Not to get into the debate on the use/non-use of the torque wrench-but as this previous post(with picture) of the Park wrench-note that the wrench is not zeroed in the pic. Clicker types may be less prone to this type of inaccuracy-in any event treat either type with care to keep the specs within spec.

Technically a wrench should be recalibrated regularly. There are services that do that, or you can build a calibration rig pretty easily. Adjusting the wrench can be tricky, though.

Personally, I haven't calibrated my wrenches in a long long time. To justify my laziness I reason that even if I'm off by 10%, it's still a hell of a lot closer than guessing. (And within the spec range.)

As was stated, if you are wrenching on a quality bike, buy & use a torque wrench. Cost wise, having to get a couple snapped off bolts removed without damaging the component or having a component fail while riding, could certainly be more expensive.

Guess I need to go out and get a torque wrench... is it normal for clickers to run over $300 USD, or is that the par for the course?

You don't need a $300 torque wrench to work on a bike. I think we can all agree on that! I've owned plenty of "clicker" style wrenches from craftsman, I don't think I paid more than $60 - $90 or so for them. Beam wrenches are just fine, and are a lot cheaper.

The nice thing I like about clickers [1] is that once you get to the proper torque, its pretty darn obvious, and it is a lot harder to over-gorilla it. Only caveat about clickers is that people should store them with the torque dialed at the lowest setting to keep the spring from deforming.

Maybe someone should come out with a torque wrench for people like me where the units are, "guarenteed to fall off", "really loose", "loose", "snug", "finger tight", "sorta tight", "tight", "really tight", "bolt and nut are now one", and "you just stripped the sucker."

[1]: A friend of mine gave me a clicker (which I promptly misplaced after moving) after I warped a brake rotor with a beam torque wrench. The torque the beam wrench (which was calibrated and zeroed as per instructions) said was way lower than the actual ft/lb, so I ended up with 20% over what was needed, and that didn't really go over well.

+1

dammit jim it's a bicycle
not a friggin' spaceship .

ed rader

Just tighten until it breaks and back off 1/4 turn

Nah, even a $30 unit from Harbor Freight will be fine, as it will more accurate than without. I've always debated with bike & auto mechanics on torque and a lot of them claim "calibrated" hands. HAH!

One bike-shop guy even claimed that after having a couple of bikes come back with loose & mangled cranks. So I called him on it and had him tighten the crank on by hand. I went out to my car and brought back the sheet with torque-specs from Park and my 3/8" torque-wrench. I showed him the specs, and gave him teh wrench to check. The crank-bolt he tightened turned out to be 50% too loose!! The best I've ever see a "calibrated" hand do was +/-15% and that's a wide variation. Given the numbers of complains we've seen posted here about crankarms coming loose and other problems with LBS work, I'm sure that the quality of the calibration isn't close to spec with a real torque-wrench.

Worse case scenario with using a torque-wrench? You're off by +/-5% with an out-of-spec unit... how can that hurt?

Is this torque wrench suitable for bikes or only automobiles? (is the torque too high?)

https://canadiantire.ca/browse/produc...romSearch=true

Worthless URL. Don't click it.

Worse case scenario with using a torque-wrench is that you get accused of being a know-nothing girly girl. Peer pressure is a powerful agent. Real men don't need no torque-wrench!



Bob

Ah the days when I was a NEWBIE <cough cough> 35+ yrs ago...

Ok you need to remember most parts are in inch torque settings. This won't always work for when you go around the bike tightening parts example the headset. You will find you are compressing them together. After thousands of these I have done in my life. I set the adjusting nut finger tight and back off 1/8-1/4 turn. Then lock the locknut down. Then tighten the inside one against it! You will find you will need to reset this several times as you turn the fork blades and check for binding. The prob with a Torque wrench. IS! Most of the tightening is done on the inner one. like cones / {old school} BB cups / Pedals / if you must do a freehub or freewheel, waste of time there.

What I would say to you? Unless you are a tool freak. SAVE YOUR $$$ you won't ever need it. Those specs are more for CPSC set-ups. THERE IS NO wrench setup for this...

And why is that? Do you not get a page with a Mastercraft torque wrench?

