Is it just me or does torque matter way more than I thought?

Fitters
1

Been tweaking my bike setup over the weekend and decided to swap out my old pedals and tighten a few components. I used a basic torque wrench I borrowed from a buddy and honestly, I had no idea how off I was just “tightening by feel” all these years.
A couple of bolts were probably on the edge of being stripped.
It got me wondering, how many of you are actually using torque specs when working on your bikes? Is it overkill or have I just been playing with fire?
I’ve been looking into picking up my own torque wrench. Found this one that seems pretty solid and affordable, Jonard Torque Wrenches.

Curious if anyone here has tried similar tools or if I should just stick with the “elbow feel” method.

2

In the 80s steel bikes era, by feel probably worked just fine.

With anything carbon especially, stop playing with fire and use a torque wrench, especially if you’re working on someone else’s bike. Your bike will appreciate it.

2 Likes
3

After having one of my mechanics fubar a fork about 20 years ago, I religiously use the torque wrench.

4

bought a Park Tools torque wrench for my carbon aerobars and extensions, did not trust myself to get it right. The wrench is cheap enough, a single front tooth is $thousands, torquing it right is much preferred.

my bikes otherwise are steel and aluminum, vibe torquing hasn’t caused me any problems in forty years or so…