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As per title. Xmas present ideas.
I'm not especially ham-fisted, but building up my first proper FS bike, would like to torque the bearings/bolts etc accurately.
So, not silly money, but something that will work pretty well.
Std response is:
Cheap- lifeline or px.
Expensive- Norbar (there was one for £60 in classifieds)
On the cheap end, I've found the lifeline version more accurate than the jobsworth planet-x one, that's just my own experience, they are both re-branded by several other companies, my lifeline one is under the BBB brand. I use a digital one for higher torque settings.
There's about 10 threads on this in the last 6 months.
Norbar seems to get quite a look in. Expect to pay about 80 quid.
I've an Effetto Mariposa Giustafoorza II 2-16nm Deluxe, costs about £120.
The PX one is now £20, the cheapest it goes to.
Minimum viable tool - Topeak ComboTorq - spring type, £13, won't go out of calibration.
If you can live with (compensate for) these accuracy figures according to BikeRadar - Average torque reading at 3/5/8Nm: 2.39/3.9/6.54Nm
I picked up a torque wrench this year for use on my carbon FS bike, another factor when decided was did the torque wrench cover the range I needed which was from single digits up to the 30s.
The Giant wrench seems like a reasonable mid-priced effort, between Lifeline/PX/BBB and Norbar.
I can't hear mention of a torque wrench without thinking of this sketch:
I think the punchline was a take on the Fiat Strada ad at the time.
If you can live with (compensate for) these accuracy figures according to BikeRadar – Average torque reading at 3/5/8Nm: 2.39/3.9/6.54Nm
Minimum [s]viable tool[/s] tolerance landfill fodder – Topeak ComboTorq – spring type, £13, won’t go out of calibration.
Bit hard to go out of cal when it doesn't seem to have ever been near it. You'd be as well without it at those tolerances.
Fair enough, the one tested was a consistent 20% under. Maybe good enough for home use on a bike, but I'm no expert (unlike @peaslaker). Canyon seem to think so; they include their own-branded one with bikes. Probably avoids a whole lot of ham-fistedness for minimal outlay.
The Giant wrench seems like a reasonable mid-priced effort, between Lifeline/PX/BBB and Norbar.
Is it mid-accuracy too? Just paying for the name otherwise
Decathlon one is Ace.
Fair enough, the one tested was a consistent 20% under. Maybe good enough for home use on a bike, but I’m no expert (unlike @peaslaker). Canyon seem to think so; they include their own-branded one with bikes. Probably avoids a whole lot of ham-fistedness for minimal outlay.
As long as they honour any warranty issues it may throw up. Personally I'd pay a bit more than a fraction of a percent of my bikes value for something that actually does what it claims. The better options are no more than 4x the price of that junk.
I'm no expert either but I am an engineer. As I said, you would be as well off without it.