A customer at my shop in Boise told me to never use a torque wrench on carbon parts

This guy came in last month with a high end carbon road bike, a real nice one. He watched me grab my torque wrench to adjust his stem and got real serious. He said, 'You know, a real mechanic just feels it. Those wrenches are for people who don't know what they're doing.' He was dead sure that his 'calibrated hand' was better than a tool set to 5 Newton meters. It stuck with me because he was so confident, but that's how you get a cracked steerer tube or a stripped bolt. I told him I'd rather trust the spec from the engineers who built the frame. He just shook his head like I was the one being dumb. Has anyone else had a customer argue against using the right tools for safety critical parts?

2 comments

2 Comments

josephl675d ago

Seriously, that's how you end up with a broken bike. My buddy thought the same thing and snapped a seatpost clamp. Those torque specs are there for a reason, right?

adam7515d ago

Wow, that's wild. Carbon needs a precise touch that even a good feel can't match, and those specs exist for a reason. That guy is gambling with a very expensive part.