Been using on of the generic life line / x tools essentials £25 torque wrench jobbies for a fair few years now. Can’t imagine it’s remotely calibrated any more so looking at upgrading to something a little nicer, budget up to around £100 – well it’s nice to have nice tools isn’t it. Any stand out recommendations, or are they still all a little generic at that price?

I have one of those fixed torque setting wrenches (7Nm IIRC) and it’s really useful. They are about £10. I also have various other torque wrenches but they get very little use unless I am unfortunate enough to be working on my car.

Topeak do something called a Torqbox, which is a set of three pre-set bits at 4 / 5 / 6 Nm.

I’ve got one and the build quality is spot on and it covers 90% of the torque settings required on a bike. Less than 4Nm is pretty much finger-tight, and on my bike the next torque value is 40Nm for cassettes and stuff, which is about the natural limit of my spaghetti noodle arms.

Cheap at CRC / Wiggle at the moment too at forty quid.

If you don’t want to buy preset bicycle-specific torque wrenches then the Norbar SL0 11123 is the one to get; 4-20Nm range and made in the UK.

https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/hand-tools/torque-wrenches/slo-11123-adj-torque-wrench-1-4inch-rct/p/ZT1007818X

Halfords own make torque wrenches are Norbar but alas they don’t do their own version of this one.

Or alternatively see if you know someone who can calibrate it for you, it’s piss easy (with the correct rig) and will inevitably need done for any torque wrench anyway.

I’ve got one upstairs that I bought specifically for the bikes, it’s only about a foot long, and I think it might be a Norbar one. I do recall it’s very good, although I haven’t used it in donks.

I have a 5 Nm hand held bit driver for carbon parts and everything else I just do by feel.

I have the Norbar one suggested above having moved from the same x-tools one the OP mentioned. I am very happy with it

thanks for the ideas, as i’m looking for an adjustable one, that Norbar one looks ideal

Forget the bike specific ones, a lot are just rebranded generic items. I have a Norbar one and it’s great. Remember to wind off the torque before you put it away.

I have this one https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/hand-tools/torque-wrenches/13830-tti20-1-4inch-sq-dv-torque-wrench-4-20n-m-35-180-lbf-in/p/ZT1218188X but bought for £66.59 last Black Friday from Zoro. Quite a price difference to current price!

Remember to wind off the torque before you put it away.

Since I couldn’t see anywherein the instructions of the Norbar one I have about this , and I had been told years ago that it was a good idea , when I bought mine I phoned Norbar up to ask if they would expect this to be done. I was passed to one of their technical staff who said basically it’s not necessary ‘but probably wouldn’t hurt’. He said it would probably be best to leave a little pressure on the spring.

I’ve got a Sealey STS104 which I like a lot. Obviously not suitable for cranks and cassettes and things, but it’s a lot less hassle to use for all the regular bolts than a full wrench.

I’ve got 2… bike specific for the low torque stuff and a car one for the high torque. It’s occasionally used on cars so its not too bad.

Remember to wind off the torque before you put it away.

Since I couldn’t see anywherein the instructions of the Norbar one I have about this , and I had been told years ago that it was a good idea , when I bought mine I phoned Norbar up to ask if they would expect this to be done. I was passed to one of their technical staff who said basically it’s not necessary ‘but probably wouldn’t hurt’. He said it would probably be best to leave a little pressure on the spring.

I have a 300/350 and the instructions definitely say to wind off but NOT BEYOND THE LOWEST SETTING!!!!111!!ONE!

I now leave it and my Teng parked at the lowest setting which is probably enough pressure to keep things right. I don’t remember being taught that in torque wrench school but it sounds plausible enough to be true, probably from winding off the stops and REALLY buggering the calibration.

I think there’s some logic to that squirrelking. I went back to a torque wrench which had been sat in its box for several months, and I’d left it wound completely out. Had seized completely solid. Might have come loose with a pair of molgrips but at that point you’ve got to be wondering what’s happened to the calibration.

Replaced under warranty by Screwfix.

I’ve the Effetto Mariposa Giustaforza II 2-16‘ Deluxe version.
More than happy with it and it has one of the smallest head clearances so will fit about anywhere.

I think mine’s a Draper. Ideal torque range and was the cheapest I could find that came with a calibration certificate. I’m all for nice things but really, how often do you actually use a torque wrench?