which torque wrench?

..

Quoted message said:

Should I buy for general bike work?

SW

Is it this one?
http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/store/draper-sockets/draper-torque-wrenches/draper-3004ab-3-8-square-drive-10-80nm-o/showitem7602-54627.aspx

Quoted message said:

Steve Watkin said:

Should I buy for general bike work?

I've got 3 torque wrenches, but don't use them for bike work, relying on
calibrated wrists.

Seriously, you need to get a feel for tightness, after all by the side of
the road you won't have your torque wrench handy. I can only think of one
nut/bolt on any of my bikes where rigorous attention to tightness is a
necessity, and that's the rear wheel axle for horizontal drop-outs. Maybe
seat pillar too, but with my sylph-like figure (cough) I don't need to
worry.

Mike

Steve Watkin said:

.

Quoted message said:

Should I buy for general bike work?

Is it this one?
http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/store/draper-sockets/draper-torque-wrenches/draper-3004ab-3-8-square-drive-10-80nm-o/showitem7602-54627.aspx

That'll be OK for cranks, but too big & heavy & inaccurate at low settings
for just about everything else on a bike. But you don't need a torque
wrench for anything else, IMO.

~PB

"Mike Causer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Steve Watkin said:

Should I buy for general bike work?

I've got 3 torque wrenches, but don't use them for bike work, relying on
calibrated wrists.

Seriously, you need to get a feel for tightness, after all by the side of
the road you won't have your torque wrench handy. I can only think of one
nut/bolt on any of my bikes where rigorous attention to tightness is a
necessity, and that's the rear wheel axle for horizontal drop-outs. Maybe
seat pillar too, but with my sylph-like figure (cough) I don't need to
worry.

I once read an article in Cars & Car Conversions where Dave Walker (big name
in the car tuning world - actual race cars etc. not max power tat) had gone
along to a torque wrench manufacturer and they'd had a couple of bolts
mounted on stress gauges. They asked for a volunteer to do up a bolt with
the torque wrench, so everyone could see how accurate it was. He went and
did up the bolt with the torque wrench, then asked for a normal spanner and
got the torque dead on by hand.

"Mike Causer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Steve Watkin said:

Should I buy for general bike work?

I've got 3 torque wrenches, but don't use them for bike work, relying on
calibrated wrists.

Seriously, you need to get a feel for tightness, after all by the side of
the road you won't have your torque wrench handy. I can only think of one
nut/bolt on any of my bikes where rigorous attention to tightness is a
necessity, and that's the rear wheel axle for horizontal drop-outs. Maybe
seat pillar too, but with my sylph-like figure (cough) I don't need to
worry.

That's fine if you've used a torque wrench and know what you're aiming for.

If you've never used a torque wrench, then just how tight should the below
feel (using standard sized spanners/allen keys)?
5-7 Nm (eg front mech and cleat bolts)
9-11Nm (eg stem clamp bolts)
35Nm (eg pedal to crank)
50Nm(eg bottom bracket)
(from http://www.sgr.me.uk/mountainbikingmeuk/torque.html)

Thanks, Peter

In article <[email hidden]>

Steve Watkin said:

.

Quoted message said:

Should I buy for general bike work?

SW

Is it this one?
http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/store/showitem7602-54627.aspx

Quoted message said:

The only time I ever used a torque wrench on bikes was when rebuilding
suspension forks, for that sort of application I think this would be
more appropriate:
http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/store/showitem8049-58130.aspx
but the torque range is still a bit high. Most other fastenings on a
bike are pretty easy to tighten "by feel" if you have mechanical
sympathy.

Rob Morley said:

In article <[email hidden]>

Steve Watkin said:

.

Quoted message said:

Should I buy for general bike work?

SW

Is it this one?
http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/store/showitem7602-54627.aspx

Quoted message said:

The only time I ever used a torque wrench on bikes was when rebuilding
suspension forks, for that sort of application I think this would be
more appropriate:
http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/store/showitem8049-58130.aspx
but the torque range is still a bit high. Most other fastenings on a
bike are pretty easy to tighten "by feel" if you have mechanical
sympathy.

Surely you want this one http://sheldonbrown.com/tork-grip.html :-)

Seriously I can;t really think of a time when I'd use a torque wrench, rather than a spanner. when it's tight, it's right.

Bryan

Rob Morley said:

http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/store/showitem8049-58130.aspx
but the torque range is still a bit high. Most other fastenings on a
bike are pretty easy to tighten "by feel" if you have mechanical
sympathy.

Torque Screwdrivers are also available (used a lot in electronic
and mechanical production environments). These have much lower
torque ranges than a wrench.

RS Components do a range, but many (not all) have no dial and
have to be set up using additional measurement equipment.

-adrian

Peter said:

If you've never used a torque wrench, then just how tight should the below
feel (using standard sized spanners/allen keys)?

Quoted message said:

5-7 Nm (eg front mech and cleat bolts)

Just tight

Quoted message said:

9-11Nm (eg stem clamp bolts)

Just tight, then small amount of pressure more

Quoted message said:

35Nm (eg pedal to crank)

Well tight

Quoted message said:

50Nm(eg bottom bracket)

With a normal sized spanner quite an effort but not putting your full
weight on it.

