Why do shops buy crappy Park torque wrenches?
#76
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You don't need feel bad. Most bike shops in my area appear to be completely ignorant about torque. In fact one rider going up a hill had his fancy outboard bottom bracket crank arm come loose and separate...
It probably was torqued to spec on a park tool
It probably was torqued to spec on a park tool
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The context is why you would buy a Park or Pedros torque wrench for nearly a hundred bucks, when you could get a good Precision Instruments split beam, or something equivalent for only a couple of bucks more...
More accurate, resistant to abuse, doesn't have to be turned down, and actually accurately does its job across its range (which Park and Pedro's wrenches won't do).
More accurate, resistant to abuse, doesn't have to be turned down, and actually accurately does its job across its range (which Park and Pedro's wrenches won't do).
Snap-On tools are not needed for any bicycle application. Not even by a pro race mechanic. Go check any of the actual tool boxes of 4+ dozen random world class bike mechs, who wrench for world class DH or XC MTB racers, and I’ll guarantee you that you will not find Snap-On or MAC tools nor Precision Instruments torque wrenches in even 5% of those Tool boxes.
Your rant sounds like you’re an angry Snap-on wholesaler or something? And if you think bike shops charge labor rates that approach a quality Porsche work shop rate you have obviously never owned a Porsche. I’ve owned multiple 911 Turbos, and I can assure you the shop labor costs of maintaining such a machine dwarf what any bicycle shop charges for labor.
Now I do agree with you that the Park Tool TW 5.2 and 6.2 are silly priced given that they are essentially nothing but rebadged cheap generic Amazon-Neiko type $30 torque wrenches. Anyone that paid over $100 for either of them got hosed. That said, one does not need a $500 torque wrench to successfully wrench on bicycles. My Hazet click style torque wrenches were bought on sale for between $110 to $150 each (models 5107-2CT, 5108-2CT, and a 5110-2CT). I always reset them to 0 after each use, and get them recalibrated every 2 years. I use them mainly on my cars, which was the primary reason I bought them. The only ones that get used on my bicycles are the 5107 and 5108. I would dare anyone to claim or try to prove they are inadequate for bicycle maintenance because they are click style torque wrenches given they are the exact same model torque wrenches we regularly used on the Porsche F1 development team for numerous applications when I worked for them. There is nothing wrong with a click style TW for bicycle use so long as you ALWAYS reset it to 0 after EVERY use, have it properly calibrated, buy a decent quality wrench, and get it recalibrated every few years or after an abusive type incident like dropping it. FYI,?you don’t need to be at 1% or even 2% torque accuracy for any bicycle components. That’s nonsense! These are not NASA space shuttles being worked on, they are bicycles. In addition, bicycle CF component makers have torque specs that are so conservative that any decently calibrated and decent quality TW will get you where you need to be safely.
Last edited by Breako21; 04-05-21 at 05:35 PM.
#79
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Is this a new ZOMBIE thread record?
21 years 4 months 6 days since last responded to!
21 years 4 months 6 days since last responded to!
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Snap-On tools are not needed for any bicycle application. Not even by a pro race mechanic. Go check any of the actual tool boxes of 4+ dozen random world class bike mechs, who wrench for world class DH or XC MTB racers, and I’ll guarantee you that you will not find Snap-On or MAC tools nor Precision Instruments torque wrenches in even 5% of those Tool boxes.
Your rant sounds like you’re an angry Snap-on wholesaler or something? And if you think bike shops charge labor rates that approach a quality Porsche work shop rate you have obviously never owned a Porsche. I’ve owned multiple 911 Turbos, and I can assure you the shop labor costs of maintaining such a machine dwarf what any bicycle shop charges for labor.
Your rant sounds like you’re an angry Snap-on wholesaler or something? And if you think bike shops charge labor rates that approach a quality Porsche work shop rate you have obviously never owned a Porsche. I’ve owned multiple 911 Turbos, and I can assure you the shop labor costs of maintaining such a machine dwarf what any bicycle shop charges for labor.
