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Question about using a torque wrench on carbon seatposts
I had a customer bring in a bike with a slipping carbon seatpost. I tried my old method of just tightening it by feel with a regular hex key, but it slipped again after a few rides. Then I borrowed a friend's torque wrench set to 5 newton meters like the frame maker said. It held perfectly and I haven't had a callback in two months. Is a torque wrench really that much of a game changer for carbon parts, or did I just get lucky?
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wilson.joseph6mo ago
Carbon fiber doesn't compress like metal, it just cracks. Your old method of going by feel works on aluminum because it deforms a little. The torque wrench gives you the exact clamping force needed without going over the limit. It's not luck, it's the only right way to do it. This is why specs exist for a reason.
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reed.skyler6mo ago
Yeah, wilson.joseph is right. I used to wing it too.
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the_elliot6mo ago
Totally get it now. I cracked a seatpost once doing it by feel, and @wilson.joseph explaining the compression thing makes so much sense. Torque wrench is just the way to go.
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