Mike

"Mike Causer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter said:

If you've never used a torque wrench, then just how tight should the
below
feel (using standard sized spanners/allen keys)?

Quoted message said:

5-7 Nm (eg front mech and cleat bolts)

Just tight

Quoted message said:

9-11Nm (eg stem clamp bolts)

Just tight, then small amount of pressure more

Quoted message said:

35Nm (eg pedal to crank)

Well tight

Quoted message said:

50Nm(eg bottom bracket)

With a normal sized spanner quite an effort but not putting your full
weight on it.

Mike

The one that normally fools me is the 14mm crank bolts because they are
pulling on to a taper it always feels like the bolt is just about to shear!!
How do you judge that?

SW

Mike Causer <[email hidden]> wrote:
| Just tight
| ...
| Just tight, then small amount of pressure more
| ...
| Well tight
| ...
| With a normal sized spanner quite an effort but not putting your full
| weight on it.

The catch is that, like the "thumb" that measures your tyre pressure,
someone has to calibrate this scale. I learned how tight to tighten
various things (including, pace Harry Kroto's praise of Meccano, water
taps) from my father (who used to build the jigs for airbus wings...).
However some adults achieve do-it-yourself bicycle maintenance without
having had the calibration such an education bestows. I know, I married
one, and I am still calibrating her (and going around tightening bottom
brackets after her).

In article <[email hidden]>
Steve Watkin <[email hidden]> wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

The one that normally fools me is the 14mm crank bolts because they are
pulling on to a taper it always feels like the bolt is just about to shear!!
How do you judge that?

Almost as tight as you can get without over-exerting yourself when
holding the spanner in one hand and the opposite crank in the other
hand. :-) If the crank is well matched to the axle and everything is
absolutely free of grease you shouldn't have a problem with over-
tightening.

Steve Watkin wrote on 29/08/2006 12:01 +0100:

Quoted message said:

The one that normally fools me is the 14mm crank bolts because they are
pulling on to a taper it always feels like the bolt is just about to shear!!
How do you judge that?

I think the phrase coined by Brandt Richards of On-One Cycles for that
level of torque says it perfectly - "[censored] tight"

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

Steve Watkin said:

The one that normally fools me is the 14mm crank bolts because they
are pulling on to a taper it always feels like the bolt is just about
to shear!! How do you judge that?

People still use taper cranks? How quaint. Hollowtech II is the way to
go.

Torque wrench?
http://www.norbar.com/products_description.php&category_multid=1&range_m
ultid=12&id=1184

I've got one, it's lovely.

--
Mike

"mb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

People still use taper cranks? How quaint. Hollowtech II is the way to
go.

Find me a crankset then. I want 180mm threaded for RH pedal, no chainrings,
180mm LH pedal, single chainring, 160mm LH pedal single chainring, 160mm RH
pedal triple chainring, pref 110/74 BCD.

D'you think I'm asking too much here?

cheers,
clive

Clive George said:

"mb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

People still use taper cranks? How quaint. Hollowtech II is the way
to go.

Find me a crankset then. I want 180mm threaded for RH pedal, no
chainrings, 180mm LH pedal, single chainring, 160mm LH pedal single
chainring, 160mm RH pedal triple chainring, pref 110/74 BCD.

D'you think I'm asking too much here?

You want a chainring on the left? Wossat for?

--
Mike

"mb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Clive George said:

"mb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

People still use taper cranks? How quaint. Hollowtech II is the way
to go.

Find me a crankset then. I want 180mm threaded for RH pedal, no
chainrings, 180mm LH pedal, single chainring, 160mm LH pedal single
chainring, 160mm RH pedal triple chainring, pref 110/74 BCD.

D'you think I'm asking too much here?

You want a chainring on the left? Wossat for?

Actually I want two chainrings on the left. Count how many cranks I want -
this should give you a pretty good clue about the sort of bike I'm talking
about.

cheers,
clive

mb said:

Clive George said:

"mb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

People still use taper cranks? How quaint. Hollowtech II is the way
to go.

Find me a crankset then. I want 180mm threaded for RH pedal, no
chainrings, 180mm LH pedal, single chainring, 160mm LH pedal single
chainring, 160mm RH pedal triple chainring, pref 110/74 BCD.

D'you think I'm asking too much here?

You want a chainring on the left? Wossat for?

Left hand drive bike.

Come on mb, engage brain. Why does he want ***2*** sets of cranks.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Nigel Cliffe said:

mb said:

Clive George said:

"mb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

> People still use taper cranks? How quaint. Hollowtech II is the
> way to go.

Find me a crankset then. I want 180mm threaded for RH pedal, no
chainrings, 180mm LH pedal, single chainring, 160mm LH pedal
single chainring, 160mm RH pedal triple chainring, pref 110/74
BCD.

D'you think I'm asking too much here?

You want a chainring on the left? Wossat for?

Left hand drive bike.

Cool.

Quoted message said:

Come on mb, engage brain. Why does he want 2 sets of cranks.

Well, I've got 4 sets of cranks, but then I've got 4 bikes.
Tandem?
Front wheel drive?

--
Mike