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Torque Wrench Suggestions?
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SeanInSD
Dec 8, 10 13:20
Post #1 of 19
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Torque Wrench Suggestions?
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What is reasonably priced torque wrench for use on a tri bike? I stopped by the local Home Depot and all they had was a massive 3 foot long torque wrench that went from 25 to 125 lbs of force. I've searched a couple tri websites and seen bike specific ones for $125+; any cheaper options?
grosso27
Dec 8, 10 13:26
Post #2 of 19
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Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [SeanInSD]
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park makes a small one & a big one. tw-1 or tw-2.
i have the small one from torque, and one a big bigger from craftsman.
if craftsman made a smaller one, then both of mine would be from them.
beam is the way to go.
jaretj
Dec 8, 10 13:45
Post #3 of 19
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Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [SeanInSD]
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Free if you borrow them from work :)
Disclaimer - I work in calibration
jaretj
SeanInSD
Dec 8, 10 14:02
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Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [grosso27]
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If I buy just one, should I get the TW-1 or TW-2? Just looking to do basic stuff on my carbon bike.
jkatsoudas
Dec 8, 10 14:12
Post #5 of 19
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Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [grosso27]
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In Reply To:
park makes a small one & a big one. tw-1 or tw-2.
i have the small one from torque, and one a big bigger from craftsman.
if craftsman made a smaller one, then both of mine would be from them.
beam is the way to go.
I'd pass on the Craftsman torque wrenches. Despite the legendary Craftsman name, their current offerings are pretty lousy, and the warranty is only 90 days. I have an inch-pound Craftsman torque wrench and am not at all impressed with it's quality. I recently got a "Husky" brand torque wrench from Home Depot, and it looks to be built much better and carries a lifetime warranty.
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High-5's
Dec 8, 10 14:24
Post #6 of 19
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Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [jkatsoudas]
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I ordered a small torque wrench from Mountain Equipment Co-OP in Canada. MEC.ca is the website, I like this one and it was priced fairly.
R900
Dec 8, 10 14:43
Post #7 of 19
(553 views)
Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [grosso27]
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In Reply To:
park makes a small one & a big one. tw-1 or tw-2.
i have the small one from torque, and one a big bigger from craftsman.
if craftsman made a smaller one, then both of mine would be from them.
beam is the way to go.
+1 same set up I have. The smaller Park goes to almost 7Nm.
grosso27
Dec 8, 10 14:45
Post #8 of 19
(550 views)
Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [jkatsoudas]
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Husky over Craftsman?
Wow, there's something I never thought I'd hear.
I'd challenge you to visit the Craftsman site & re-evaluate what you think their warranty is.
jkatsoudas
Dec 8, 10 14:47
Post #9 of 19
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Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [grosso27]
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In Reply To:
Husky over Craftsman?
Wow, there's something I never thought I'd hear.
I'd challenge you to visit the Craftsman site & re-evaluate what you think their warranty is.
Product Overview: Item Weight: 1.7 lbs. General Warranty: 90 days Torque Wrench Type: Torque wrench
http://www.craftsman.com/...o=1&blockType=L1
Go read the reviews of it while you're there.
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grosso27
Dec 8, 10 14:49
Post #10 of 19
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Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [SeanInSD]
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If you're only going to get one, you'll probably have to go with bigger one.
It can do all your jobs, but makes the smaller/lighter jobs a bit tedious as the different b/t 5 & 7 Nm isn't that clear on a torque that goes up to 70.
Smaller jobs are easier on the small torques, but with a capacity of 7Nm, you won't be able to do all your jobs, follow?
I'd look for a Craftsman coupon or sale around the holidays at Sears & pick up their beam, then hunt ebay for the small Park eventually.
Runless
Dec 8, 10 14:50
Post #11 of 19
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Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [jkatsoudas]
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I have a Park TW-5 with Pedro's bits. It works great. 3-16nm is about the perfect torque range except the extremes like bearing preload on the low end, and a few freak things on the upper end. But in general, brakes, stems, aerobars, seatposts, seatpost collars, are all in that range.
grosso27
Dec 8, 10 14:52
Post #12 of 19
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Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [jkatsoudas]
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http://www.craftsman.com/...10&blockType=L10
Right back at ya fella. Lifetime guarantee. Beam type, like I told him to buy in the first place.
Nobody ever recommended a click-type. The warranty speaks for itself. The springs lose tension, stretch out, etc..
Sometimes details are your friend.
jkatsoudas
Dec 8, 10 14:58
Post #13 of 19
(520 views)
Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [grosso27]
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In Reply To:
http://www.craftsman.com/...10&blockType=L10
Right back at ya fella. Lifetime guarantee. Beam type, like I told him to buy in the first place.
Nobody ever recommended a click-type. The warranty speaks for itself. The springs lose tension, stretch out, etc..
Sometimes details are your friend.
