The stupidest thing you've heard at a bike shop...

[mattr]

TBH, if he works in a bikeshop, he'll get to see the worst of what hamfisted gibbons get up to. Regularly. Especially in London.

I've never used a torque wrench either, and never broken anything through over tightening.

[53x12]

"I've called in sick and taken today off work, but just need a few things so I can go for a 50km detox ride later this afternoon"

Poor form.

[stefanot]

wow...

[DMF]

I never use a torque wrench on my own bike, and I ofcourse am very particular about building my own bikes. If for any reason a mechanic has tampered with a bolt I will undo it and redo it myself. Why? And why not a torque wrench? I really want to have a feel for just how things are tightened down before I throw myself down a hill at 50mph or put all I've got thru the bike in a violent sprint.

I'm not saying tourqe wrenches are bad (but for heavens sake, buy the expensive ones! the cheap ones are regularly waaay off, and hence useless and dangerous), I'm just saying my reason is I wanna feel how the bike is built up. Sure I broke some parts when I was younger, but you learn to get the feel...

I'm not necessarily recommending this approach to others.

[bearsdidit]

It's absolutely crazy to not use a torque wrench on a bicycle. IMO, it comes down to liability. I don't care how much experience a mechanic has, you can not feel 6 NM consistently. Secondly, when you're in the middle of a disposition, a lawyer will tear you apart when you say, "Oh, I've been wrenching for 20+ years and I know how tight it should be."

I have friends that work for Boeing that have to use USB Torque Wrenches for liability purposes. CYA, amigos.

[Fiery]

Many people will blindly follow the max torque recommendation without regard for common sense. For example, max torque on a stem is the max torque where it's guaranteed not to crack or strip the threads, but there's no guarantee it won't crush the handlebar or steerer tube. And then there's also all the 3T stem that had the bolts crack before reaching the max recommended torque. Even more people have no idea if their torque wrenches are actually properly calibrated and accurate.

[micky]

Please, not another my p***s is longer than yours topic.

[DMF]

It's absolutely crazy to not use a torque wrench on a bicycle. IMO, it comes down to liability. I don't care how much experience a mechanic has, you can not feel 6 NM consistently. Secondly, when you're in the middle of a disposition, a lawyer will tear you apart when you say, "Oh, I've been wrenching for 20+ years and I know how tight it should be."

I have friends that work for Boeing that have to use USB Torque Wrenches for liability purposes. CYA, amigos.

First off, I just wanna make clear that I'm no mechanic. Secondly, I take no notice of recommended torque specs. As the previous poster mentioned, these are max recommended specs. I certainly let common sense rule, in some cases I go lower and in some.cases I may exceed it. What I mean when I use feel, is not that I try to feel out what Nm number I've reached, I rather feel out what seems sensible for that particular part, taking all data I can into account. I.e what mounting paste or grease, material and quality of the bolts, I will go lower torque on low quality ti/alu bolts than on equal construction but higher grade bolts. I will also take into account the construction and composition of the rails, bars, steerer, or what have you...

As said, I'm not recommending others to follow my example. I'm just saying there are other ways, and this blind belief in torque wrenches may save you from a law suit, but that doesn't mean anyone can build a bike properly just because they have a torque wrench.

A torque wrench will not make a mechanic out of a monkey, but it may take the common sense equation out of the mechanic.

[Tinea Pedis]

Back on topic please guys.

(but I appreciate the irony of asking that, given the debate that's going on)

[kbbpll]

My cousin's BB was loose in a campground on Crete, and the owner directed us to a bike shop. It was mostly a motorcycle shop. We couldn't speak or understand a word of Greek, but we communicated the problem effectively enough. Mechanic indicates he understands the problem and will fix it right up. He disappears to get some tools, returns with a hammer and chisel, puts the chisel up against the crank arm and is about to take a solid whack at it, when we both go "No! No! No!". He stops. I make hand motions demonstrating how a crank extractor goes into a crank arm, etc. He puts down the hammer and chisel, opens a drawer in his toolbox, and pulls out a crank extractor. Sheesh.

[Leviathan]

Old REME motto "this looks tricky, better get a bigger hammer"

[hasbeen]

"I hate seeing bike riders on the road."--customer who was buying a bike and will only ride on sidewalks.
Thankfully I wasnt helping her.

[quattrings]

I'm longing after a Felt AR1 frame, so I went into this shop because I saw they had a felt sitting in the display window.

So I ask the shop owner if he's a Felt dealer and he says he can get me one but isn't an authorized dealer.
He saw I rode in on my Cannondale Caad 9 and tells me that Cannondale is a better bike Than Felt.
I ask why he thinks that and he says "Cannondale has the best geometry".
He also sold Cannondale and tells me I have an older model. I said I liked this one because I already own it and if I crash and total it, it wouldn't matter that much.
Then he tells me the Caad10 has better geometry than my Caad9. Wait... What???? (Caad9 and Caad10 geo is identical!)

I tell him I'm not looking for a Cannondale as I already own three and I'm looking for an aero road frame as that suits my riding style and the terrain here.
He asks me straight up "you think that's gonna make you faster"

Strike three... and you're out

[de zwarten]

My ITA bottom bracket got loose.
I tried to pedal to the nearest bike store, which was in Oudenaarde (where the Ronde Van Vlaanderen finishes).

I went into this shop: http://goo.gl/maps/o0QbS

I explained the situation, but immediately told them that I could thightnen the BB myself (the 2 people in the workshop were seemingly busy), if only they would lend me the tools. I told them I was willing to pay for using the tools. They agreed and I tried to find the BB tool for square taper Campa BB.
But it was nowhere to find.

What they then told me was beyond my mind. The moment a guy left with a fully Campa Chorus 11sp bike after a regular service (without having to pay), they told me: "We don't do Campa so we don't have that tool"

The only thing I could do was thightnen it with my hands and, in the end, with some pincers.
When I was finished, I asked one of the 2 guys where to wash my hands, and how much they asked. He ignored me and kept working on a little girls' bike. Another customer was watching very bemused at the situation.

Never again for me! And long live your own workplace with proper tools... (I keep wondering how these shops keep making profits, with all tools littering on a table...)

[colinmack]

I go into my local 'bike shop', back end of last year, and ask how much they would charge to face the head tube on a bike I was putting back together. Cue puzzled look on shop assistants face. He then says that he'd never heard of facing a head tube, or why you would want to. But, he had heard of facing a bottom bracket shell so maybe you could use the same tool, but couldn't as he didn't have one anyway. Cue me making a sharp exit street side.