Effectively the same as the LifeLine Professional but at a higher price, the PRO Torque Wrench is a fuss-free option if found at a good price David Rome / Immediate Media Like everything Lezyne, it looks and feels well-made and robust. A good addition to a handlebar bag for when you need to get those adjustments just right while riding a long way from home.

An adjustable torque wrench release in exactly the same way, you just adjust the dial to match the torque setting on the bolt first. How do I know how much torque to use? It’s all too common for cycling-specific torque wrenches to be made to a price point, typically using plastic internals as a result. The ATD clearly ignores its existing competitors and offers incredibly durable and positive feeling metal internals.Torque wrenches are simply tools for measuring resistance to rotation. There is a correlation between the tension in the bolt and the effort it takes to turn it. Any tool, even a torque wrench, should be used with common sense. A cross-threaded bolt will not properly tighten even with a torque wrench. The mechanic must be aware of the purpose of torque, and what torque and fastener preload are doing to the component joint. It is also important to consider thread preparation, which is discussed in detail in this article.

Without the torque driver involved, the rest of the handle can be used to loosen off bolts – again in a range of configurations – saving the ratchet from damage. It works like a beam-type torque wrench and so you stop tightening once the needle hits the desired number. With the parts slotted together, you can feel the join between them, given away by a movement that I feel wouldn’t be there if each part was more precisely sized to slot together more snuggly. Torque wrenches are calibrated in Nm (Newton-metres, which is a unit of torque of momentum) but you’ll also see Ft/lb or In/lbs. One is metric and the other is imperial. Fasteners often have both values written next to them. Can I use it incorrectly? In the end it might not affect the way the tool does its job, but it certainly gave a slightly cheap feel to the whole thing.

Keep Your Torque on Point

The other advantage with using a torque is you don’t have to guess how tight things should be. The old school way is hand tight and then another quarter turn but what does that actually mean? If a seat clam bolt has a torque setting of 5nm and you use a 5nm pre-set torque wrench, you’re never going to over or under tighten it, and also you won’t have to touch it again. There’s a couple of hundred bolts on the average mountain bike and every single one of them has a recommended torque setting. This simply means they have an optimum tightness, which is just enough to hold whatever it is in place but not too much as to damage the fastener or the part it’s attached to. To achieve the correct torque, you’ll a specialist tool called, unsurprisingly enough, a torque wrench, and we’ve selected the best torque wrenches for mountain bikes we could find. This tool offers everything we loved about the Park Tool PTD, but with further adjustment options. Accuracy is not quite as consistent as the preset options, but certainly close enough. Its American-made build quality is superb, but that does mean it’s heavy and priced relatively high. Not using a torque wrench puts you at risk of a bolt snapping, or indeed a delicate, carbon component giving way or being crushed under too much pressure. In the case of a handlebar, this can be dangerous; and if it’s proven that you’d overtightened a bolt and caused the fracture then your chances of a warranty claim could be voided.

Torque is measured as a unit of force acting on a rotating lever of some set length. In the bike industry and elsewhere, the common unit used to measure torque is the Newton meter (abbreviated Nm). One Newton meter is a force of one Newton on a one meter long lever. Another unit sometimes seen is the Kilogram-centimeter (abbreviated kgf-cm), which is a kilogram of force acting on a lever one centimeter long. It is possible to convert between the various systems. The Lifeline’s box looks the part but I would wonder if the slightly cheap feeling plastic will survive the usual travails of being piled in with a load of other tools in a shed or workshop; the outer feeling a bit flimsy. Hey, that looks just like the LifeLine Professional or the Pedro’s Demi,” I hear you say. Yep, there’s a good reason for that – it’s the same. Sourced from Taiwan, this Shimano/PRO item is a rebadged tool, but there’s a good reason so many brands put their label on it – it does exactly what it should. Even with such praise, it’s priced at a premium and doesn’t offer a great deal over more generic Taiwanese options. It’s certainly one for those who appreciate both form and function.This isn’t too surprising given that like a gauge, torque wrenches are typically most accurate in the middle range; reducing that range results in greater precision.