Torque wrench recommendations please

mark1a wrote:

Sorry for the thread bump on this, but the Jobsworth wrench discussed below is on a limited time sale at £12.99 right now, even more of a bargain at this price for anyone thinking of a great value torque wrench.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOJWMTWSV2/jobsworth-pro-torque-wrench-set

I have one, happy with it

Thanks for the heads up. I recently checked the one I had bought as a YTS trainee truck mechanic and the lowest setting on it is 10Nm so I have ordered one of these. It ( and I ) must be old as it says Made In England on it.

Doh. Back to £30.99 today.

Mine came out yesterday to torque a front mech cable pinch bolt while changing the cable. 

I'm glad that's worked out a decent recommendation for you, as I mentioned it's way better then I expected for the price. So many tools aimed at the cyclist market have the C tax applied and it's refreshing when a bargain is had. 

Hi kil0ran - I've been struggling with this a bit since I got mine a couple of weeks back. I think the first line on the scale is 2nm (I've deduced this by looking at the 24nm position) but it could be 0nm as the numbers don't quite align. How are you reading it? I didn't find the instructions helped much..! Great product otherwise.

Thanks. That's what I thought but wanted to be sure. Really good wrench but just wish the markings were a bit clearer.

Good find.

Looks perfect for my very rare torquing needs.

And might give me a bit of a feel for my very strange torx 12 Rohloff shifter attachment.

I've got the same one under a different badge and can definitely second the recommendation, seems to work just as well as my mate's £120 job. It's a shame it doesn't include a couple of sockets but bits from a standard socket set fit it fine.

Not quite sure why it says "This torque wrench is not used for loosening", I've found it excellent for getting out stiff screws etc in various DIY applications.

Torque wrenches are designed to work up to a certain torque and exceeding that can damage the mechanism - you aren't supposed to press beyond the force that makes it "pop". Loosening a stuck thingummybob can tempt you into applying excess force through the wrench.

If you are trying to nurse a fitting out at low torque within the limits of the setting then of course that is going to be fine because it is just acting as a torque wrench.

I have a nice £100 one, and in part it has stayed nice over 10 years or so because I only use it for torquing not for everyday bodging. For big stuff like cassettes, the bendy bar and pointer type is fine, I don't believe that there is anything on a bike that needs super-accuracy for big torques. There are some silly designs out there though, like Speed play cleat screws which seem to have an extremely narrow band of torque between not being right enough to stay fastened, and over-tightened to not function correctly.

IanMSpencer wrote:

Torque wrenches are designed to work up to a certain torque and exceeding that can damage the mechanism - you aren't supposed to press beyond the force that makes it "pop". Loosening a stuck thingummybob can tempt you into applying excess force through the wrench.

I see, thanks. When I'm loosening something I set the wrench to max torque (24NM with this model) and stop if it indicates I've reached that, so hopefully that way I won't damage it?

Dave Rome wrote:

And please, I’m begging you, don’t set your torque wrench to its highest setting and then use it as an everyday ratchet – that’s the tool equivalent of kicking a puppy.

https://cyclingtips.com/2022/10/cool-tool-tuesday-11-talking-torque-wren...

The classic bendy bar torque wrench should be (much) more robust in the long run, I suspect.

I'm still using one from my dad that must be from the 70s. I actually went and bought a small one that works at 5nm to 20nm - the typical bike bolt range - but they're very hand to find it seems. Had to buy mine from the USA.

Yes. I'm using this one, which cost me $25 US in 2017. I had a carbon seatpost snap a couple of years ago, and that made me check the wrench by hanging weights off it. It's accurate within my ability to read it, about ±0.5 N·m.