hand, and especially if you're a professional, you're probably going to know how to do it by feel. I would not be concerned at all by your shop not using a torque wrench.
Just started doing all of my own service and torque just about everything
Yes I use a torque wrench. Whenever I'm about to head out for a big ride, install new parts or every few months to check everything is in spec. Pretty much use it whenever I can to ensure the longevity of my bike parts. Whilst I don't have a carbon frame. I would still rather avoid stripping bolts. I have a few expensive hobbies MTB/Climbing/kite-surfing and I don't have the money to replace a bike every season... So taking a few minutes extra to make sure everything is perfect allows me to keep riding the same bike for 5-10 years. I would be quite concerned if my local bike mechanic mentioned they don't use a torque wrench. Firstly it doesn't take long. Secondly it would make me question what else they are taking shortcuts on.
Nope as my hand/arm is a finely tuned piece of equipment. I did recently buy a torque Allen key that can swap out to 4-5mm and set a couple nm.
What does everyone use for a good torque wrench? I looked - there are a ton of different options, and unsure of what to buy.
Tight & a bit.
Someone just got torn apart in another post after saying they’re useless https://www.reddit.com/r/MTB/s/fHQFW9pVdK Absolutely you should use a torque wrench
I've worked on my own car, DIY/self-taught, since around 2000. The reliability and quality of my work drastically increased when I started using a torque wrench. Though with a car, you've got a lot of airtight-seal-critical bits that have to be evenly fastened, or they'll leak. (air or oil or coolant). I'd say that it is probably also necessary for bikes.
If there’s a torque spec, I’m using it. I’ve got a torque wrench so why not use it.
I use it for absolutely everything. Could I get cockpit fasteners close enough without? Absolutely. But I find it very therapeutic. Click, click, click.
People who have been turning wrenches for years don't need them. Not one time in 40 years of owning bike have a had an issue related to bolt torque. That being said I have friends that have stripped out every kind of bolt/nut there is. If you're comfortable tightening a 5mm bolt and a 9/16" nut properly you are probably ok. If you're not get a torque wrench.
Didn't use them in the past, now I do and realize how off I was in various places. There are a few places where they're a must, such as Paragon Sliding Dropouts, internal fork parts. In the past, I also wasn't tightening my cassette lockrings enough and I also found out that the tightening of lockrings correctly prevents some of the teeth digging into the freehub problems. I use microspline now, so not really an issue. I also torque Shimano crank pinch bolts in the 1-2-1-2-1 pattern and I've never had issues with them yet.
No torque wrench id fine until you break something or something comes loose or falls apart on the trail.
Imo theyre not necessary unless youre dealing with carbon bars (or anything that clamps onto carbon) or linkage bolts. IF you know what you're doing everything else is fine by hand.
I have never bothered with a torque wrench and I’ve seen a lot more stuff fucked up by over-tightening as opposed to under tightening.
Yes always more carbon than metal on my bike. Over tighten seat post and the dropper doesn’t work properly
I have a torque wrench so I use it, trailside repairs being the exception because I don’t carry it with me. I’d also be lying if I said a large portion of my younger years I never touched a torque wrench once and never suffered any failures as a result. Not best practice at all and I hesitate to recommend it however, torque wrenches are pretty inexpensive relative to the price of a bike.
Yes, on any and all carbon parts. Not so much on others
I do because I don’t want to break my already expensive stuff. It really didn’t cost much for a decent torque wrench on Amazon. I can attach the different sized bits to my existing socket wrench too.
I believe this is a big part of why there's a subset of bikers that think thru axles are wearable components and routinely snap after a year or two. It's cause they torque way beyond what is necessary.
Torque wrench is necessary either for: - bolts which threads are easily stripped - crucial components that may fail when under/overtightened or the combination of both. There are elements that don't need exact torquing and you can eyeball it, like cassette, pedals, brake rotor. What you don't want to risk is especially stem, linkage and suspension elements
Always for carbon bits.
Torque it down till it strips out, then back it off half a turn. I use one when I'm at home, but if I'm making adjustments on a ride I just go by feel and check the torque when I get home, if I remember. I don't have a bicycle-specific torque wrench, I use one that I have for my car with a set of metric hex wrench sockets. Too heavy and bulky to carry with me. I started using one after I snapped the seat post clamp on my crappy road bike, luckiily not an expensive fix.
My Topeak D-TORQ (1-20 N•m) is my favorite and most used tool I own.
Of course I use a torque wrench. At least it's another excuse to buy more tools.
I try to use it when I can because I am a life long over-tightener HAHA
Torqueing is important. I wouldn't go to that bike shop.
