I will be needing to purchase a torque wrench for my bikes. I already have a 1/2″ drive one for car duties (when we had a car) but looking for something more bike sized.

What can you recommend?

Thanks

I got this one and am very happy with it 🙂

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JEDOXN4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

+1 for the Norbar. Spent absolutely ages going through all the bike branded ones, reading the reviews and they all seemed to be out of the same factory to me. I already had all the torx and Allen bits so that might of swayed it a bit. The Norbar really is a nice bit of kit. I had a little buyers remorse until I used it a couple of times.

That’s the Norbar I have.
Seems great so far!

Norbar. I’ve got the one with 3/8 inch drive as I had the sockets in that size, but either one will get the job.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/x-tools-essential-torque-wrench-set/rp-prod155414?gs=1&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Chain+Reaction-UK-PLA-PLA-All-MB-SE-Shopping+QLB+Manufacturer+Mobile&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mkwid%7CsofCxZt9S_dm%7Cpcrid%7C161810673982%7Cpkw%7C%7Cpmt%7C%7Cprd%7C567738UK

One of these has served me fine.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/x-tools-essential-torque-wrench-set/

Edit: Same one as above from CRC, the Wiggle one used to be branded as LifeLine Essential.

Nobar 3/8″ new owner here. Bought it to replace my broken Wiggle pro range torque wrench. This doesnt come with the drive bits but I have them in my tool range already so no great loss. Used it a few times already and love it! Would highly recommend it so far.

I have the same Norbar one as well. It’s really good. It seems pointless to buy a cheaper one or a park tools etc… one. The Norbar comes with a calibration certificate inside. A torque wrench is for precision, buying one that hasn’t been tested to see if it’s precise or not surely defeats the object?

John

(As a side note I went into a marine engineering firm the other day and they all had Norbar torque wrenchs at their work desks which felt reassuring)

Noting that they need regular calibration also, and (from experience) careful when using thread lock and grease on bolts. Check if the torque spec factors in recommended stuff to use.

Personally for small torques I just go by feel now. Small bolts are more likely to snap and I don’t fully trust my small torque wrench any more. Big torques I do tend to use the big wrench, especially crank (sram, so 50+Nm) and cassette (40Nm). When hand tightened some people and some shops don’t do these tight enough, and then people wonder why they come loose or there’s play in them.

X tools/lifeline one for me too. Pretty good for the price TBH!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-essential-torque-wrench-set/?utm_source=order-placed-sg01-gb&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=orders&utm_content=product

this has served me very well. Although did have to buy an extra socket set for it:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162298695608

still worked out cheaper than some of the other kits.

I have the icetoolz one.

My view is that since I’m never going to get it calibrated it’s only purpose is to keep me reasonably consistent and stop me over/underguessing. I’m sure it’s accurate enough for my needs.

Problem is, they’re not consistent as I found. My cheapie I kept thinking “this must click by now”, nope, snap, bugger. It was fine before that on the same torques.

I pulled it apart, cleaned and regreased. It seems to click when I expect it, but I’m not confident with it. Every time I use it I do a quick check on lower torques just to make sure it clicks, then I torque to lower amounts on the thing I’m tightening, then increase the torque setting and go higher, until either it clicks on the right setting or I feel uncomfortable pushing it higher.

Yeah,
Norbar perfect!
Used a BBB one previously and damaged a bolt!
It’s difficult with smaller bolts e.g.: stem especially titanium as these are often a lot lower than what is recommended on the stem.
Thanks,
Max

Thanks for the info so far, lots to ponder and look at.

If the wrench is 3/8 drive and i already have a set of 1/4 drive sockets and bits etc, would an adapter make any difference to the torque setting? I assume it won’t but thought someone would know for definite.

Why’s no one use a bending beam if they are not getting clickers calibrated.

I use my 3 position arm.

Taking it easy (5 torquey things)
Tight (15 torquey things)
Really f****** tight. Like, all my weight on it. (50 torquey things)

Never ruined anything yet.

I use the Wiggle one for lower torque stuff and another one (can’t remember brand) for higher torque settings on the crank etc.

So far so good.

Even the bendy ones need calibration. They ain’t that great to be honest.

Slightly less accurate lots more robust and less susceptible to mistreatment/damage.

Perfect for home use on a mountain bike and not in a hermetically sealed lab if you ask me.

Obviously not good enough for API q2 or what ever standard you work to but if I was to choose one to use without calibrating regularly it’s be a bending beam.

