Carbon bike torque

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi,

I just bought my first carbon bike. Trek Madone series 5.
I was told to be careful when I thighten my seatpost since is all carbon.
Should I buy a torque wrench?
What do you suggest?

Thank you.

2

Question 1: Abso-freaking-lutley. Unless you’re ready to gamble with your frame every time you turn a bolt (and being wrong once = you lose).

Question 2: You’ll get a thousand different answers about which one to buy. I have one of these (http://www.parktool.com/product/ratcheting-click-type-torque-wrench-tw-5) and it’s served me well.

3

Yes. You’ll want it for stem bolts as well.

4

yeah if you don’t have a feel for what proper torque is, good idea to get one, at least to start.

5

So how much do you torque your seatpost clamp?

My stem is all labelled (5nm) but no idea how much to torque the seatpost. No guidance in any manuals either…

6

I love my topeak digital torque wrench.

7

Your seatpost clamp should be labeled too. It might just be embossed and hard to see or might be on a less-than-obvious surface like the bottom. If not, you need to get that information from Trek.

8

I have these and they work great. They com in a 4Nm and 6Nm size and cost about $15 each. They go “click” when you reach the right torque. Very conv. I use the 4Nm for my stem and seat post and the 6Nm for any 5mm bolts.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/gear/product/tool.shed.torqkey.torque.wrenches/556/38758/