Originally Posted by dennis336

Apologies if this appears twice. Didn't see it show up after I first submitted so trying again.

I tried changing the cassette on my 2014 Surly Disc Trucker. Got the old one off fine and installed the new one. I used the Park Tools TW6.2 torque wrench set to 40nm to tighten. First time I used it and I think I messed up. As I tightened, I heard loud clicking sounds like I heard when first removing the cassette so I kept going, thinking I'd hear the distinctive torque click (I've used the lower pressure Park Tools torque wrench to tighten the handlebar/stem bolt and hear that clear 'click' when the torque was reached.

In any event, I kept putting pressure on the torque wrench until it wouldn't turn anymore. This is where I realized I may have overtightened. So .... I tried un-tightening (using a different wrench and chain whip) but couldn't get it to budge. I put (for me) quite a bit of pressure and finally stopped since I didn't want to do any further damage. I put a new chain on and took it for a light spin around my neighborhood, shifting through all the gears and it seems to shift fine.

Should I be worried about it being over-tightened? It'll be years until I'll need a new cassette given the miles I ride this bike but I don't want to risk a serious failure when I'm out on a rural gravel road (that's generally how I use my Surly, don't do any touring now).

Do you think I may have damaged the torque wrench by over-tightening?

Thanks for any insights ... I really want to learn bike maintenance but I really am awful at it :-(