Bike Torque Wrench - Park Tool
The Park Tool Bike Torque Wrench TW-5.2 is in our opinion the best torque wrench for any at home bike mechanic’s tool set! With the amount of specialized bike components, and with different frame materials and designs out on the market, a bike torque wrench is a must in any home mechanics tool chest. Making sure the bolts on your bike are properly torqued to the factory specifications is a requirement for your bike to operate well and be safe to ride. With the TW-5.2 torque wrench from Park Tool, you can tighten down your bolts to their exact tightness without having to worry if you over-tightened or under-tightened. The TW-5.2 torque wrench has a range of 2-14 Newton Meters, with a dial adjustment in increments of 0.4 Newton Meters. These are lower torque settings that your average consumer or bicycle shop mechanic would need to properly torque down seat posts, handlebars, and stems. For higher torque specs starting at 10 Newton Meters, and even up to 60 Newton Meters, check out the Park Took TW-6.2 torque wrench.
Please note: This is not a complete torque wrench set. This is only the wrench and does not include any hex head attachments.
Why would I need a bicycle torque wrench?
That is a great question! All over your bicycle, the components are attached to the frame and each other via various sized bolts. These bolts and the spots that they thread into all have their own torque rating that the manufacturer recommends you tighten it down to. But what is torque and why do I need to be aware of it? Torque is the measure of force applied to a rotation around a center axis. This force is typically referred to as “Newton Meters”, or commonly abbreviated as Nm.
But why does this matter on my bike? When you tighten down a bolt, the bolt itself actually stretches out. This stretching itself is not permanent, but it applies what is called “preload” or tension, that allows the bolt to hold in place. However, when too much force is applied, the threads and bolt can get warped or damaged, as they are only rated for a certain measure of torque. If it is too loose, there is not as much tension holding the bolt and it can come loose while riding. This is why making sure the bolts on your bike have the proper torque is super important, as you do not want anything breaking while installing, and you do not want anything coming loose while riding! One of the spots where it is most important on your bike is your handlebars and stem. While you are riding your bike, you are constantly applying weight to your handlebars and your stem. If they were not properly torqued down, the handlebars would not be able to hold your weight and would rotate around. Now imagine you are going very fast on your bike and are holding on tight. The last thing you would want to happen is to have the handlebars or stem give out on you and cause you to fall at such high speeds! That is why using a torque wrench on your bike is so important. Now, this translates to all over your bicycle. The parts of your bike that need to be torqued down are:
In addition to all these “regular” bike components, some specialty bikes require them for other parts. Full suspension bikes for example, must use a torque wrench at all of the pivot points around the frame. If under torqued, these pivot points can come loose and bore out the pivot holes in the frame. If it is over torqued, you risk damaging the frame and rear triangle. So as you can see, no matter what kind of bike you have, a torque wrench is a necessity to make sure the bike is in good shape. Please note, the torque wrench is a measurement device, not intended for general tightening of bolts. It is only for the final torqueing of the bolts to the proper specifications. This particular torque wrench should also not surpass 14 Nm of torque, as anything higher can damage both the torque wrench itself, as well as the bolt it is tightening. For general purpose tightening, you should use a standard hex driver set.
Operation
To use the Park Tool 5.2 Bike Torque Wrench, you must first get the corresponding bit piece for the bolt size that you are tightening. Once you have the correct sized bit you need, you would then attach the bit to the post by pressing the button on the back of the torque wrench, releasing the locking mechanism.
After the bit has been attached to the torque wrench, you can now get ready to torque down your bolt. To set the torque level on the TW-5.2, you would press in the bottom, and turn it. As you turn that bottom piece, you can see the gauge at the center of your bike torque wrench begin to move. Keep turning until the notch on the gauge is lined with the proper torque level required.
For in between sizes like “10.4 Nm”, you would go to the 10 on the gauge, then you would turn the bottom dial until the “0.4” was lined up properly with the marker. Once you have gotten the torque wrench set to the proper setting, you can now begin to tighten down your bolt. As you are tightening, the head of the torque wrench will eventually “give” and make an audible click sound. This click sound is letting you know that the bolt has reached the desired torque specification. That bolt is now properly torqued down!
Tech Specs
- 2-14 Newton Meter range (18 - 124 Inch Pounds)
- Adjustable in 0.4 Nm increments
- Ratcheting ⅜” Drive
- Reads and registers for both left hand and right hand threading
- Dial-adjust system allows desired torque setting to be preset
- Conversion scale on tool body
- Calibrated to be accurate to +/- 4% Length: 22.9cm (9")
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