tungsten

So, I know there's a inserted plug in carbon steer tubes where the stem clamps but how much torque?
Stem instructions say 4.5 n but seems excessive?

blacknbluebikes 

that's about standard for most "carbon friendly" limits. my seatpost clamp is 5, bolts on stem head get 6. 4.5 seems OK to me.

Crankycrank

Yup, 4.5 Nm sounds fine.

Barry2 

4.5 Newton meters is only 3.3 foot pounds is only 0.46 kilogram meters

Disclaimer, these numbers are for example only and may be wildly wrong!



Be SURE you are using the correct scale on the Torque wrench.

Don't confuse "Nm" with "da. Nm"

tungsten

OK, thanks all. After putting 10 Nm into the maxle 4.5 feels right for the smaller stuff.
Only one scale on this little thing.....

cxwrench

I sure hope you greased the threads on that Maxxle.

Kabuto

Torque for the steerer plug - probably 9-10 Nm (see what's written on the top of the plug)
Torque for the stem bolts - 4.5 Nm per bolt (two bolts so a total of 9 Nm)

MiPeGr

That's not how torque works...

Kabuto

Hmm ok, I have several stems with two bolts for clamping to the steerer tube rated at 4.5 Nm and one stem with one bolt for clamping to the steerer tube rated at 9 Nm, so thought that's how it worked...

So, how does torque work then?

tungsten

What is this "grease" you speak of?

MiPeGr

Put simply in this context, torque is a measure of how hard you have to twist the bolt to get it to move, or more properly, just barely not move. It has no simple relationship to the actual clamping force applied by the stem onto the steerer tube. Construction, material and surface finish of the stem and steerer, as well as the material, diameter, threading and lubrication of the bolt itself all have an effect.

I would imagine it is coincidence that you have those two stems, where the arithmetic sum of the torque specification of the 2-bolt one is equal to the torque specification for the single-bolt one. It would, for example, not be wise to take one of those 2-bolt stems and install a single bolt torqued to 9 N-m.

Kimmo

Yeah, that seems more like it; I have to reef fairly hard on my nice KCNC plug to get it to grip (although I am a bit lazy with the friction paste in my bike sometimes - ISP means I really only need it in my bar clamp), and it's one of the better designs; many are actually pretty crap at turning torque into clamping force. It helps a lot to make sure threads and tapers are greased, but I still often need to go over spec to make a lot of them grip.

blacknbluebikes 

always put a dab of grease, eg: white lithium grease, on the threads of pretty much any bolt on your bike. first, it seats the threads nicely and allows a tighter fit. second, it drastically increases the likelihood of easy removal next time.

frogman

What is the advantage of using white Lithium grease rather than other grease ?

tungsten

I was being clever. The maxle was slathered w/grease but I didn't look closely at threads. Pretty sure it's ok but I'll pull it and have another look.
Re: greasing everthing, I remember back in the day it was said never grease pedal threads (other than the grease/oils on your fingers) 'cause it would risk over torquing and deforming threads in crank arms.
Just sayin'. Maybe alloys weren't as robust back then?