Shoutout to the shop in Portland that taught me about torque wrenches

I keep seeing people crank down on carbon seatpost clamps with regular hex keys. Last month, a customer brought in a cracked post from over tightening. We checked it with a Topeak D-Torq wrench and found he was putting over 10 Nm on a 5 Nm max part. That extra force can crush the carbon fibers over time, not just break it right away. Has anyone else had to fix this kind of slow damage?

2 comments

2 Comments

quinn_carr10d ago

That Topeak wrench story is basically a public service announcement. I'm just waiting for the day someone brings in a seatpost they turned into a fine carbon dust.

the_vera10d ago

You ever see a seatpost that's just... completely ovalized from someone cranking it down? It's like they used a cheater bar on a torque wrench. The carbon dust thing is no joke, I've seen stems with permanent clamp marks from over tightening.