Torque wrench or not?

[Alex321]

Steve from the Canterbury bike project told me I need it today. He said especially for a beginner like you, whereas for experienced people like me, we know by feel. (he still uses parktool torque wrench). He said there's a reason why the torque ratings are written on bikes.

Unless you are using extra long hex keys, or extension bars, you aren't going to overtighten enough to damage anything on a steel or aluminium framed bike.

It certainly won't hurt to have one, and to use it, but you are unlikely to damage anything by doing without.

I had several bikes over many years, and maintained them all without a torque wrench until I bought my first carbon framed bike in 2021. I never broke anything as a result of wrongful tightening.

 

[Jameshow]

Unless you are using extra long hex keys, or extension bars, you aren't going to overtighten enough to damage anything on a steel or aluminium framed bike.

It certainly won't hurt to have one, and to use it, but you are unlikely to damage anything by doing without.

I had several bikes over many years, and maintained them all without a torque wrench until I bought my first carbon framed bike in 2021. I never broke anything as a result of wrongful tightening.

My rule of thumb is using a standard length of Allen key tightening with half the length, which leaves you the whole bar to undo with...

 

[presta]

The instructions for my shower valve states that four screws should be tightened to 0.1 Nm. I assume this means "not entirely loose", because my chances of measuring it with one of my torque wrenches are less than zero.

As I pointed out upthread, you don't need a torque wrench to measure torque, it's just a convenience. Torque is force x radius, one of which can be measured with a spring balance, and the other with a ruler. My torque wrench is a Norbar one that I bought for the car, which is ok for the big stuff on a bike, but torques like 6Nm on stems etc are too low for it, so I do them with a spring balance. The ball end on the long arm of an Allen key makes a convenient groove to hook the balance into.

 

[rogerzilla]

My rule of thumb is using a standard length of Allen key tightening with half the length, which leaves you the whole bar to undo with...

I tighten using the "wrong" end of the allen key, then half a turn, so it's a combination of torque and angle tightening. This is about right for the thread sizes on stems, etc. I have checked them with a torque wrench since and they are very close.

 

[Ajax Bay]

you aren't going to overtighten enough to damage anything on a steel or aluminium framed bike.
It certainly won't hurt to have one, and to use it, but you are unlikely to damage anything by doing without.
I had several bikes over many years, and maintained them all without a torque wrench until I bought my first carbon framed bike in 2021. I never broke anything as a result of wrongful tightening.

This ^^
@Milena worth scanning this thread, for background: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/does-anyone-use-torque-wrenches.291702/
https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybr...d-bike-2020---grey---s-m-l-frames-346094.html

you don't need a torque wrench to measure torque, it's just a convenience.

Yesbut. The OP's bike has no carbon bits and therefore the risk of any damage is pretty low. But many of the components will not have a marked or 'easy to find out' specified torque.
I surmise that the OP, given their lack of maintenance experience and mechanical insight, as well as their keenness for assurance before decision/action, will then suffer the trauma, torque wrench in hand, of not knowing what torque they should use on each bolt/screw.
I recommend simple allen keys: a torque wrench is near the bottom of the list of tools that the OP might find useful, particularly given their relative cost. Is there another tool which is below it on a reasonable list?
Consider what tools one might take on a long ride. Would a torque wrench make it? Not a chance.
NB: The OP's stated concern is tightening their seattube clamp 'tight enough but not over tight' and adjusting it during a ride.
3mm 4mm 5mm allen keys
screwdriver small
10mm spanner (if mudguards)
safety pin (2")

 

[ColinJ]

As I pointed out upthread, you don't need a torque wrench to measure torque, it's just a convenience. Torque is force x radius, one of which can be measured with a spring balance, and the other with a ruler. My torque wrench is a Norbar one that I bought for the car, which is ok for the big stuff on a bike, but torques like 6Nm on stems etc are too low for it, so I do them with a spring balance. The ball end on the long arm of an Allen key makes a convenient groove to hook the balance into.

I am going to improvise one using an old 30 cm steel seatpost and a couple of large plastic milk bottles full of water. I reckon that 4.5 litres of water at 30 cm should give me the 13 Nm that I need for my Hollowtech crank bolts?

 

[wafter]

Depends on how well calibrated you are..

Some have a degree of mechanical sympathy, some hang off any fixing with their entire body weight by default.

If you're the former, you should be all good with steel and ally frames. Given how easily composite frames can crack I'd suggest a torque wrench is a necessity in these cases.

 

[Profpointy]

Surely you tighten it up until the thread strips then just back it off a bit

 

[PedallingNowhereSlowly]

Back in the day, I took an interest in fixing my own cars. First job I did (changing a coil), I stripped the threads on a 10mm bolt by over torquing it.

Since then I've always had a torque wrench or two in the toolbox.
Not saying you need one, but it's a useful thing to have. Probably essential with more expensive components, no matter what they've made from as when every spare gram of material is shaved off, tolerances are much more important. Much less so for any Carerra branded bike.

 

[Profpointy]

Joking aside from my flippant post upthread,
I have used a torque wrench on re-fitting a car cylinder
head, but never bothered, or saw a need for anything else, be it car or pushbike or everyday jobs. supposedly carbon fibre parts need this precision, but in my experience at least metal bikes do not

 

[Bristolian]

I remember being told by an instructor during my apprenticeship that spanners are made so that an average person applying average force on a nut or bolt shouldn't be able to over-torque it to the extent of stripping threads. Hence longer spanners for larger nuts/bolts.

Of course, he failed to explain what an average person looked like and within out group we had guys that ranged from Ronnie Corbett to Hulk Hogan in size

 

[craigwend]

The problem with nuts on a thread is if you give too much there's the danger of stripping the thread and needing a new thread, if you give to little the nut might fall off and cause more trouble than it's worth / keep coming back and causing more problems...

Of course torque may be cheap...

In the long run...

 

[rydabent]

If I had a really high priced CF bike, I would use a torque wrench all the time.

 

[ColinJ]

I am going to improvise one using an old 30 cm steel seatpost and a couple of large plastic milk bottles full of water. I reckon that 4.5 litres of water at 30 cm should give me the 13 Nm that I need for my Hollowtech crank bolts?

That will work for the crank bolts but there are other bolts which are in awkward positions/orientations from which it would be difficult or impossible to get the seatpost allen key extension horizontal. The spring balance idea would be better!

 

[Dogtrousers]

Torque wrenches can get you into trouble if you use them blindly.

Or, put more bluntly, if you are an idiot.

Years ago I got myself a torque wrench, just seemed like a nice gizmo to buy for myself. And it is, it's a very nice wrench/hex key set.

So then I set to my first bit of real torquing, replacing a handlebar stem. But I hadn't quite got the hang of the wrench. I was tightening the bolt and I'd gone past the "that's enough, stop now" click, but I hadn't realised. I was just thinking "I don't normally do these bolts up so tight, but if the torque wrench says it's OK it must be" ... when the bolt snapped.

Another thing to add to the list of reasons why I get important work done by my LBS.

It's still a very nice wrench/hex key set. But it doesn't get much use in its intended torquey function.