Anyways, let me just summarize the specs:

• 3/8"-drive torque wrench, with 25 - 250 lb. torque setting
• 1/2"-drive torque wrench, with 30 - 250 lb. torque setting

Is that a good range for bike repair?

No, we get a page asking for a zip code. Obviously you're registered on the site, but don't expect anyone else to be interested in doing so.

For the wrenches you mention, IMO, the scales are wrong for bike repair. I have a 1/2" scaled in ft-lb that I got for automotive work, and a 1/4". I use the big wrench for torques that are out of range of the little wrench, but I have to convert the specs to set it. PITA, except that I use it so rarely (basically, for bottom brackets and some cranks). You can't use such a big wrench on many bike fasteners because a big wrench like that is inaccurate below 10-15 ft-lbs, which is 120-180 in-lbs - well above most bike torques. Likewise the little wrench won't handle torques above 250 in-lb or so.

The 3/8" is a fair compromise, but it has a lower limit too, meaning there will be some things you can't use it on. If you were to get only one wrench, though, that would be it. Better to get a dual-scale including N-m (the metric version of torque) since most bike specs are quoted in metric.

My little wrench is scaled only in in-lb, but it was cheap. Although I've had problems getting bits for it (notably metric Allen bits), I'd prefer to have a 1/4" and either a 3/8" or 1/2" (or both, but then I'd prefer Snap-On, too).

Oops, sorry about that. Thanks for the help.

I've got another BB thread going, but since this still pertains to torque I figure I'll ask it here. Some posters have said they would only use a torque wrench for a Bottom Bracket. How do you do that with Shimano's external bearings? I have a torque wrench now, and I also have the Shimano tool made especially to tighten the cups on the BB (Ultegra Fm-6600). How can you tighten something to torque if the component does not even except an allen bit?

Tricky question. For integrated BBs I use a Lifu tool that snaps on to a 1/2" square drive. I presume the BB tool you have requires a wrench? You need a socket for your torque wrench that fits over the tool.

There are also wrench-head extensions for torque wrenches that look like a combo wrench, with one end an open-headed wrench and the other a 1/2" (or whatever) square drive to fit the torque wrench. These guys are a problem since not only do you have to have one for each wrench size, but you need to recalculate the torque setting since the extension changes the length of the wrench. Best to get a socket.

Oops. From your other thread I see that the tool you have is an external spline wrench. You can't use that with a torque wrench. Best way to set the torque with those is to do it directly. Measure from the center of the BB to the little hole in the handle. Divide the in-lb torque spec by that length in inches, getting the force required over that moment arm. Then hang that force (in pounds) from the hole.

Do you mean literally hang it, like with free weights? I hope that doesn't sound like a silly question. Thanks.

Best way I can think of.

Thanks for the help, much appreciated. take care.

Shimano and Park make an adaptor that fits onto a torque wrench.
https://www.parktool.com/products/det...&item=BBT%2D19

Very cool! Checked the web, but nobody seems to have one of these yet. I love anything that helps remove the guess work. Looks to be released in December. Any idea what the MSRP will be?

I'm not macho about torque wrenches, and I only work on steel-framed 70s and 80s bikes, but from my limited perspective, I just don't feel like going out and buying one more 'anal' tool that I've gotten by without using just fine. It's not really a macho issue for me, it's more that I got into working on bikes because of the relative simplicity and ease of learning and doing. I guess I find the need to have a torque wrench another step on the staircase that includes STI systems, torx head screws, splined system lockrings, airplane material frames, disposable $1500 bikes, clipless pedal systems, breathable synthetic clothing, alien-shaped glasses and helmets, etc. Not that any of things are necessarily bad--they represent 'improvements' of a sort, but how annoying. Why not transition to computer chip-driven, full logic, touch-sensitive, RF-controlled deraillers and brakes, get rid of such pesky atavisms as cables and housing?

Just give me a wrench and let me tighten or loosen up the bolt. I like working on bikes because they're simple.

BTW, the ParkTools bike repair book doesn't specify using a torque wrench for tightening your seatpost binder bolt: it says that the bolt should be tight enough that you can't move the seatpost with one hand on the saddle.

(I understand the need for using such a tool for 'higher end', exotic materials. But those of you who do, don't you just find it kind of annoying?)