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torque wrench


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I won't lie I'm scared to ride my bike now. I worry it'll just collapse into a pile of bits. (partial comic sans applied)

 

I can't believe how 'loose' the correct torque measurement is. I must have overtightened everything by like ... 100 fold in the past. 

 

I have the exact same concerns. Mostly when it comes to the face plate & stem bolts. I keep thinking my bars are going to roll or twist to the side. :o

 

Then you tighten a crank bolt and it needs 65nm and you feel like you're going to snap the bolt clean off. 

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I won't lie I'm scared to ride my bike now. I worry it'll just collapse into a pile of bits. (partial comic sans applied)

 

I can't believe how 'loose' the correct torque measurement is. I must have overtightened everything by like ... 100 fold in the past. 

 

Yes some of the torques specified don't make practical sense.  If they specify a range, I will always use the highest value and if I "feel" it is not tight enough, will increase a bit for sure.

 

It's only on Al and Ti bolts that you should be more careful to not strip or shear them off.

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Hiehie .....

 

TRUST those numbers.  :thumbup:

 

 

Stripping a bolt is okay .... stripping a tread on the bike is NOT okay ...  :eek:  :cursing:

 

Snapping a bolt off in the most inaccessible spot ... well now the fun starts ....  :wacko:   :nuke:   I have had to strip a the odd engine to get to a snapped bolt ....

 

 

QUICKLY learnt to use and trust a torque wrench.

 

 

 

TIP - try the following experiment ....

 

Clamp a M6 bolt into a vice, even better if you a M5.  Now use a torque wrench to tighten a nut onto the bolt, let's say 6N.m for an M5 .... once on torque, keep turning and see just how quickly it SNAPS, .... some materials turns further, but by the time you realise it, the tread is STRIPPED ....  and now, turning it back a quater turn does not work ...  :whistling:

 

 

PS - also note if you are using grease, coppa-slip or similar on the threads .... typically those torque settings were for "dry application".  With the lubricant it turns just that bit further before reaching the torque setting ... still safe, BUT not much left for that "last little bit extra" ....

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Don't worry about your bike falling apart if you've used the correct torque settings.

 

As an example, I had a severe front wheel tuck and high side. My helmet cracked and I was severely concussed.

 

By bike was fine, nothing bent or came off. The items designed to move instead of snapping in case of a structural event moved.

I'd like to think it was because I'd built and serviced it using specified torque settings.

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Don't worry about your bike falling apart if you've used the correct torque settings.

 

As an example, I had a severe front wheel tuck and high side. My helmet cracked and I was severely concussed.

 

By bike was fine, nothing bent or came off. The items designed to move instead of snapping in case of a structural event moved.

I'd like to think it was because I'd built and serviced it using specified torque settings.

 

Thats an interesting way to think of it. Makes sense I suppose.

 

I have managed to half mangle a bolt on my stem, while trying to loosen it to have a play with the handlebar angle, so ja, there are as you say multiple reasons for having correct measurements.

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Don't worry about your bike falling apart if you've used the correct torque settings.

 

As an example, I had a severe front wheel tuck and high side. My helmet cracked and I was severely concussed.

 

By bike was fine, nothing bent or came off. The items designed to move instead of snapping in case of a structural event moved.

I'd like to think it was because I'd built and serviced it using specified torque settings.

 

 

THIS is often mentioned on GMBN en EMBN.

 

A handlebar that "twists" in a fall ....

 

A brake lever moving ....

 

 

These typically save a LOT of damage.

 

 

If these components are over-tightened, there is "no give" in a fall, and things bend or break ....

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+1 on the shift out the way instead of snap. Like a drunk person in a car crash, lower chance to break bones because they are relaxed and have some give.

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THIS is often mentioned on GMBN en EMBN.

 

A handlebar that "twists" in a fall ....

 

A brake lever moving ....

 

 

These typically save a LOT of damage.

 

 

If these components are over-tightened, there is "no give" in a fall, and things bend or break ....

 I have just had that experience with a fall i had last week . The over tightened shifters were wrecked to the extent that both levers were bent and would not operate the derailleur front and back . The bolt / nut holding the front brake onto the fork was so close to being stripped that the jolt as my bike hit the road   snapped it lose . Stick to the suggested torque dont use the old mans method tighten just before it snaps and then give it a quarter turn back .  :thumbdown:

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  • 1 month later...

I'm sure if you sent both to A place to be calibrated they'd call back with some unexpected news

 

Where would one take a torque wrench to be calibrated ?

 

Mine is a Teng that I bought more than 10 years ago.

It's lived in its plastic case and never been dropped.

 

Edit: I am in Cape Town

Edited by splat
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