Torque wrenches! and torque settings?

Hi all,

I've leant a lot dismantling and building my first modernish bike.

The Saint cranks arm specifies a torque measurement, and I'm sure there is general given amounts for stems and stuff?

Can anyone suggest a quality but cheap wrench to get?
something to use on the car too would be a bonus but probably a different size scale!

Or is there a 'by feel' way of doing it. I'm using a crank Bros multi tool so not a lot of leverage, and not trying to over do it either, but obviously don't want to knacker quality parts by over or under tightening...


(cheers)

in 20 years and building 2,000+ bikes ive NEVER used a torque wrench on a bike... its either pretty tight(brake bolts etc).tight(stems etc) or f$@king tight(cranks)

Similar method to car wheel nuts, If ya don't pull a muscle, its tight enough, if ya don't try, its not tight enough, and if ya hurt yaself doing it you'll need to hurt yaself getting it off or a big muscly guy/power impact action/scaffold/body weight!

Experienced spanner monkeys should be fine but a lot of amateurs over tighten. If you think your ham fisted get a torque wrench, think the number of stripped thread threads on here is a fair indication Also if you've lightweight stuff or carbon I'd go for a torque wrench theyre not that expensive anymore and will last forever.

finding a torque wrench that goes low enough for bike settings can be pricey though,most car stuff is too overkill.

Had a Park torque wrench and never used it.

One thing to know about torque wrenches is that they're most accurate in the middle of their range. Try to find one where the torque settings you want are about halfway. You'll need to get at least 2 wrenches to cover the whole range of settings used on a bike anyway.

BTW out of curiosity does anyone know how the hell you're supposed to use a torque wrench to check your q/r's tightness?

Xesh":3twuw1x2 said:

BTW out of curiosity does anyone know how the hell you're supposed to use a torque wrench to check your q/r's tightness?

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Tap the qr lever with the head

Don't overtighten and you'll be fine. Err on the side of not tightening enough and shoot round the block a few times to see.

With more modern parts (threadless headsets and external b/bs, not to mention anything fixing to or holding carbon) you can kill something good and proper if you don't watch it.

The exception is the bolts holding your brake cables and blocks/pads. They've got to be tight - but you can check how tight by tring to crush the levers against the bars. Remember you might need to adjust/replace on the move with a multitool.

in 20 years and building 2,000+ bikes ive NEVER used a torque wrench on a bike

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doesnt mean its right

xesh is right ( funnily enough because hes in the trade )

you need 2 . one for the high things like the bottom bracket ( ie a snap on or similar common jobbie ) and another bicycle specialist one for the small things like the canti mounts

i doubt i wont make any friends now but if someone is so arrogant not to admit that their " ive been doing it since time began ( not a personal dig stew , your post is just a representative of a certain viewpoint ) and my arm is 100% accurate " isnt perfect and once in a while needs checking against an accurate scale dont let them near your thousands of pounds worth of stuff

a pro will use correct torque . not every single time but they will make sure to keep a check on it .

the barnetts book gives general settings for common parts like stems , cranks , bars and whotnot