Torque Wrenches

[VeryMetal]

Could somebody recommend me a torque wrench under or around the $100 mark? It's come to the point where there are several things I need to get round to doing to my bike that I don't want to do without one.

I was looking at a craftsman at sears for around $79.99, come to think of it, I can't remember if it was inch lbs or ft lbs. I was told I would want to get an inch lbs wrench for a bike.

Any input or opinions are welcome! I know some people recommend not even using them but the last thing I want to do is crush the bearings in my rear wheel and leave myself $300 of work that I can't afford 

[Speeddog]

I've got three Craftsman units that I use, not a lick of trouble with any of them.

I don't know the ranges off the top of my head, I'll try to remember to look later.

[VeryMetal]

Thanks for the reply, I think I have my mind set on craftsman any way, I use some tools made by them already and I like them a lot.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00944593000P?vName=Tools&cName=Mechanics+Tools&sName=Torque+Wrenches

This is the one I'm looking at. Is 25 - 250 inch lbs enough range in your opinion? I know that some torque settings on my bike go from 7 ft lbs, don't have a conversion chart.

[Speeddog]

That's the small one I've got, and then a 10-75 ft-lb, both of those in 3/8" drive.
And then a 20-150 ft-lb, in a 1/2" drive.

1 ft-lb is 12 in-lb, and 1 N-m is 0.74 ft-lb.

So the small one is about 2-20 ft-lb / 4-29 N-m.
It's good for small stuff.

The 10-75 is pretty versatile.

No one torque wrench is going to get it all done.

If you're on a limited budget, get the small clicker you're looking at, and a 150 ft-lb beam-style.

[He Man]

THe larger the gap is between min and max tq vaules, the more inaccurate the tool will be at each extreme. I have a cheapie Harbor freight one that i purchased for $29.99 I've tested with weights up to 50lbs and its pretty accurate for what i've used it for so far. Mine goes from 10ft/lbs to 150ft/lbs i think. 1/2 inch drive.

For the lower torques i just do it by hand. 2-3lbs is finger tight with a 4-5inch bar. 7 lbs is a few fingers more, 20lbs is a whole hand with some force. anything else ill use the troque wrench.

[CMDRDAVE]

+1 for the Craftsman, used them a lot for many applications (not just bikes) and no issues.

[ducwrx]

I personally think Craftsman torque wrenches are junk. No first hand experience with them, but I did quite a bit of research before getting my two Snap Ons. Sure it's better than free hand, but for only $20 more you can get an industrial quality Proto torque wrench.

Here's a link that's got some interesting reading regarding torque wrenches on webbikeworld. http://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/torque-wrench/.

Just my $.02

[VeryMetal]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Speed, you're definitely right about one wrench won't do it all. I think I'll get a decent ft lb wrench for the wheel nuts etc. and sometime in the future I'll grab an equally good quality inch lb one too. Don't have the cash for both.

Other than the 30mm wheel nuts I can't imagine what else on the bike I'd really need a big ole' ft lb wrench for, which is a shame really.

[rockaduc]

I used my ft-lb wrench for almost every fastener when I did the fork swap and replaced my shock.  Very handy.  The workshop manual for your bike will give you all of the torque values you could need.

[LA]

You most definitely need both, in.lb. and ft.lb.  I've used Craftsmen for almost 40 years (clickers) - cheap, but good. The little one is about 16" long and goes up to about 25 in.lbs. or 29 Nm and the big one is two feet long and goes up to about 150 ft.lbs or 210n Nm.

Speeddog mentioned the beam type. They may be considered more accurate over time as there are no springs that my loose tension and affect calibration.

ALWAYS make sure to leave the wrench at it's lowest setting when stored.

Always use a torque wrench when you can. Never guess if you don't have to. Clean and lube bolts if directed when assembling so that correct torque is imparted to the fastener too.

It's the little details that can save an engine or maybe even a life.

LA