Really? You're recommending a 1/2" drive, 150 ft/lb torque wrench for a bicycle application?
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grosso27
Dec 8, 10 15:04
Post #14 of 19
(514 views)
Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [jkatsoudas]
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Hmm. That's curious.
I mistakenly grabbed the first beam-type I saw, I didn't realize they have more than one model.
Though I can't find it on the website, they have it in stores, #44644.
0-70 Nm / 0-600 in lbs.
Gets the job done for me. But like I said, I also have the smaller Park for those jobs.
jkatsoudas
Dec 8, 10 15:10
Post #15 of 19
(510 views)
Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [grosso27]
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In Reply To:
Hmm. That's curious.
I mistakenly grabbed the first beam-type I saw, I didn't realize they have more than one model.
Though I can't find it on the website, they have it in stores, #44644.
0-70 Nm / 0-600 in lbs.
Gets the job done for me. But like I said, I also have the smaller Park for those jobs.
OK, I've not ever seen that one in the store or on their website, but if it exists I'd agree it's OK for bikes. I don't necessarily agree that beam-type is any better than click-type. I actually have the 150 ft/lb beam-type that you linked to for automotive use, and after years of always applying torque in the "tightening" direction (i.e., I never use it to loosen bolts) the beam pointer is now skewed off to one side.
Click-type wrenches do eventually go out of calibration (just like beam-type do) but if you reset them to zero between uses the springs shouldn't compress that much and they can go for years between calibrations.
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grosso27
Dec 8, 10 15:17
Post #16 of 19
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Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [jkatsoudas]
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Fair enough. I have had bad luck w/ click-type, so they are not for me is all.
If I could find one at a reasonable price I'd give it another shot tho, trying to make sure you can see the beam & fit in the long arm is not always quite practical.
Logan D Dog
Dec 8, 10 15:33
Post #17 of 19
(489 views)
Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [SeanInSD]
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I've had my craftsman torque wrenches for close to twenty years now. The Snap-on man came around saying they were junk and was going to show me using his calibration equipment. Both the large and small one tested within the tolerances of the testing equipment (1.5% if I remember correctly). I'll keep them thank you.
Note, the warantee is 90 days. But I broke mine (drove over with a truck) and with a little nice talking to the people at Sears walked out with a new one.
Most my tools are Craftsman and they have always done right by me.
YMMV
Emery's Third Coast Tri
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SeanInSD
Dec 8, 10 15:44
Post #18 of 19
(478 views)
Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [grosso27]
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Just ordered the smaller TW-1 from Amazon. Should work fine for me for right now as I'm just doing little stuff on the bike. I'll look at either the TW-2 or a Craftsman model for a more heavy duty torque wrench. The Park wrenches are a lot cheaper than some of the options listed of tri bike websites so that is nice.
AnthonyS
Dec 8, 10 16:35
Post #19 of 19
(442 views)
Re: Torque Wrench Suggestions? [SeanInSD]
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Well not that I've ever tested torque wrenches on torque testers, or taught classes on minimum torque, maximum torque, torque increments, nominal torque etc.... or own several torque wrenches for various purposes.
Indeed a beam type torque wrench is the most dependable and reliable. Unless you permanently deform the beam (via overtorquing) or the wrench was made from incorrect materials, they will literally last a lifetime. You also never need to worry about the internal springs or beam clicking mechanisms breaking. And to top it all off you can find used beam torque wrenches on Craigslist and eBay for next to nothing.
The U.S. Navy spends a lot of money on dial indicating torque wrenches and calibrating all of them annually. They flat refuse to have a micrometer or "click" torque wrench on a ship. They just aren't durable enough.
Get a nice 3/8" drive beam type torque wrench in the 0-600 inch pound range with a N-m scale too.
Heck we could go on about how you need to pick a torque wrench for the particular job where your target torque is between 1/4 and 7/8ths of the full scale too, but that is really overkill.
And then we could get into the engineering side of things and discuss how torque is just a number designed to get the fastener to a target clamping load. It's really about clamping force and not torque, so be sure to keep all of your fasteners clean too and use the correctly specified lubricant too. If nothing is specified, then you have a decision to make. I'll usually use a light coat dry graphite based lubricant in these cases.
And then we could worry about running torque too or the torque required just to turn the fastener. Sometimes you need to add running torque to your target nominal torque in order to get the correct clamping load. But you never ever want to exceed the fasteners designed maximum torque or you can permanently ruin the fastener. It may look fine, but it also might fail when you need it most.
So in conclusion just get an el cheapo beam type torque wrench and save yourself a ton of expense. This is one area where there isn't a lot to gain by spending a ton of money.
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Between autocorrect, touch typing and a lack of desire or time to proofread on the internet, there are likely errors in the text posted. If pointing these out will add to your sense of self worth and validate your life, knock yourself out.
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