Torque wrench

greenrocket

I recently took the plunge a bought myslef a new bike, its carbon so i was wondering do i need to purchase a torque wrench?

Just wondering what peoples opinions are, so far i have just been tightening to the same number of revolutions as i have loosened.

Any links to any cheap wrenches that will torque to the very low torques required for a bike?

Thanks

damo80

I got my BBB one on ribble or winstanely have it too. Best thing I ever got.

FISMA

greenrocket wrote: »

Any links to any cheap wrenches that will torque to the very low torques required for a bike?

Cheap wrenches do not usually go low. Their being cheap usually implies inaccuracy.

What ranges of Torques do you want?

I needed a wrench for precision work at low values and bought the FAT wrech. Have a look, nice piece of kit, and works well. Ranges from 10-in.-lbs. to 65-in.-lbs.

doozerie

You buy a torque wrench because you don't want to damage expensive bike parts, so you need to trust in its accuracy and reliability. It is tough to balance accuracy and reliability with "cheap" when it comes to tools. You might be lucky, or you might not.

One compromise you can make reasonably safely is on versatility. Here are a couple of options which are limited by the fact they are set to a specific torque only, but they should be fairly accurate and reliable:

* Ritchey 4nm Torque key and bit set - I have one with a single hex head only (the head is permanently attached, unlike the linked version), and I've been happy with it.

* Bontrager 4mm 5nm key - fixed torque, fixed head, so like my Ritchey one, but I've never used the Bontrager brand in tools so can't comment on its likely quality.

Other variations exists too, in terms of torque the key is set to, the one(s) best suited to your purposes obviously depends on what torque is required for the carbon parts on your bike you expect to have to maintain.

C3PO

I've had the BBB one for years - can't go wrong with it!

rab!dmonkey

This Sealey torque wrench fulfils my requirements. I should warn you however, that it's not bike-specific. You should probably put a Park Tool sticker on it to prevent any compatibility issues.

greenrocket

thanks for the replies, "cheap" was probably the wrong word. I have bought ones in work that have been very expensive but they do not do the bike specific ranges. I meant a wrench that i could afford. thanks again for the info much appreciated.