Loading…
12
I finally came around on using a torque wrench for bike repairs
After snapping two bolts on my mountain bike last month in Phoenix, my buddy Dave kept insisting I needed a torque wrench instead of just going by feel. I always thought it was overkill for a hobby mechanic, but after ruining a $40 derailleur hanger I gave in and bought one. Has anyone else had a stubborn tool they avoided for way too long before it saved them money?
4 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In4 Comments
spencer7823mo ago
going by feel" - man, I gotta disagree here. Feel is how I've done all my bike stuff for like 15 years and I've never snapped a bolt. You just gotta know when it's tight enough, yknow? Torque wrenches feel like overcomplicating something that's basically just hand strength and common sense.
4
victorh813mo ago
Nah, but feel is worthless on rusty or greasy threads.
10
avery_flores173mo ago
My buddy actually snapped his crank arm bolt last year doing it by feel on a trail ride. That got me thinking about how we do this with everything now, not just bikes. People guess their tire pressure by pinching the sidewall instead of using a gauge, or they eyeball their chain stretch instead of checking with a ruler. It's like we trust our hands over tools that literally measure what we're trying to guess. I get that feel works for a lot of stuff, but it's a gamble every time you skip the simple check.
8
hill.margaret3mo ago
See this everywhere now, people trusting their hands over a simple measurement.
8