So I pulled the torque specs on a 1980s Schwinn vs a modern carbon frame and wow

I was digging through old service manuals online last weekend for a resto project and stumbled on the torque specs for a 1980s Schwinn Le Tour. The stem bolt was like 8 Nm. Just 8! My buddy's modern carbon road bike has a stem torque spec of 5 Nm. That blew my mind a little bit. I mean, we think of old steel frames as being tougher but the actual numbers show they weren't that much higher. Meanwhile my shop's got a guy who swears by torquing every single bolt to feel and another tech who uses a torque wrench for everything. I keep thinking about those Schwinn numbers when I'm working on a new bike with carbon steerers. One side says trust your hands and the other says follow the numbers exactly. Both have failed me at some point though. Which camp are you in on bolts that see a lot of stress like stems?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_hernandez1mo ago

Nah man you're overthinking it, just tighten it till it feels right and call it a day.

grayc271mo ago

So are you saying the "feels right" method has never let you down before, or are you just lucky? I mean yeah, I get the idea of trusting your hands over a tool that might break, but what happens when that gut feel turns out to be wrong on something like a lug nut? Not trying to be argumentative, just wondering if you've ever had a moment where that approach backfired on you.

the_adam1mo ago

My last torque wrench was a harbor freight special that snapped in half on the third use, so I'm clearly not the guy to take advice from. But you're totally right, I definitely overthink things like that all the time. I mean I spent like 20 minutes last week trying to find the perfect tension on a garden hose nozzle, which is ridiculous. At some point you just gotta go with your gut and hope the thing doesn't fly apart.