Bicycle Torque Wrench,1/4 Inch Socket Set 2-24Nm Torque Repair Tool, Bicycle Socket Wrench Sets Maintenance Kit for Road & Mountain Bikes Includes Allen & Torx Sockets, Extension Bar & Storage Box

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The bike torque wrench you choose mustn’t be too heavy or oversized in size because if it is, riding the bike will be very difficult for you. A good bike torque wrench should fit in your hand nicely and feel comfortable when using it to tighten nuts on bolts of your bike’s components. It’s pretty simple, and you just need to choose a bike torque wrench that feels right in your hand and then go from there. Clearance Level Most manufacturers recommend calibrating a torque wrench yearly. This is not particularly expensive to get done and will ensure your wench is still operating in the correct range of torque. Torque is certainly not specific to the bike industry, there is a whole range of torque wrenches on the market, what you should look for is a quality wrench that has been calibrated to the relevant ISO standard so you know it is accurate. If you have been bike riding for a while now, you probably know that bike maintenance is as essential as bike safety. Plenty of riders take their bikes to professional bike shops to be fixed well and tuned up regularly. However, if this isn’t something you can afford or just don’t have the time to do, you can always use bike torque wrenches. What is a bike torque wrench? Using your own feel when tightening bolts will get you pretty close (if said feel is decent), but we've seen plenty of heavy-handed riders strip delicate threads on parts, however.

Finance is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. Performance Cycling Limited FRN: 720557 trading as Tredz are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a credit broker not a lender – credit is subject to status and affordability and is provided by Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC. Terms & Conditions Apply. The custom-cut foam inlay keeps the tools firmly in place, while the metal clasps on the carry case are robust and secure.Torque wrenches are calibrated in Nm (Newton-metres, which is a unit of torque of momentum) but you’ll also see Ft/lb or In/lbs. One is metric and the other is imperial. Fasteners often have both values written next to them. Can I use it incorrectly? The main reason to tighten a bot to the correct torque is for safety. If you over tighten a bolt, it can break or damage the part it’s attached to. Conversely if it’s not tight enough, it can work loose, which can accelerate wear or cause a failure. A loose bolt on a saddle clamp will only cause it to creak or move when you sit on it but there are situations where it can cause damage to the bolt. One of the most common bolts to come loose is the one holding your crank in place and if you keep on riding this can mangle the interface and mean costly replacement.

It also features a variable preset torque value. This allows you to securely and sufficiently tighten your bike’s bolts or frame. It includes a five-bit storage pen with a visible window casing design for additional versatility, which aids in the selection of the correct bit. So a bit of internet browsing research suggests that we have a wealth of options. Here are the runners and riders: Park Tool TW-5.2 The Halfords Bikehut 30pc Bike Tool Kit is a solid performer and should complement the budding mechanic with a host of bike-specific tools that serve well as a segue into more technical tasks.

Torque wrenches are precision tools for measuring torque, not general-purpose wrenches or ratchets. If you use your torque wrench to undo bolts, you risk pushing it out of calibration and or damaging it. Always use another Allen key or regular wrench for loosening bolts and only use your torque wrench for tightening to spec. Don’t be afraid to look beyond cycling brands. A common refrain is that bike-specific brands impose a bike tax on parts. There are reasons why that's not actually true but for the purpose of this conversation, it doesn't matter much.

Some torque wrenches are electronic and some are mechanical. There's nothing that makes one inherently more accurate than the other but there are reasons you might choose one or the other. The main argument for mechanical is that they don't need batteries. You never run the risk of reaching for your wrench and finding it dead. Also, torque wrenches can last a very long time and LCD displays don't have the same staying power as a precision metal tool. The tools only occupy one side of the box so there’s space for your own additions. Alex Evans / Immediate Media Those low force settings are for tightening more delicate components such as carbon seat posts, where you may be looking to tighten to a point that’s not a great deal more than ‘finger tight’. Apparently 5Nm is a common setting on bike, being used for bolts that hold in place stems, handlebars and faceplates (whatever they are…). Handily, as the table in the Wikipedia article above makes clear, a torque wrench is a torque wrench wherever you may English-speakingly reside.

Electronic wrenches offer more flexibility and information. If you have a need to measure different units an electronic torque wrench lets you easily switch between them. Once you’ve set the wrench to your desired amount of torque, it should tighten your bolt of choice up to that level and no more. In short, it’s a tool for precision tightening. Do I Need A Torque Wrench For My Bike? I’ve not used the Lifeline Essential, but it doesn’t appear to have the same sort of setting mechanism, it only looks to have the window. I might be missing something, but that doesn’t look as good to me.

For the same reason, you also want to be sure to release the tension on the wrench before storing it. Leaving the wrench spring in tension during storage will cause it to move out of calibration over time. It only takes a moment to set the wrench to the lowest setting before storing it and it will make sure you get the most precision out of an expensive tool. Sadly neither is still around to proffer advice on how to get the best out of a torque wrench. So I had to use the Internets as a kind of techno-grandad. The PRO Advanced Toolbox has 25 tools that are well-made, a decent weight and feel like they’ll endure the test of time, as you’d expect of PRO (Shimano’s in-house parts brand). Torque wrenches are typically most accurate in their middle range. For bicycle torque values, it’s usually somewhere between 3 and 7 Nm – much lower than many automotive tools! But it did make me think that I had no idea how much I was tightening other bolts and fittings on the bike. Too loose or too tight? Anywhere near the manufacturer’s spec?A torque key eschews this flexibility in favour of being pre-set to a stated torque level. So, upon making the miraculous discovery that every bolt on your bike needs tightening to 5Nm, you’d buy a torque key set to exactly that. Both of my grandfathers boasted a certain proficiency with tools amongst their palmares. My paternal one was a joiner; my maternal grandad was a fitter in the Middlesbrough ship yards. An assembly compound such as grease or anti seize etc is often recommended by manufacturers when assembling components and tightening bolts.