Originally Posted by
Rowan
The only thing about all this is that if you want a warranty claim on a broken item, then among the first questions that may be asked will be who fitted it, and as a torque wrench used.
It might not be quite so prevalent here, but new people to cycling mechanics have this notion that tighter is better, and that's where the trouble starts with stripped threads and crushed handlebars (both CF and aluminium, steel not so much).
Just think about all those issues people have removing their pedals because a gorilla wrench has been used rather than some deft manipulation of an open-ended wrench or a hex key.
If anything, a torque wrench is useful for "calibrating" a person' estimate of the amount of torque they are applying. They then can relate "red" or "white" or "deep depression" on the skin when using an ordinary wrench or hex key.
I know that until I got a torque wrench, I was under-tightening the bolts on the head plate of the stem when fitting handlebars... but as pointed out earlier, that is not a bad thing, either.
So, what's the torque spec for a carbon bar? Surely it can't be the number written on the stem, right? Unless the stem and the bar are a matched set, there is no way the stem manufacturer knows what bar you are mating it to. I've never seen a torque spec matched to a handlebar.
Also, the torque specs written next to bolts are
MAX specifications, not minimums or "numbers to shoot for". Basically, if you go over the specified torque, you might damage the screw threads and no-this-is-not-a-valid-warranty-claim.
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Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --
the tiniest sprinter