TIL that my old habit of using a 5mm Allen key for every brake mount check was causing uneven pad contact on half the bikes I serviced.

Now I use a torque wrench set to 6 Nm after a customer in Austin brought back a bike three times last month with a rubbing rear brake, and I finally traced it back to my own sloppy tightening method.

3 comments

3 Comments

felix_williams711mo ago

Ever think a tool is just a tool until it bites you? I used to grab whatever was handy for brake mounts too, figured tight was tight. Then I had a front brake on my own bike that kept pulling to one side no matter how many times I centered it. Turns out I'd cranked one side way harder and warped the mount a tiny bit. That's when I finally bought a torque wrench. It feels slow at first, but you stop fighting those weird, ghost problems.

davis.ruby1mo ago

My old Trek 520 had that same pull for months, I just kept re-tightening the bolts. Finally borrowed a friend's torque wrench set to 6 newton meters and the problem was gone in two minutes. You don't realize how much you're over-tightening until you hear that click. Now I use mine for stem bolts and seat clamps too, it saves so much headache. Why fight a bike that just doesn't feel right?

the_paul1mo ago

Used to think torque wrenches were for race teams, not my garage. That exact brake pull thing happened on my old commuter, drove me nuts for weeks. Now mine's the first tool out of the box for anything with threads.