Torque Wrench for Carbon Components

Try Proxxon tools. Good quality, nice plastic case for protection and very good prices!

Stamatis

Park wrenches

I picked up two Park wrenches - TW-1 & TW-2 - for about $70 bucks. They are the beam-style wrenches so not as user friendly but still worth a look.

http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=13&item=TW-1

http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=13&item=TW-2

Torque wrenches

The Park beam wrenches are fine. The large one looks to be the same as a Sears Craftsman beam wrench. You can get the allen head sockets at Sears too. Use the small one for stem and seat bolts and the big one for cranks.

small wrench is too small....

The qoated range for the small Park wrench is only 60 inch-pounds or 5 foot-pounds. Stems often require 5-6 foot pounds (7-8Nm) for M5 bolts. M6 bolts may require even more. This wrench seems to have insufficient range for most small bolts. Ideally, you want to be in the middle of the range for accurate readings, not at top or bottom.

has anyone tried the pedal attachment (crow's foot)? I tried one from sears I think didn't fit

steel515 said:

has anyone tried the pedal attachment (crow's foot)? I tried one from sears I think didn't fit

Click to expand...

Most pedals also have a hex opening in the end of the axle (get at it from the opposite side of the crank) that you can use to torque things properly instead of trying the crow's foot. Much easier, though to be honest, pedals are one of the very few things on a bike that I don't bother with torque spec for. Though I probably should.

Pedal torque

bikeboy389 said:

Most pedals also have a hex opening in the end of the axle . . . pedals are one of the very few things on a bike that I don't bother with torque spec for. Though I probably should.

Click to expand...

Actually many pedals DON'T have a hex slot in the axle. Compared to the appropriate force applied with a pedal wrench, a hex wrench is not the greatest way to install pedals. As to the proper torque applied when installing pedals, that's a good hard push on the pedal wrench. No need whatsoever for a torque wrench.

As pointed out by C-40 the tools mentioned are too large. I spent the big bucks a couple of years ago and got a nice Syntace with 1/4 drive that measures from 1-20nm. Its not cheap, but I have the assurance that things are what they should be on all the expensive ti and carbon bits. As I add more carbon to the mix I find myself using it very frequently on seatposts, seatpost clamps and stems. I just built up a new bike and was very glad I had it.

I prefer the clicker style wrench to a beam wrench. More positive, you know exactly when you've reached the proper torque. Difficult to over torque. Easier to set the torque you want (can't really set it with a beam wrench). Beam wrenches are usually longer and give you more leverage, this can be good and bad. Beam wrenches are typically cheaper and more durable (it's easy to re-center the needle) but less accurate.

Mel--What wrench do you use?

Thanks!

Check out Harbor Freight, if you have one in your area, or they have a website: http://www.harborfreight.com/. They have torque wrenches that are very inexpensive, but my experience with them has been good. I was a little nervous about using a $10 torque wrench to rebuild the engine on my car, but it was just as accurate as the more expensive ones (without getting into the several hundred dollars needed for truly accurate wrenches)

craftsman

3/8 inch... click type.. works great for most bike applications ime

Mel Erickson said:

I prefer the clicker style wrench to a beam wrench. More positive, you know exactly when you've reached the proper torque. Difficult to over torque. Easier to set the torque you want (can't really set it with a beam wrench). Beam wrenches are usually longer and give you more leverage, this can be good and bad. Beam wrenches are typically cheaper and more durable (it's easy to re-center the needle) but less accurate.

Click to expand...

Mel,

What style (clicker or beam) is the Syntace 1-20? If Syntace 1-20 is not a clicker, do you have a recommendation on a clicker wrench? At least in my case, presume that price up to even a few hundred dollars is not an impediment to choice of wrench as long as the wrench works well and minimizes the chance of an error on a much more expensive bicycle, which could cause a (very expensive to body) crash.

Thanks.

I know nothing about the Syntace. My clicker is an Mit Mechanics. It was a gift. If I were choosing I'd get a 3/8 Craftsman. Mainly because of availability and warranty and virtually all Craftsman tools are decent quality.

See my response to HammerTime above.

Mel Erickson said:

I know nothing about the Syntace. My clicker is an Mit Mechanics. It was a gift. If I were choosing I'd get a 3/8 Craftsman. Mainly because of availability and warranty and virtually all Craftsman tools are decent quality.

Click to expand...

I found this description, which I intepret as saying the Syntace is a clicker, on a seller's web site:

1/4" drive torque wrench, 1-20 Nm
Manufacturer: Syntace - (Part No. 8700106-S)

Specs:
Description
1/4 in. drive torque wrench, 1-20 Nm
Features: SY-9901: precision 1/4" drive torque wrench for exact tightening to 1-20Nm

<Both> tools read in Newton-meters and pound-inches, have preselectable torque by rotating knob on end of handle, click upon reaching desired torque value and both include certificates of calibration

Yep, that's a clicker.

Mel Erickson said:

I know nothing about the Syntace. My clicker is an Mit Mechanics. It was a gift. If I were choosing I'd get a 3/8 Craftsman. Mainly because of availability and warranty and virtually all Craftsman tools are decent quality.

Click to expand...

Do the Craftsman wrenches work with left hand threads (e.g. pedals, bottom brackets)? The one I am looking at (Model # 44596, 3/8 drive, 5-80 ft-lb range) has an arrow on the handle indicating that torque should only be applied in the clockwise direction. Is this typical for the click type wrenches? The ratchet head has a switch to reverse direction, but I don't know if it will read torque in that direction.

You want to look for the ones where the head can swivel in relation to the handle. The click action only works one way, but if you flip the head around, it works in the other direction. Make sense? Mine doesn't work that way, but that's how I've understood the reversable ones I saw at the store.