That shop in Denver last month made me ditch torque wrenches for carbon bars

I was at a big shop in Denver helping a buddy tune his bike. He snapped a $400 carbon bar because some kid torqued it to spec but didn't account for grease. I've seen that exact thing happen 3 times in 5 years. Now I just snug them by feel with a T-handle. Has anyone else stopped trusting torque specs on carbon parts?

3 comments

3 Comments

alice9283d ago

Ditching torque wrenches over one shop mistake sounds a bit dramatic.

evan_davis3d ago

Can I borrow your torque wrench next time I need to tighten my lug nuts with a sledgehammer?

torres.blair3d ago

My buddy James does the same thing now after what happened to him in Moab last year. He was torquing his stem bolts on a brand new set of ENVE bars, followed the spec exactly with a good Park Tool wrench, and still got a crack the next day on a smooth gravel climb. The shop told him it was probably because the bolt threads had a tiny bit of factory grease he didn't clean off, but the manual said nothing about that. So yeah, he's been doing the snug-and-ride method ever since, even on his road bike. Feels sketchy but he hasn't had a single problem since.