4
A shop stand failure at a group ride taught me to carry a torque wrench
Last month in Austin I watched a guy snap his seatpost clamp at a red light because the bolt was overtorqued from a home repair. He had no tools on him and the ride fell apart waiting for a pickup. Since then I keep a small torque wrench in my saddle bag, the kind that fits in a jersey pocket, and I check every bolt I touch during my own maintenance. It took me 20 minutes to learn the proper Nm values for my stems and derailleurs, and honestly it's saved me twice already. I used to think torque specs were for shop snobs, but that guy's frame crack was on him, not the part. How many of you actually torque your bolts on a schedule, or do you just go by feel like I did? I am curious if anyone has a favorite compact torque tool that doesn't weigh a ton.
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
wendy_lee4822h ago
Read a piece in a bike mag last year that claimed most bolt failures come from cheap multitools being used wrong, not bad torque specs. @henryt18 is right that a mini torque wrench only helps if you know how to use it, but I'd still rather have it than a spare bolt. Schedule feels like a lot, but I do a quick check before big rides now.
5
henryt181d ago
Go by feel" is exactly the problem, but not because the specs are magic. The issue is that feel changes depending on the bolt, the grease, even the temperature. I've seen guys crank a stem bolt to 8 Nm because it felt "snug" and then wonder why the bars slip on a bumpy descent. That said, I don't check every bolt on a schedule either, that seems like overkill for a commuter bike. I just torque the important stuff when I first install it, then give everything a quick wiggle every few weeks. A mini torque wrench is nice to have, but I've also seen people snap bolts with those little clicky ones because they didn't calibrate them right. Honestly, most frame cracks come from poor installation, not from a bolt being a bit loose or tight. The real lesson is to bring a multitool and a spare bolt, not a torque wrench.
1