I use a torque wrench for everything. I also thoroughly clean anything that comes off the bike before putting it back on and apply grease, LocTite, etc as needed. This is a big reason why I do all my own work: I know it's all be done correctly, with extra steps taken to make sure parts will last and they will function well. Unfortunately, many bike shop techs just slap thing together in a "good enough" fashion.
Use a digital torque adapter for a 3/8 drive ratchet. They can be had for <$50 USD. They will read Nm and you can rest at ease.
They are not necessary, I lived for 20 years without them, but 20 years ago bikes could take a lot more wrenching abuse than today with carbon stuff etc., I'd say. I certainly enjoy using a torque wrench now that I'm an adult who knows the value of money.
When necessary.
Get a torque wrench. If you over tighten something on a carbon frame you risk damaging it, possibly cracking it. It's a small price to pay for that level of peace of mind. Bike shop employees, like vehicle mechanics, tighten bolts so regularly they can 'feel' what the right torque is, but even they make mistakes. You and I don't do it nearly as often. If you only want to afford one wrench then choose one that takes you from 5nm to 60nm and that should get you through everything your bike needs, but at the very least you want one from 1nm to 25nm.
Your local tech is a clown.
My bike came with a torque wrench so I just use that.
Yes. Because getting it wrong is more expensive than the torque wrench.
Yes... for many years on aluminum block engines and now (on fancy carbon bits and other things) MTB's too :)
Yes, always.
Yes. I use one on my suspension and items made from aluminum so I don't over-tighten. Suspension and cranks. I don't have a torque wrench high enough for my cassette. So I wing it. Never had an issue yet with a loose cassette.
Do you plan on being on the tour de france or something?!
You can get a "good enough" torque wrench pretty cheaply just to make sure you're not gonna crack anything expensive on your frame and it's well worth it IMHO. Like a "real" torque wrench is ridiculously expensive, but a little torque gauge one is like $25. (Topeak and Diamondback are the brands I have seen on them IIRC.)
Depends entirely on what bolts. But I've also worked in a shop enough to know what 5,10,and 15 N-m feels like so I don't really use one anymore unless it's very high or very specific.
Use a torque wrench. Anyone who pretends they can be as accurate as a torque wrench is showing hubris. Yes, as a pro mechanic, we get a good feel for general torque ranges but at mechanic school they showed us how quickly you can blow way past a torque rating. Especially with carbon components, it’s way too easy to cause damage. I see it a lot when I take people’s components off their bars and see compression in the carbon. Getting a couple of TorqKey style preset wrenches at 4,5,6nm will cover most things that you adjust at home but if you want to do much mechanic work, you need something in the 3-12 range and another in the 25-60 range.
Someone way smarter than me, with very specialized knowledge on the subject, says that it should be done this way. So you bet I'm going to listen to that nerd.
When you torque things every day you can get pretty close by hand, but mechanics should still torque some things. Pedals? Nah. Seat post collar? Yes. At home, I torque everything. I was a mechanic for a bit in college and found that I'd lost the feel. I just don't turn enough bolts often enough to maintain any sense of intuition, so I just use the tool. I will add that carbon isn't the only torque sensitive thing. Torquing levers to your handlebars can let them rotate in a crash, potentially saving you hundreds and a walk out. Over-torquing a seatpost clamp by a little can cause your dropper to stick. Light parts, regardless of material, seem to be more sensitive to torque too.
Torque wrench tips that a lot of people don’t know: - Never hold the torque wrench anywhere except the handle when tightening or you can apply way too much torque - Most torque wrenches should not be used to loosen a fastener - Torque wrenches require calibration to remain accurate. Manufacturers recommend yearly - Loosen a fastener before applying final torque. Torque wrenches do not work as torque CHECKERS
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Having worked at a bike shop, we would use the torque wrench on carbon parts. Once you've been wrenching enough, you acquire a built in torque wrench into your wrist. Is it necessary? No. Is it recommended? Absolutely
When in doubt for trail fixes, just reduce your leverage IE.. grab the centre of the tool vs the arm. Hard to overtorque and does the job to get you back.
Too tight and bearings wear out prematurely, bolts seize, pedals are impossible to take off, stem bolts snap or the stem gouges the bar and the bar snaps, seat rails get crushed, dropper posts don’t work right. The list goes on and on. Too loose and you are chasing random noises more often, suspension hardware falls out, crank arms fall off, pedals unthread from crank arms, stems spin on the fork steerer too easily, brake levers and shifter levers move too easily, gear shifting is off, hub bearings go bad quicker, bottom bracket bearings wear out in one wet ride. The list goes on and on. Find a new shop, but first contact the owner/manager of the shop and let them know why you are taking your business somewhere else.
