Woj75

What would be the best choice or choices for a torque wrench for the home mechanic? I have been researching these and can't seem to get a clear consensus. Thoughts please.

Smokinbbl

I just ordered a 0-200 inch lb with 1/4 inch drive from ebay. I think it cost $25

koolerb

Higher end, American made, click type; you're $120-150. Asian made budget model, $50-80 ballpark. The guy in the post above found one for $25. I've never seen one that cheap.

Woj75

Digital, click type, or beam? What brand and have you had experience with any or all? Thanks.

HillRider

You won't get one here either.

Smokinbbl

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-PITTSBUR...item35cd2b05df

may not be the best, but it gets the job done.

Woj75

How about digital adapters?

Davet

I have and use both types of torque wrenches. Used properly they both will do exactly what they're supposed to. For circumstances where I can't clearly observe the dial on the wrench I'll use a clicker, particularly if it's a high torque effort such as a bottom bracket. For low torque jobs like stem and handlebar bolts, I use a fixed torque key like the Ritchey model.

davidad

The beam type is inexpensive and accurate.

gsa103

For a home mechanic, a fixed value 5 Nm wrench works well for most basic bike stuff.

FBinNY 

You won't get a consensus because we all have our own opinions, running from my retro grouch skill trumps tools approach, to those who spring for the latest and greatest digital gadget.

I still don't use torque wrenches because I can "read" the load on the bolt as I tighten, but if I wee to use a torque wrench I'd opt for the simplicity and reliability of a flex beam type.

Click type torque wrenches are nice if you want to tighten a series of bolts to the same torque, like an auto mechanic would when tightening the eight bolts on a head. However, on a bicycle you're usually tightening only one or two bolts to a given torque, then other bolts to other torques, so you'd be spending all your time resetting the torque wrench instead of putting the bicycle together.

Murray Missile 

I was responsible for maintaining and checking calibration for 300 torque wrenches in a manufacturing facility that made components for John Deere, Caterpillar, Case New Holland and TACOM for about 15 years. We used several different brands and types from cheap Chinese junk to high dollar Belknap, Sturtevant Richmonts and CDI wrenches. For home use my personal favorites based on my experiences would be Proto or MAC Tools clicker wrenches. They seemed to hold their calibration the best of the retail type wrenches although the last few Protos we bought had some ratchet issues. What surprised me was that the Snap On wrenches didn't hold their calibration as well as the others. The cheap Chinese stuff was so bad I told the Industrial Engineers not to bother buying them because most were out of cal right out of the package and none of them lasted more than 6 months before they literally fell apart. I'd never buy a used torque wrench unless I had access to a torque analyzer so I could test them. I now have my own so I can check my own wrenches periodically and if I'm considering buying a used wrench I can test it for accuracy before I buy it.


Based on the similarity in appearance of that wrench to some of the better wrenches I've dealt with over the years I'd be willing to give one of those a try. In fact I think I'll order one of the 1/4" drive versions and test it.

Just ordered this one.......... $19.95 with free shipping. https://www.ebay.com/itm/261286764624

Smokinbbl

Let me know if the calibration is good on it. If its crap, I'll stop using it!

zvez

I've a tool chest full of high quality tools for my motorcycle work.
I noted that my 1/4 drive torque wrench only went down to 5nm. So I ordered one of these. Came in the other day, havent' used it yet, but it seems very well made.

https://www.amazon.com/VENZO-Bicycle-...+torque+wrench

Looigi

Consensus is not what you're after. Gather information and input, and make your own decision.

HillRider

It's of very limited use and mostly just for stem and handlebar clamps. For things like cassette lockrings, bottom bracket cups, crank fixing bolts (square taper, Octalink and external bearing types) etc, it's totally inadequate.

Murray Missile 

Will do, I'll post the results here.

Absolutely! I offered my experiences not as the definitive "buy this wrench" but more as a "these are worth looking at".

One absolute I will offer is this, "Westwind" wrenches sold through Grainger about 5 years ago are CRAP and some of the super cheap wrenches I saw at WalMart during the same period are just chrome plated versions of the same junk. I don't know if they're still selling those, I'll see if I can find pictures of them and post them. You definitely want to avoid those.


Went to the Grainger site, their wrenches are "Westward" not Westwind, sorry. But it appears they have switched suppliers for the torque wrenches, probably because the others were such junk. The old ones had a flattened wrench body with a satin finish, the WalMart versions were chrome. The new ones look very similar to most of the better commercial wrenches with a chrome finish and round wrench body. I have had no experience with what they currently sell.

Hopslam

The eBay wrench is the same as Harbor Fright Pittsburgh for $9.99 I have one & an SK (US made) both read very close to one another . you do need a coupon for that price
I rarely use one on a bike though

Cheers all

Retro Grouch 

For bicycle use there are two, quite different uses for torque wrenches:

The first is for bottom brackets and cranks. Left to my own judgement I might easily under torque them. (Particularly crankarms, if you're using a 6" allen key, you aren't getting 30 ft/lbs.) They require around 30 ft/lb. You need a pretty big wrench just to get to 30 ft/lb.

The second use is relatively delicate high end stems and carbon fiber parts. That stuff sometimes falls into the 5 ft/lb range and, left to my own judgement, I might overcook it.

I don't really see the same torque wrench as being appropriate for both purposes.

Woj75

How about the topeak DX wrench? Very large range-

Retro Grouch 

Not familiar with that wrench but "very large range" doesn't make much sense to me.

If you're using a wrench that was designed to be used in the 5 ft/lb range, it might be too small to crank up to 30 ft/lbs. A big wrench, that's designed for 30 ft/lbs, might be too awkward for precise use in the 5 ft/lb range.

Looigi

FWIW: It's pretty easy to rig up a lever arm on a torque wrench and use a known good scale (e.g. fish scale) to check wrench calibration at a few points. Similarly, if you need to torque something that you can't fit a socket on (e.g. Garmin Vector power meter pedals), you can use a wrench that works and a scale to apply the required torque. Of course you might be able to use a crow's foot adapter on your torque wrench for applications like this, but if you do, it's best to correct the torque for effect of the crow's foot.

Not giving a how-to or listing the caveats here. If you can confidently figure out how to do these things, go for it. Otherwise, perhaps not.

Murray Missile 

Retro Grouch would be correct. Ideally you should use a wrench with a range as closely centered to the required torque as possible. I know that's an "ideal" situation and in the real world not always possible but it's best not to use a wrench at the extremes of it's range. Given his example of a 5 Ft/Lb. low and a 30 Ft/Lb. high a wrench with a low setting of 5 Ft/Lbs. and a high of 30 would seem adequate but in fact would not be a good choice for either setting. As a wrench nears the ends of it's range the actual torque applied can vary considerably from what the scale says, especially as the wrench ages. If you're serious about applying proper torque you are probably going to end up with 2 or 3 wrenches. I currently have 4 with No. 5 on the way. I usually try to stay within +/- 25% of the center of the wrenches range for my final torque setting, especially on critical items like main bearing caps and connecting rods on engines.

fietsbob

If you do Bottom Brackets the scale for 3/8 drive pegs the beam , then you need a 1/2"
so get all 3 ..

Murray Missile 

Found pictures of a wrench that looks like the Westward and WalMart wrenches I mentioned to stay away from.............



The brand name is different but it sure looks like the same thing.