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I finally stopped using a torque wrench on every single bolt after a customer's comment
A regular at the shop in Boulder told me last week, 'You're overthinking it, that stem bolt just needs to be tight enough to hold, not a perfect 5 Newton-meters.' I realized I was adding 15 minutes to every basic service for no real gain. Now I only break out the wrench for carbon parts and critical components like crank arms. What's your personal rule for when to use a torque wrench versus just feeling it out?
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nelson.finley2mo ago
Read a forum post about this exact thing last night.
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river_hart182mo ago
Overthinking it" is how you avoid stripping threads or cracking carbon, though. That 15 minutes seems cheap insurance.
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the_kelly23d ago
Wait, wait, wait - you actually stripped a thread on carbon before? I can't even imagine the sound that made, my wallet would cry for a week just thinking about that repair bill.
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