Heeeyho Readers! New tools are incredibly exciting!
Please, call the mechanics annonymous! We've got a serious addiction to tools over here. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill.
Jokes aside, can we resist temptation? Tools are awesome. And the more specialized we get, the more tools we need. It's endless fun. The first ratchet wrench and sockets I bought as a young mechanic in 2008. I had just entered the technical school to become an industrial mechanic, and also had a vintage car — that I still own —, meaning a great set of tools came in handy. Before that, dad used to lend me his, which is dangerous as fuck (damage your dad's tools and you'll discover).
Nearly twenty years later and here we are, still collecting tools for various applications. This time is for bicycles; tomorrow for something else.
Getting specialized
Until now, I serviced my bicycles using regular tools, but a spanned Allen bolt forced me to get a bit more specialized. Yeah. Modern bicycles and aluminium parts require delicacy, not to mention carbon fiber ones — one heavier fart is enough to snap expensive parts. We either risk under-tightening a bolt or get a proper wrench to avoid mishaps. After much procrastinating, I finally got my hands on the right tool for the simple job of properly tightening bolts.
Each part of a modern bicycle comes market with a torque specification. Just like assembling a car engine, we need to apply the correct amount of force into the wrench to avoid breaking/spanning bolts. Carbon fiber bicycle parts are particularly fragile against overly tightened bolts. Using a torque wrench is the only way to make sure each bolt is tightened correctly.
There are several types of torque wrenches: clicker, beam, dial, digital, etc etc. The one in this post is called a clicker. It's also a ratchet wrench that uses different sockets for various types of bolts. For bicycles we use mainly allen and torx keys.
Ok, ok! But how in mathafacka fackery does it work? Calm down, youg Padawan.
Without getting to technical about the physics behind the thing, shall we? Bicycle parts and their respective bolts are rated in Newton-metre, which corresponds to the torque we need to apply to properly assemble said part. A click torque wrench has a dial at the handle that's used to set the limiting torque. We start to tighten the bolt and, as soon as it reaches the pre-setted torque, the wrench clicks. No more spanned bolt heads!
How many bolts need to be properly torqued on a bicycle? Many! Some of them require quite a lot of torque, like the absurd 50 N.m on Sram's GXP bottom-bracket. My clicker is rated for 2 - 25 N.m. Although it doesn't serve for crank and cassette bolts, it'll work fine for everything else.
Stem bolts, like in the above photo, are rated around 9-10 N.m. Brake calipers need about 5.5 N.m, as well as the bolts that secure the handlebar. Rear derailleur requires 12 N.m and so on. Each bolt has its own specification, from the tiniest and upwards.
Again... regular tools work just fine, but as soon as touching more modern bicycles, having the correct tool spares a ton of problems.
It's worth the money
There are incredibly expensive torque wrenches cof cof park tools cof cof Getting cold in here?! One way around the price barrier is to throw in the towel and resort to Chinese brands. It's possible to find high quality stuff, believe me. I'm not getting paid to say that.
Anyways. I don't want this post to sound like advertisement.
Have you ever used a torque wrench?
This is the first time I'm using a torque wrench on my bicycle. Sure, I've had the chance to assemble car engines before using a beam torque wrench, but this one feels so much cooler to use.
Do you torque your bolts or simply tighten them on feel? Have you ever wanted a torque wrench?
I'd love to hear from the fella Hivers.
Peace.
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~Love ya all,
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
