Originally Posted by
corrado33
I also was going to call bull. I tried searching for low torque 1/4" torque wrenches with no luck, then I found that even the low torque wrenches use 3/8" drive.
Here's a craftsman torque wrench that measures 25-250 in lbs, plenty for many of the "low torque" fasteners on bikes.
Sears.com
You'd need a normal torque wrench for things like crank bolts.
Besides, "beam type" torque wrenches are awful... Yeah sure I'm going to carefully look at the scale at a angle perpendicular to its surface while I'm holding the crank in place and trying to tighten it ridiculously tight. Sounds like a great idea.
I actually have that exact torque wrench. And it's terrible for working on bikes.
The handle is 14in long, and it weighs several pounds. It constantly gets in the way since it crashes into brake levers while tightening the stem bolts for example.
As a bonus, the bottom end is 2Nm which means that a 5Nm is only marginally accurate.
For those people who say that low-range torque wrenches are readily available.
Find a small compact 1/4in drive torque wrench for <$100, that's not a bike specific tool...