Maintain your bike operating sweetly and keep away from rattles, noises and potential injury by precisely tightening up bolts with a torque wrench
There’s a few hundred bolts on the common mountain bike and each single certainly one of them has a beneficial torque setting. This merely means they’ve an optimum tightness, which is simply sufficient to carry no matter it’s in place however not an excessive amount of as to wreck the fastener or the half it’s connected to. To attain the right torque, you’ll a specialist device known as, unsurprisingly sufficient, a torque wrench, and we’ve chosen the most effective torque wrenches for mountain bikes we may discover.
Park Instrument TW-5.2 Ratcheting Click on-Kind Torque Wrench
Wonderful high quality torque wrench by legendary bike device producers
Items: Nm (conversion scale on facet) | Drive: 3/8in | Torque vary: 2 – 14Nm
£126.99
The TW-5.2 from Park Instrument is a standard ratcheting torque wrench designed for decrease torque settings that you simply sometimes discover on bike parts.
It includes a 3/8in drive, which makes it appropriate with Park Instrument common sockets and has easy dial adjustment system and a window show so you’ll be able to see precisely the place you might be. It has torque vary from 2-14Nm adjustable in 0.2 Nm increments and is correct to +/- 4%.
It’s solely calibrated in Nm however there’s a conversion scale on the physique of the device for those who work in in/ft lbs. It’s a sturdy device with a protracted 230mm deal with and in addition is available in a plastic carry case.
Topeak Torq Stick
Nice for right- and left-handed customers with reversable drive
Items: Nm | Torque vary: 4 – 20Nm
£109.99
Utilizing a dial on the pinnacle of the Topeak Torq Stick permits to reverse the drive to be used on left or right-handed threaded bolts.
Though it has a large torque vary from 4-20Nm and there are a number of pre-set from the frequent torque values, the size is kind of small and in contrast to the Park Instrument TW-5.2 there are not any in between gradients. It does include hex-drive and contains six Allen key and three Torx bits.
A pleasant contact is these are additionally 30mm in size for stepping into these hard-to-reach areas however sadly there’s no carry case included with the Torq Stick.
Bontrager Preset 5Nm Torque Wrench
Easy, however very efficient and a very good price range selection
Items: Nm | Hex: 4mm mounted | Torque vary: 5Nm
£17.99
This one hit surprise has a pre-set torque worth of 5Nm, which is often what you’d fantastic on a stem bolt.
You’ll be able to’t modify this worth, so it must be what you’ve gotten in your bike but it surely’s a easy device that’s simple to make use of and is fairly sturdy; we’ve a couple of of those floating round within the workshop instruments attracts.
The opposite limiting issue is the 4mm hex bit is mounted completely within the device, so once more if in case you have 3 or 5mm stem bolts this isn’t going to give you the results you want. A restricted device however reasonably priced.
How we check
When testing torque wrenches, we have a look at ease of use and value. A number of the best to make use of have a set torque setting with a everlasting Allen key bit put in, normally a 4mm. These are cheap £20-30 however they’re restricted software and can solely final so long as the bit on the top.
Absolutely adjustable instruments are extra advanced and dearer. The important thing function right here is the bit holder or driver which is able to both be 3/8 or 1/4in drive (like a socket set) or a hex becoming. With the advanced instruments you need a good adjustment vary and in addition a carry case as a result of it is a precision instrument, not one thing you must have rolling round in your device field.
Preset torque wrenches are nice issues
Are Torque Wrenches all the identical?
Torque wrenches are break up into two varieties – ratcheting or ‘socket set’ fashion that you simply lever up and down like a spanner and screwdriver designs, which frequently have T-shaped handles. The latter are additionally break up into pre-set and adjustable and there’s an extra subset the place the bit is interchangeable or mounted completely. The rationale for these restrictions is as a result of these small torque instruments are designed to tighten one part, the stem.
The entire ‘socket set’ fashion torque wrenches have interchangeable bits and are absolutely adjustable from round 2-14Nm, however are sometimes dearer, anticipate to pay upwards of a £100.
Why ought to I take advantage of a Torque Wrench?
The primary motive to tighten a bot to the right torque is for security. For those who over tighten a bolt, it will possibly break or injury the half it’s connected to. Conversely if it’s not tight sufficient, it will possibly work unfastened, which may speed up put on or trigger a failure. A unfastened bolt on a saddle clamp will solely trigger it to creak or transfer once you sit on it however there are conditions the place it will possibly trigger injury to the bolt. Some of the frequent bolts to return unfastened is the one holding your crank in place and in the event you carry on driving this could mangle the interface and imply expensive substitute.
The opposite benefit with utilizing a torque is you don’t must guess how tight issues must be. The old-fashioned means is hand tight after which one other quarter flip however what does that really imply? If a seat clam bolt has a torque setting of 5nm and you employ a 5nm pre-set torque wrench, you’re by no means going to over or beneath tighten it, and in addition you gained’t have to the touch it once more.
How one can use a torque wrench
A pre-set torque wrench is fairly simple if the worth matches the bolt you’re trying to tighten. You twist the device till it breaks free, you’ll know this once you really feel it. Don’t be tempted to offer it one other quarter as a result of you’ll be able to nonetheless over tighten bolts utilizing a torque wrench as a result of most don’t full surrender the ghost in the event you push previous the discharge level.
An adjustable torque wrench launch in precisely the identical means, you simply modify the dial to match the torque setting on the bolt first.
How do I understand how a lot torque to make use of?
Most parts, suspension pivots and the like have the torque written subsequent to the bolt in query. If it’s not there it’ll be within the proprietor’s guide, or yow will discover it on the producer web site.
As a normal rule larger the bolt the upper the torque. Stem bolts have a typical torque worth of 4-5Nm, suspension pivots could be something from 5-8Nm and cranks are 11-13Nm. It’s additionally price noting that simply because there’s no bolt doesn’t imply that part doesn’t have a torque setting – a cassette lockring for instance ought to tighten to round 40Nm. Then once more typically erring on the facet of warning is a good suggestion, particularly in the case of pedals.
What does Nm imply?
Torque wrenches are calibrated in Nm (Newton-metres, which is a unit of torque of momentum) however you’ll additionally see Ft/lb or In/lbs. One is metric and the opposite is imperial. Fasteners typically have each values written subsequent to them.
Can I take advantage of it incorrectly?
One of many frequent issues is when tightening a part with two or extra fasteners facet by facet, like on a stem. One of the best follow is to softly comfortable up the bolts evenly with an Allen device first after which go in with the torque wrench to complete issues off. For those who tighten one bolt all the best way to the right torque after which tighten the opposite bolt in the identical means, it will possibly really cut back the torque on the primary one.
You must also observe the identical alternating course of when loosening bolts, particularly with crank arms and stem face plates.