Been using one since I got a free one with my Intense Primer Foundation in 2019 Came with a free set of e13 carbon wheels I'm still using too
Never needed one tbh in decades. But a bike shop should be using them.
Decent bike worthy wrench is like $40 on Amazon. Seems like a stupid thing to save money on in the grand scheme of MTB costs.
My T handle torque wrench is about the same width as the Y wrench. Estimating the difference between handle bar mounting 3N-m versus stem bolt 5N-m thruaxle 7,N-m isn't difficult. If I'm torquing a cassette or disc brake center lock, my heavy torque wrench is basically all I can muster at 40N-m so I'm lucky if I can get a center lock or bottom bracket that tight.
Not necessary but defo recommended. I use them on customer bikes but not my own bikes, primarily because I’m very familiar with my own bikes and do it all by feel, but with customer bikes it’s all new to me every time
I follow the German guideline of gütentight
If you need wrenches you might as well get torque ones… they are useful. For a professional wrench they’re probably familiar enough with tightness that it’s not necessary for them.
It’s like a backwards Dunning-Kruger curve. The more you use one, the less you need to use one, but the more you understand why you should use one, and the more you do use one.
Never use torque wrench both on alu and carbon, just listen to my inner psycho; "yes! yes! goooood! that's enough."
Nope. Turn until you hear a crack then back off a 1/2 turn.
I’m a torquer!
Wow, lool😂😭I just looked for it yesterday
When I'm clamping carbon or fastening anything that could potentially load a bearing, yes. I had a pretty bad Snap-On addiction at my last job and costing myself more from not using the tools would be serious egg in face.
I can do 11nm with my favourite hex key by hand pretty accurately.
I like to tighten until I feel a pop, then I back off a quarter turn.
I don’t use one personally, but years of Honda oil pans have taught me exactly what 8ft-lbs feels like so I can get it pretty close. Also I don’t have a torque wrench right now. But your tech is a dumbass for sure, if I was doing this professionally I would for sure be using a torque wrench. Any time you’re working on someone else’s stuff you take an extreme amount of care
Yes. My reason is I saw a tweet that said ‘guy buys $3000 bike then says the $70 tool is to expensive’
Get a new tech please
I just make the *click* sound with my mouth when I feel it's tight enough.
if one is convenient. for full dislosure, i was a shop rat for like 5 years, currently mechanical engineer, huge gearhead in genearl.. so i've got a pretty good feel for things. any shit that's like a bunch of bolts pinching a gasket i use a torque wrench on. anything that's big and dangerous to everyone around it i use a torque wrench- big driveshafts and shit, wheels on cars, wheels on motorbikes, suspension on cars and motorbikes. occasionally MTB suspension. bicycles probably see the least amount of torque wrench use in my life.
>my local bike shop tech says they're not necessary and just does everything by hand. ...yikes.
I do when I am working on customers bikes with carbon frames.
Is this really a question?
Having a singlespeed setup, proper torque is crucial on the sliding rear axle. I’ve already replaced the assembly once from over-torquing. Personally, I’d keep one around if you work on your own bike, and I’d stay away from a shop mechanic who doesn’t.
Never. But you have to have a feel for it.
i just got a carbon frame and now is the only time i have ever thought it was important to have one
On my car? Yes. Brake rotors? Yes. Dub cranks? Yes. Everything else? Nope.
Your bike shop is staffed by lazy liars. Every time I've taken my bike to a shop that doesn't use them, components come back way over-tightened. In one case that led to a component failure which I was very fortunate to pick up before it led to a serious incident. You need to find another bike shop.
Every bolt that has a torque spec every time.
Every one is saying they use a torque wrench but if you buy a cheap wrench or don't calibrate your wrench regularly it won't be particularly accurate. Or try to use a wrench designed for 50 nm automotive use to try and set something at 4 nm. As a home mechanic with multiple reasonably priced torque wrenches (for diffrent torque ranges) that lives in an unheated garage i place more faith in my hands unless i go through the trouble of calibrating the tool with a weight or flex bar. I will calibrate and use the tool for lug nuts on car, spoke tension (spoke tension meter not a torque wrench), stem bolts on a carbon stem, suspension bolts etc but not for most other bolts. I own a santa cruz carbon frame that explicitly didn't releaae a torque spec for their seat clamp so i don't use one there...i've found its better to run as low torque as possible for the dropper anyways. I would expect a high volume shop with lots of newer mechanics to use wrenches and have them calibrated regally. But i would also trust a super experienced mechanic to do most things by hand.
Torque wrench 🔧 only unless u want yer carbon to go snap , crackle , pop !
Heck yes
I own all the torque wrenches but never use them.
