torque wrench

[Serotta PETE]

WHat torque wrench have you all found to work well and where is the best place to buy it. It would be for Stem base plate, bars, seat post, etc,,,,


THANKS

[Too Tall]

Forum approved: SnapOn, Sears. Your experiance may vary.

[Serotta PETE]

I went to Sears site for Craftman and saw many models.....If there one that works better for bikes? I see that Competitive Cyclist has one also but the cost is $239 Is that the price for a good one or is the SEARS for 189 that goes to 20 nm ok? THANKS

[Tom]

Keep Kick-Step footstool and the great torque wrench that comes with the hardware.

Our Facilities guy was cleaning out a couple of lockers in the back and came across about a half a dozen of them. I got one. These babies are really, really accurate. You could torque your carbon bars or the main bearing on a Ford 8N. I think IBM uses them for bolting the frames together: total overkill but when you're spending in units of $10K for the DASD they ought to give you a good wrench for that kind of money.

[sbornia]

I went to Sears site for Craftman and saw many models.....If there one that works better for bikes? I see that Competitive Cyclist has one also but the cost is $239 Is that the price for a good one or is the SEARS for 189 that goes to 20 nm ok? THANKS

In my limited-but-growing mechanic experience, it's useful to have two different torque wrenches: one that's in inch-pounds for "delicate" parts, like stem bolts, and another in foot-pounds for bolts that require greater tightening. The former tool is expensive - at least $150 for a microclick 20-100 inch-pound wrench. The latter should only be about $40 or so -- e.g., the beam-type that Park makes, which I think goes from about 100-300 foot-pounds.

Others on the forum may be able to suggest a single tool that does all or most of the work.

[72gmc]

I have a Craftsman beam-type and just do conversions when the spec is a unit that isn't shown on the wrench. Keeps my brain torqued.

[oldfatslow]

I've been very happy with the Norbar I ordered from Total Cycling. It comes with a Calibration Certificate and it gives positive feedback when it reaches the load you set.

http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/product/parts_accessories/torque_wrenches/norbar_8_54.html?action=currency&id=USD

[SPOKE]

PETE!!!!!!!!!! Please step away from the tools! i have enough work to do without your help :crap: :crap:

[Serpico]

I have the two wrenches from park tools. one is inch pounds and the other is foot pounds. they're about $40 each.

btw, check the archives Pete. there's some good discussion on this. I think most of the $100+ torque wrenches would be overkill for me, but ymmv.

good luck

[terrytnt]

Just purchased a Craftsman torque wrench from Sears... paid $59, ratch type, (25-200 in lbs... I think). Then found a website that provides a simple calculator to convert inch to ft to NM.

Just torqued my seat post clamp and front derailleur clamp (campy record) which worked perfectly!!!

Craftmans is a very good wrench without breaking the bank!

[gt6267a]

is there a good way to calibrate a torque wrench? how do i know if is still accurate?

[Phil Selisker]

Pete,
Please be careful, shredded carbon fiber is sharper than an Ultegra chain ring. :)

[dave thompson]

Sears has very nice beam-type torque wrenches for about $30 that are more than good enough for bicycles.

[sspielman]

You need to know what the torque values are for the intended uses....and select a wrench that has those values in the CENTER of its range. That is the only place that a torque wrench is reliably accurate. You also need to make sure that the bolts that you are tightening are properly machined and lubricated so that what you are measuring is actually tightening torque and not excess friction....AND when you tighten a bolt you will want to get ist so that the torque wrench kicks out in the middle of a swing...it takes more force to start a bolt turning than to continue turning. Spend some money on this tool...a cheap, inaacurate one is a danger to your nice parts....

[Squint]

Either get a cheap beam torque wrench or get a dial or electronic torque wrench. Don't pay dial or electronic torque wrench prices for a clicker torque wrench.

[Serotta PETE]

SPOKES is not too happy for me to be thinking about doing mechanical stuff.....to fix my little project usually takes him 3x more time than it did for me to "adjust" it in the first place.


Appreciate everyones's input (except Phil's who reminded me of how I tried to lubricate an Ultegra crank with blood - while taking it off!!!) No wine was involved till that night. :beer:

[Serpico]

Sears has very nice beam-type torque wrenches for about $30 that are more than good enough for bicycles.

1+

these are basically identical to the park tools beam-type wrenches.

[mseliske]

I think that Swiss Army Knife makes a really good torque wrench. I recall that was the last brand of tool I saw you using. I think Campy makes one but it costs 8M Euros (and takes a while to break in). :beer: