The stupidest thing you've heard at a bike shop...
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- stella-azzurra
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Ah but the red ones do Dorothy
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- mellowJohnny
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"You need to toe-in the brake pads - if you don't you may void the warranty..." (carbon wheel set)
Same shop, owner this time tightening the faceplate on my new 3T carbon bars:
Me: aren't you gonna use a torque wrench?
Him: shows me his hand holding the 5mm wrench "this is my torque wrench" (meaning his hand).
Same shop, owner this time tightening the faceplate on my new 3T carbon bars:
Me: aren't you gonna use a torque wrench?
Him: shows me his hand holding the 5mm wrench "this is my torque wrench" (meaning his hand).
mellowJohnny wrote:Same shop, owner this time tightening the faceplate on my new 3T carbon bars:
Me: aren't you gonna use a torque wrench?
Him: shows me his hand holding the 5mm wrench "this is my torque wrench" (meaning his hand).
He has a point though. Someone with mechanical feel sort of knows what the correct torque is and the size of a hex key limits the torque that can easily be put through it by hand. People get over obsessive about torque wrenches.
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- HammerTime2
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Visited a shop a way down South:
Shop owner: Bubba <head mechanic> don't need no fancy torque wrench, he uses an audio torque wrench.
Me: What's an audio torque wrench?
Shop owner: Well Bubba here, he hears real good like, so when he tightens the stem bolts, he listens real good, and when he hears the first inklings of a crack, he stops right quick, then backs off just a mite. Perfect every time.
Shop owner: This is the best stem there is. When can we install that for you?
Me: When I'm ready for you to install it, I'll call the service department. I'm sure Bubba will hear the phone ring, seeing as he hears real good and all.
This is a dramatization, but not far off reality, unfortunately.
Shop owner: Bubba <head mechanic> don't need no fancy torque wrench, he uses an audio torque wrench.
Me: What's an audio torque wrench?
Shop owner: Well Bubba here, he hears real good like, so when he tightens the stem bolts, he listens real good, and when he hears the first inklings of a crack, he stops right quick, then backs off just a mite. Perfect every time.
Shop owner: This is the best stem there is. When can we install that for you?
Me: When I'm ready for you to install it, I'll call the service department. I'm sure Bubba will hear the phone ring, seeing as he hears real good and all.
This is a dramatization, but not far off reality, unfortunately.
- ultimobici
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NopeMiller wrote:He has a point though. Someone with mechanical feel sort of knows what the correct torque is and the size of a hex key limits the torque that can easily be put through it by hand. People get over obsessive about torque wrenches.
Far too many people "think" they can feel the correct torque, yet when they are tested they are waaay off. In the days when steerers were predominantly steel or alloy and fasteners were steel it wasn't such a concern. With the increasing use of carbon steerers and Ti and alloy bolts on even entry level bikes it is.
Funny that.
We used to test fitters at a place I worked, the best were within the allowable tolerances for a normal torque wrench. And were repeatable. The worst were terrible.
On the other hand, most of them would be tightening more fasteners in a day than a bike workshop mechanic would in a busy month.........
We used to test fitters at a place I worked, the best were within the allowable tolerances for a normal torque wrench. And were repeatable. The worst were terrible.
On the other hand, most of them would be tightening more fasteners in a day than a bike workshop mechanic would in a busy month.........
ultimobici wrote:Nope
Whatever. I don't use a torque wrench. My bikes don't fall apart nor do I tend to break fasteners or components.
I don't think it's good to make people fearful by dogmatic insistence on this or that.
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Lol... crackin' up.
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Miller wrote:ultimobici wrote:Nope
Whatever. I don't use a torque wrench. My bikes don't fall apart nor do I tend to break fasteners or components.
I don't think it's good to make people fearful by dogmatic insistence on this or that.
What's the compelling reason *not* to use a torque wrench on the sensitive bits? I can't think of one. And I'd much rather be bombing down a hill at 55mph knowing my components were properly torqued.
- ultimobici
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Miller wrote:ultimobici wrote:Nope
Whatever. I don't use a torque wrench. My bikes don't fall apart nor do I tend to break fasteners or components.
I don't think it's good to make people fearful by dogmatic insistence on this or that.
You've simply been lucky so far. I have lost count of carbon bars & seatposts I've seen that have had to be binned due to non use of a torque wrench.
Dogmatic insistence by manufacturers on safety limits should be heeded, if you want to have peace of mind. You can be assured that carbon parts manufacturers are not saying that to boost the sale of torque wrenches by other companies.
ultimobici wrote:You've simply been lucky so far.
jeez, for someone who's never met me you seem to know an awful lot about my bike maintenance. Or you just assume a lot. Get over yourself.
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