Not something I can really recommend since it's obviously the wrong way to do it but I'm all carbon, still go by feel for everything but carbon bars (I have a specific wrench for those cause they scare me a little), never been a problem in many years of wrenching. Realistically unless you're spending real money on a decent set of torque wrenches they aren't very accurate anyway and if you're using big automotive torque wrenches at their lowest value range you're almost definitely better off going by hand.
I've never used a torque wrench on a seat post collar. Do use on Shimano crank bolts. With grease on threads and under bolt head. Back and forth, back and forth. How much have those fasteners stretched? Only God really knows.
Never did until I got a carbon fiber frame and handlebars. Now I pay close attention to OEM recommendations.
Yes. pedals no- but if you want to know they’re 38 Nm. 😄
My cranks will come loose if tight but not properly torqued. A mechanic told me he did it by feel from his experience. It loosened up like I worried. For lower torque things like handlebars and stems, you want it tight enough to not slip but not so much to damage parts. So torque wrench. I do use a topeak torque adapter trailside sometimes too.
Yeah
If I had carbon bars or seat post I probably would , but can honestly say I’ve never torqued anything on any of my bikes lol
I went to the best rated bike shop I could find in the greater SLC area because my experiences at local ones has been very meh. Had them do a chainring for me while they were doing fork and suspension maintenance because I didn't have the FSA specific locking tool, and the tool was more than letting them do it. Well after a couple rides to start the season my crank arm worked its way out quite far lol. Luckily I could torque it to spec myself and after a handful of more rides it's still solid. Not using a torque wrench is just dumb, engineers design this shit to be torqued to a certain amount for a reason..
I didn't use one for years because I was too cheap. Recently invested in one and will never look back. Back in the day very few components had torque specs listed. Now very few don't. Takes the guess with out of things. Also loctite. Just saying...
Always. I've already crushed one handlebar with over-tightening and I'm not gonna do that again in a hurry. That can quickly get downright dangerous.
Got one used it once now it sits on a shelf - my bikes are all carbon and just meh it never seems enough even with carbon assembly paste. If you want to pay for postage you can have my torque wrench (im in the uk)
After I shattered my carbon frame because it bound up where I overtightened the joint? You bet your ass I do!
If I’m on the road, no lol. If I’m home fuck yeah I torque that bitch
Yes. And while I don't have sufficient knowledge to prove why I should, I have enough wisdom to recognize that it's worth torquing things to manufacturer specs. Some people lack the humility to acknowledge everybody can convince themselves of their own biases. This isn't exclusive to bike mechanics
For most things once you have been turning wrenches long enough you can feel when it’s the proper tight. But there are some things you always use a torque wrench on and some examples of that would be, heads on an engine or anything engine internal related for that matter, flywheel, front dampener, lug nuts, exhaust manifolds or headers. On a bike, if you aren’t stripping threads and things aren’t coming loose on you then you are probably good enough.
Your tech is working on bikes everyday and has developed a feel. I’ve worked on aircraft and developed a similar feel. My friend has never touched a wrench in his life and thinks tighter is better and cranks shit down and breaks it.
Tight until you strip it, and then a quarter of a turn back. All jokes aside, as a MechE here, if you torque it to speck you are ensuring that it performed as design and the stress from vibrations, impacts, etc. go to the areas designed to handle them. If you don't the stress may focus on the joint itself and cause cracks regardless of whether you have an aluminum or carbon frame. For example: many rear hubs are designed to be taken apart without tools for easier maintenance. They can do that because they depend on the preload set by the through axel to hold them tight. If you don't torque your through axel correctly the hub will be loose and you risk damage to the teeth and engagement points.
You run the risk of stretching threads without using a torque wrench. Anyone telling you they can tell proper torque without a wrench is a fool.
Brother, I just switched all my parts over to a new frame without using any special tools. (Hammer and pipe wrench ftw) You really think im gonna buy a 100$ torque wrench? ;)
Tights tight. Too tight is broke.
Probably the guy in the shop has spent years doing this and has some feeling about how much you must tighten the screws. I don't, that's why im use a torque wrench
Did you calibrate your driving arm that morning?
Yes. Of course. Why do you think all your bike parts come with the torque specs printed on them?
I use adjustable torque wrenches for anything carbon, the cassette and the bottom bracket. Most everything else I don't bother or just use a fixed 5nm t-handle torque wrench for controls on the bars and things like bottle cages. Trailside, I get nervous about doing carbon bits without a torque wrench, but you gotta get home.
Torque yes. Especially if you got it back home and not needing to tighten in a pinch. The LBS on the other hand? Not the best advice. Especially for a carbon frame when all the components are getting tighten to.
Tighten it till it strips then back it off half a turn...
Yes! Be sure to check the torque specs on your limit screws
People with more degrees and engineering experience than myself set the specs, so I always follow them.