fuzz2050

Funny, I've never heard a good mechanic say that...

PedallingATX

My preferred mechanic (one of the few that I trust) is the owner of a LBS called Nelo's. He's an ex-racer Brazilian. He used to be the head mechanic for a few different professional bike teams and has wrenched on bikes at some of the most elite races in the world (Giro d'Italia). I've never seen him use a torque wrench. Do you know a more qualified mechanic than that?

Also, his shop now deals exclusively in Wilier, Kuota, Colnago, Cannondale and Tomassini...so it's not like he doesn't wrench on carbon bikes regularly.

TejanoTrackie 

Perhaps good professional mechanics don't need torque wrenches, but I as a rank amateur find them useful to get consistent tightness of bolts, particularly where the value is high such as crank arm bolts. I can also determine accurately if such a bolted connection is remaining tight, or needing to be re-tightened.

Squirrelli

If my bike had any sort of carbon fibre components, I'd like my mechanic to use a torque wrench.

PedallingATX

meh. CF ain't no thang. I've done work on steel, aluminum, titanium and CF bikes, and honestly it doesn't matter. Fixie riders all think CF is so much more fragile than it really is.

Snacklord

What fuzz2050 said..!!! Wow.... hahaha

jakerock

Heh, the best mechanics have learned by f_ing up ALOT! You can either learn by using the proper tool, or breaking tons of sh*t.

jakerock

Youre fired! ;^)

KD5NRH

That's what one said right before he stripped out a wheel stud on my car.

Sixty Fiver

Fail.

Good mechanics have a torque wrench... mine usually hangs on a wall to impress people and for the odd occasion I am working on carbon fibre bikes.

Amateurs should invest in a torque wrench... it is amazing to see how many people who have no idea how tight some parts have to be and then there are the gorillas who over torque things and screw things up.

I have a few local racers who frequent my shop and they ride CF bikes that cost upwards of $7000.00... if I use a torque wrench I can ensure that the part is set to factoryspecs and of something fails I am then confident that it wasn't due to a bolt not being torqued to those exact specs.

Sixty Fiver

Dude... I would trust you to work on my bike more than I would some of the local wrenches.

PedallingATX

Yeah, I might be singing a different tune if I worked on bikes professionally and was liable for any screw ups. BUT, since I only work on me and my friends' bikes, I feel pretty confident in my ability to just "feel it out," even if I am tightening a carbon fiber stem onto a carbon fiber steerer tube or what have you...

Dr. Banzai

A good mechanic doesn't need a torque wrench that reads inch pounds unless he's an aircraft mechanic.

A good mechanic has a torque wrench that reads in foot pounds AND has been calibrated.

I've seen more people strip oil pan bolts, stem bolts and crank bolts etc. over the years and just chuckle. Know what to insanely tighten and not.

area51nj

Geeze, you guys go in depth. The only things that ever got really torqued (by used of a pipe and wrench) are axel nuts. As for stems use a criss cross pattern until evenly tight. I've never had anything slip and only stripped out a stem once and learned my lesson.

hairnet

Naw, it's pretty much everyone riding a bike.

jhaber

"You could drive a car with your feet if you wanted to, but that doesn't make it a good idea."

Lube + torque wrench is the only proper way.

As for the original question, no I never ever worry about this. It doesn't take much pressure for it to be solidly engaged. By hand one is way more likely to over tighten and strip than under tighten.

JohnDThompson 

And that's not the only one:

adriano 

those arent the only two.

cnnrmccloskey

Cool lookin stem, whats the make?

Tomo_Ishi

It might be more helpful to suggest us a good affordable torque wrench. ... I am pretty sure I saw one at a hardware store (with foot-pounds) costing a little over 100. That's a bit too far for me if there were alternatives. (especially because that's a small one and won't work for cranks and lockrings.)

adriano 

someone, donate a torque wrench, digital calipers, and a scale to me. thank you.

JohnDThompson 

Constrictor.

KD5NRH

Google Shopping, look for "beam torque wrench"

Click type wrenches are a lot easier to use if you're doing a lot of fasteners, but the beam type isn't rocket science, and should be available for $10-20 USD or local equivalent. Cheap enough that a little extra at the local auto parts store will probably still be less than the shipping to order one.

A click screwdriver type calibrated in inch-pounds like the FAT Wrench also comes in handy if you ever deal with screws that are likely to strip out, or anything that needs to be assembled the same way every time. Sure, it's $40, but that's often cheaper than stripping out one screwhole in an aluminum part.