#83
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I don't know how such an old thread could wind up in someones daily feed as something hot and new and why someone would get so spicy over it.
Actually a lot of pro-mechanics use Snap-On some may use it less because customs and security like to take the stuff but our shop has a lot of mechanics using Snap-On and it is hard to not, they are good quality tools with good support behind them. Yeah sure they are not cheap but if I do happen to break one, I just call up my Snap-On guy and give him the tool and he gets me a new one. Granted I haven't had to replace anything yet but have had other staff who have.
Sure maybe not needed but you could then say that about any tools and we could say all you need are the leftover wrenches from Ikea to build a proper tool box and we all know that is B.S. As I always say buy good tools once and don't have to buy them again.
Actually a lot of pro-mechanics use Snap-On some may use it less because customs and security like to take the stuff but our shop has a lot of mechanics using Snap-On and it is hard to not, they are good quality tools with good support behind them. Yeah sure they are not cheap but if I do happen to break one, I just call up my Snap-On guy and give him the tool and he gets me a new one. Granted I haven't had to replace anything yet but have had other staff who have.
Sure maybe not needed but you could then say that about any tools and we could say all you need are the leftover wrenches from Ikea to build a proper tool box and we all know that is B.S. As I always say buy good tools once and don't have to buy them again.
#84
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old threads actually are quite good, how often do we talk about torque wrenches? i learned a few things too; checked my tool box and there sat a precision instruments torque wrench, rarely used. this thread helped me appreciate the tool...
thank you.
my tool box is a mix of SK, Park, Harbor, Craftsman et al. my LBS gave me a little torque wrench to tighten my carbon bits with; after reading this i went out and rechecked the torque using the tool..........would not have done it without reading the bantering here.
Edit, to answer the question why shops buy crappy wrenches; well i don't know. when i worked maintenance, the shop gave us a professional tool catalog and money to buy our own tools. so we did, and a lot less junk showed up in our boxes, probably why they did that.
thank you.
my tool box is a mix of SK, Park, Harbor, Craftsman et al. my LBS gave me a little torque wrench to tighten my carbon bits with; after reading this i went out and rechecked the torque using the tool..........would not have done it without reading the bantering here.
Edit, to answer the question why shops buy crappy wrenches; well i don't know. when i worked maintenance, the shop gave us a professional tool catalog and money to buy our own tools. so we did, and a lot less junk showed up in our boxes, probably why they did that.
#85
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I have used this method for studs with a "torque spec" of 40,000 foot pounds. The nuts were 6 7/8" flat to flat and the socket was 45 pounds. For those you measure the length of the stud with a blind hole in the stud with a depth micrometer, heat the stud in the same hole with induction, and run the but down by hand. Let cool, remeasure for stretch and calculate the torque.
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Reading through this thread, I was wondering if someone was going to mention this.
I have used this method for studs with a "torque spec" of 40,000 foot pounds. The nuts were 6 7/8" flat to flat and the socket was 45 pounds. For those you measure the length of the stud with a blind hole in the stud with a depth micrometer, heat the stud in the same hole with induction, and run the but down by hand. Let cool, remeasure for stretch and calculate the torque.
I have used this method for studs with a "torque spec" of 40,000 foot pounds. The nuts were 6 7/8" flat to flat and the socket was 45 pounds. For those you measure the length of the stud with a blind hole in the stud with a depth micrometer, heat the stud in the same hole with induction, and run the but down by hand. Let cool, remeasure for stretch and calculate the torque.
John
#87
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I have a hard time imagining a pro measuring the bolt stretch on a bicycle bolt that might only be torqued to, say, five or ten Nm. Maybe they measure it with an electron microscope?
I think that for bikes, the challenge would be finding a torque wrench that goes low enough to be accurate at the really low end of the scale.
Last edited by Reflector Guy; 04-08-21 at 07:58 AM.