Quick Torque Wrench Q
 

Want to buy a torque wrench ASAP so i can adjust my chain.
(Wether online or at halfords this evening)

Have looked up the rear axle nut torque (100Nm)

2 questions

1) What size socket do i need for the rear axle nut
2) What torque range should i look for to be useful for other jobs

seen this on google, would this sort of thing be up to the job? £6.53 sounds too cheap for a decent tool!

Draper 3001A 1/2" Square Drive Torque Wrench 30-210Nm - £6.53


Many Thanks!

I bought 1 that went from 12 - 68 nm. Had a look through the service books, and that seemed to cover most things except the really tight stuff, so I'm going to have to buy a second. I couldn't find a torque wrench that would cover the entire range I needed. I bought a Britool one off eBay for about 30 pounds - I rather have a decent second hand one than a not-so-great new one for the same money!

25mm Nut on rear axle

It's a good idea to have one to hand, but in the short term, you can borrow mine if you want.

Sorry, don't know what they are - just look in your tool kit- but the 2 sides are different.
Thought a torque wrench took a variety of heads.

Accuracy's most important in low ranges, it doesn't matter much at all if a 100nm bolt is out by a couple of nm on either side- that Draper should do you just fine for big values, and get a better low value one if you plan to do a lot of work. The Halfords ones aren't bad at all.

I think if you look at the link you mentioned from google, you will find the £6.53 is for a repair kit, not the wrench!
Have a look here for the best prices I found for Draper tools

http://www.tool-catalogue.co.uk/tool...roducts_id/640

Ah, that makes sense :) Machine Mart do a reasonably good high-value 1/2 inch socket-drive torque wrench for around a tenner.

I've got the one from MM.

Oops i didnt really look into that one.

Cheers Carsick - I've sent a PM!

Will get the big torque wrench first i think for doing the chain, then buy a smaller more accurate one later when i need to to other bits.

You dont need a torque wrench. Just do it up very tight.

If you do need one, then i have a draper 10-80nm which serves the purpose, as on the Curvey SV the rear nut only needs to be done up to 65nm

i've never used a torque wrench to adjust my chain, i've done it plenty of times, i'd be tempted to agree with Viney, just make sure its done up nice and tight.

In my experience, the correct torque for the rear axle conincides exactly with the breaking strain of the spanner from the bike tool kit that fits it.

That's handy :) I was kind of amazed to hear anyone can undo that bolt with the standard toolkit...

Wasnt easy i must admit, and didnt do the nut much good :/ The spanner broke (the ring split) when putting it back on, i got worried and took it to a mate's workshop and checked, 98NM accoding to his wrench. Does make you wonder exactly why they supply you with a spanner that size, given that they made a decision to use plasticine as the metal of choice.

Not happy about doing it by feel. Alright if you've been fettling for years, but the temptation to just do it a bit more could mean the wheel bearings are under additional load, or under-tightened with potentially fatal consequences.
For the relatively small cost, and the fact that if it's treated carefully a torque wrench will last for years, it's a worthwhile investment. Plus aren't those pointy swingarms liable to bow under excess force?

There is no load on the wheel bearings from tightening up the axle, you cannot damage bike wheel bearings by overtightening the axle.
The ball race setup in a bike wheel is different to the taper roller bearings on many car hubs where the retaining nut does adjust the play in the bearings.

I have 2 torque wrenches in my tool box but they are probably the least used tools I own. Apart from head gaskets I prefer just to tighten things up by feel. Bike forums are full of posts from upset owners who have just snapped bolts (cam cap bolts seem to be a favourite) while trying to tighten them up to the factory torque setting.

cheers

Stewart

I'd agree with that.I guesstimate most of the torque figures.The rear axle nut gets done with a fifteen inch bar until it feels tight.I do regularly check bolts to make sure they are not dropping off though.

Think you'll find it's a 24mm nut.

In the US of course, the SV wheel nut is two swithens less than 13/16s of a sparrow hawk foot.

You and your silly metric systems. It will never catch on. :roll:

they do a very good torque wrench in argos for 20 quid,
it goes from 50-190 nm.

ive had mine for a year, used it well, and its still in calibration.
ive got a smaller one for 0-60 mn too that cost 50 from halfords.

For what it's worth, the argos one is now £14.99, and 28-210NM. If it does what it says on the tin looks like a good deal. http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/7013887.htm Cant vouch that its the same one bikageboy commends though.

Same as the Machine Mart one. Also the Lidl one :)

ok i stand corrected, that is the one i have.

That may be so but something binds up when you tighten a curvy rear up too tight. One of the reasons I got a torque wrench.

That is often because people don't know how to use them or use a torque wrench with a 210nm range and expect it to accurately tighten a 10nm bolt. The reason that I have 2 torque wrenches.

Or, because they ignore the condition of the parts, and consider a torque wrench a safety net, which it's not- it's no replacement for the correct approach.

It is disturbing when I read posts like these. The Halfords torque wrench is the absolute minimum standard you should use - and you will need both the 3/8 and 1/2 inch to cover the SV. And even then, I wouldn't use the 1/2 inch in the lowest 1/4 of its settings. The other downside of the Halfords units is that they will not do reverse threads.

Bolts maintain tightness by stretching - they elastically deform. This deformation is only maintainable over a very small range of lengths. If you do not tighten the bolt enough then it will work itself loose with vibration. If you overtighten it, it will go past the range of elastic deformation and into plastic deformation (permanently overstretched). When this happens it will eventually fail. Getting torque settings right is important! For very critical bolts it is normal to have an initial torque setting and then a further number of degrees that needs to be turned - this gives a more accurate 'stretch'.

Note to self. Never let sdusk see me working on a bike.

I have to admit to being a "HnnNNNngg, that feels about right" nut tightener merchant.

(Fnar, if applicable.)

I use a torque wrench where I feel it's need and for everything else E-m unit of torque is used :? :wink: .

Question :?:
How many people actually tighten the sump plug/oil drain bolt to 21 N-m. Sounds quite high to me. I don't.

Cheers
Ben

Ben, sump plugs are a case of a big (relatively) bolt into very soft cast aluminium, and they do not stretch in this case. The torque is just to compress the copper or aluminium washer for a good seal. 21Nm does sound very high for doing that - I would have thought that 12 or 15 would be enough.

Ehhh. Me? I think? Sounds needlessly high. Especially when you think what happens if that bolt goes byebye.

i think my spark plugs (25mn) is excessively tight, so i do them about 12, thats one thread i really dont want to be stripping.

oil sump goes on hand tight, + a teeny bit more.

Especially with the Sv not having a seperate sump pan. :lol:

sdusk , you are right about the bolts elasticity and wot not :lol: but the case of the sump plug shows damage can be caused if we get too obsessed with the torque figures in the manual/torque wrences. I use to be that way but now but no more.

I do mine more or less the same as warren. Hand tight and a quarter to half a turn. I do though put a blob of silicon sealant(outside) as belts and braces.


Cheers
Ben

That's not correct... The Halfords ones, or at least the 3/8 ones, are reversble, just not conveniently- you need to remove the head and put it through from the other side.

ive read that your not supposed to use a torque wrench for removal of bolts, only for tightening.

not sure how true this is though, and if it is, why give an option of a reversable head ?

Northwind, I hope the 1/2" Halford wrench is as well - it would show that it is always worthwhile reading the instructions!

Not talking about undoing, but tightening of reverse or left hand threads.

Yeah, think so- looks to be the same design, though I've only got the low-value one.