If you are using stem/bar and the stem has a higher torque spec than the bar, you use the spec for the bar.
yeah, nothing like destroying something that costs up to $200 for a seatpost or worse for a frame to "teach" you when a $30 tool was all you needed to do it right the first time. Torque wrenches are just not for automotive applications.
I have a micro torque wrench here at work for a diamond tipped ATR for my FTIR. Let me see....use this "automotive" torque wrench for my ATR that cost about say....$10k or possibly destroy it when one of my guys here thinks....well...hell...let's get her tight attitude.
I'm sure there are guys working on that passenger plane tightening bolts down right now in the engines thinking...."I'm not using that automotive torque wrench" and this should be good enough.
While I do agree you do get a "feel" for what a 55 inch pounds of torque is to be, I still do it with the wrench. Park Tools DOES sell a torque wrench in their toolkit for a reason.
Sheldon, you are great but I disagree with you on this one.
Originally Posted by
Phantoj
From a Usenet posting regarding torque wrenches:
"I don't advocate using a torque wrench on bicycles. It's primarily an
automotive tool.
My point is that torque wrenches are _not_ [an] _essential_ tool for
bicycle work, and anybody who claims they are is blowing smoke.
They may be of some use as "training wheels" for beginner mechanics,
though I suspect that, as with training wheels for bikes, they delay
mastery.
There's no substitute for breaking/stripping a few bits of hardware to
educate you hands and brain about how a properly tightened fastener feels.
If you feel that you are incapable of judging tightness without the aid
of a torque wrench, go ahead and use one, but don't assert that
everybody needs to do so. "
Sheldon "Doesn't Pound Wrenches With His Feet" Brown
One question with using manufacturers' torque specs is: for a stem, do you use the spec for the stem, or the bar/fork? The other question, is: are the torque specs for clean, dry threads or lubricated threads? A lubricated bolt could have a clampup force 50% higher than the designed force if the spec is based on dry threads.