+1 for the lifeline – not let me down yet.

I have a car one for the cassette ring and BB and a 5nm key for our and about.

Taking it easy (5 torquey things)
Tight (15 torquey things)
Really f****** tight. Like, all my weight on it. (50 torquey things)

😆 that’s exactly what i do now and have been doing for years, but with torque settings now printed/etched on pretty much everything my thinking is maybe i should follow the instructions, like all us men do.

I have a Sealey one for lower torque ranges, and a Halfords jobbie from the late 90’s for 20Nm up. Both have been good. The Sealey one is easy to take apart and service; the Halfords one would require drilling out a rivet.

I taught myself how to calibrate them after the Sealey one got dust in and stopped clicking – it’s simple maths and there are plenty of decent videos on youtube. You’ll not get it as good as a lab that certifies them, but you’ll get it close enough it definitely won’t round, snap or strip anything. I checked the Halfords one at the same time and was surprised that after 18 years or so it was within 10%!

I thought the bendy bar ones were crap. To be fair I only use the torque wrench for carbon bits as I’m a bit paranoid and suspension fork servicing, even then you don’t NEED one. I checked a few bolts with the torque wrench after I got it to see how close I was just doing it by hand and nothing was actually very far off at all. Unless you are using a breaker bar or being a right spanner then allen keys tend to naturally limit themselves in about the right place.

Oh and leave your torque wrench on it’s lowest setting when not in use.

John

Also worth bearing in mind they’re more accurate around the middle of their range than at either end of the scale.

johnnyboy666 – Member
Oh and leave your torque wrench on it’s lowest setting when not in use.

Yeah. That I didn’t know to do this with the Halfords one for the first ten years I had it was why it was such a surprise to find it still calibrated. Must have a very sturdy spring in it.

I use torque wrenches on most bike things now – as a teenager I way over-tightened everything, and nowadays I find that if I go by feel I under-tighten. Where the bolt is on the bike and how I have to orient my arm to get to it make a massive difference to how much torque it feels like I’m putting in. 15Nm on a seat rail clamp feels more like 25Nm does on a different part of the bike.

I thought the bendy bar ones were crap

Any particular reason ,?

Not as easy to use or be precise with and not as accurate.

John

I’ve got a topeak bendy bar one for low torque stuff and a draper clicky one for big torque.

it was such a surprise to find it still calibrated

Finding it within 10% isn’t ‘calibrated’, probably more than twice it’s tolerance out of spec.

In all the years I’ve been involved in calibration and torque calibration especially, I have never found a bendy bar one in spec after it’s first calibration – bear in mind a lot of the users I know will calibrate them on a 3 month frequency. I honestly don’t know anyone who uses them anywhere, in any company or in any country I’ve worked in.

They may well be ok for the odd job home mechanic, but in my experience I wouldn’t use one.

Considering the amount of use I need a torque wrench for, after the local Norbar recalibration center wrote off my last T-W for being too old and not have the parts.. I replaced it with a generic one from SSC while on sale for a 1/3 of the price.. this test suggest its close enough not to worry about, and considering the cost of re-calibrating a T-W, I’ll bin it in a couple of years and buy another & still be ahead of the Norbar option.

I think you’re close to me Zippy, I’ll calibrate it for you for nowt – have done a few for people on here, mainly for cake.

… they got snotty with me, when I asked* if I really needed to pay full price for taking it to pieces for inspection but not complete the re-calibration, so I told them to bin it & walked away. It they hadn’t gotten so arse about it, I’d have probably bought another from them.

Many thanks for the offer Lee

* I was unemployed & skint and just asked, wasn’t making a fuss.

OEMs generally do, just be glad you don’t have to deal with some of the large US manufacturer’s of RF/Microwave electronic kit.

Has anyone dropped Hooke a WhatsApp and told him about the wildly variable properties of a steel bar ?

Not used in industry as industry demands a setting type wrench rather than an indicating type for the most part so that work can be verified by a third party when required – this cant be done with an indicating tool.

I see as many Type one wrenches as I see Type 2. Dial wrenches are Gedore’s (Formally MHH Engineering/Torqueleader) second best selling tool after their setting drivers.

this cant be done with an indicating tool.

A torqued bolt can easily be tested with an indicating tool, in exactly the same way you would with a preset wrench. Yes, you don’t have the click when you reach the required torque but both will tell you it’s tight, neither will tell you if it’s too tight.