I finally stopped using torque wrenches for every single bolt

Last week, a customer brought in a carbon seatpost I'd installed a month prior with the exact spec torque, and the binder had still slipped. Three years ago at the shop in Boulder, my mentor said 'feel is the real spec' for things like stems and posts, and I think he was right. Anyone else just go by hand feel for certain components now?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_dixon673mo agoMost Upvoted

Feel is the real spec" is especially true for carbon parts... they just compress differently.

aaron6773mo ago

Carbon feels like marketing talk to me.

felix1552mo ago

Yeah I was right there with you honestly. Used to think it was all hype until I rode a friend's bike with a carbon frame and it just felt totally different from anything I'd ever tried. @evan_dixon67 put it perfectly talking about how they compress differently. Hard to explain but once you feel it you get it.