Originally Posted by
tetonrider
i have a smaller case and (a) i have never taken a crank off to travel with a bike and (b) even so... no.
torque wrenches can be valuable (but i've also seen people not know how to properly use one and destroy parts... "but i used a torque wrench!!"); they are not essential. after enough time a person can get used to calibrate their hands. in fact, that is often better as you can get a more subtle feel for what is going (e.g., if something is cross-threading or providing more resistance than it should).
for most cranks, the right answer is "really tight."
i find that people don't often understand the common specs for bolts (Nm), but if you look up a value in ft-lbs or in-lbs they get it.
ex: 6 Nm doesn't mean much, but 4.5 ft-lbs does. (4.5 pounds of downward force with a 12" lever/wrench.) or, if you have a 4" allen wrench, that 4.5 ft lbs is 13.5 pounds @ 4".
that 40 Nm crankset needs ~50# @ ~6".
most of us have a general feel for pounds.
I don't have enough confidence/feel to eyeball torque. And I'm sure as **** not going to do an all-out sprint if I'm wondering "gee I hope this crank isn't gonna fall off"
Not saying you're not right, but I prefer to have it exactly right rather than guess.
Anyway, good to know you don't have to take off the cranks anyway - I thought you did for the smaller cases?