All about bicycles, electric-assisted bikes, technology and safety in the press

The most common safety risks that we come across in our daily work around bicycle safety, technology and operating instructions are also published by us in articles in the leading German special-interest magazines TOUR (Europe's road bike magazine no. 1), BIKE (Europe's mountain bike magazine no. 1), MYBIKE and EMTB in order to make this information, which is important for the industry, available to a wider public.

For many years now, the Eurobike Show Daily, trade fair magazine of the annual Eurobike Show, has also given us the opportunity to publish our view of major developments in the cycle industry in full-page articles.

We also speak regularly in independent expert presentations about all areas of bicycle technology and the bicycle market. In addition, we are quoted by further special-interest magazines of the industry and the trade as well as increasingly by radio and television in their media reports, which shows us that we are spot on with our advice. The section "News" informs you about the latest news from our specialist areas. The reports and publications of this section are listed chronologically or according to areas of interest.

TOUR 01/2023
Reading time 1:20 minutes

Wait a minute …!

Just a moment ago, you could turn the handlebar in the stem. But just one turn of the Allen key later, the carbon creaks. Anyone who thinks they have a feeling for the tightening torques of bicycle parts is wrong. Torque keys help to observe the specified values strictly. We tested twelve models.

(...)
Interview with graduate engineer Dirk Zedler,  bicycle expert
 
Screwing based on your feeling can crush parts
 
TOUR: Many amateur mechanics tighten screws on the bike purely by feeling. How dangerous is that?
DIRK ZEDLER: From the mechanical engineering point of view, bicycles are absolutely lightweight. In fact, weight is saved on every detail. Tightening screws by feeling cannot only damage the thread itself. Carbon components are actually at risk of being crushed. As a result, previously damaged parts can fail in operation.
 
Is aluminium just as sensitive to excessive torque values as carbon?
Crushing is not the big issue, and if the aluminium frame is affected by a dent, this is neither a fracture origin. The clamping points on the handlebars can be critical if neckings occur. In this case, the expert speaks of notch effect, and sooner or later fatigue fracture can occur.
 
Is there only the problem of too tight, or can too low torque values also cause problems?
In the event of an impact, handlebars can twist abruptly in the stem or stems can twist in grooves on fork steerer tubes. But cranks or pedals can also come completely loose and suddenly fall off if they are not tightened properly. Bolts of seat posts are also particularly critical. For this reason, the urgently recommend that you stay within the ranges of torque. And keep in mind: The bolted connections should be checked for the first time with the torque key after about 10-15 hours of operation and then at regular intervals and depending on the hardness of the use about every 50 hours. More details are indicated in the operating instructions.
 
A part is still loose in spite of the proper torque value. What can I do?
Tolerances in manufacturing can hardly be avoided, so the first thing to check is whether the parts are matching. Grease should be absolutely avoided on clamps where one partner is made of the composite material carbon. A thin layer of friction-promoting carbon assembly paste applied evenly on both sides creates magic results here, then it works within the specified torque values.
 
What shall I do if a component has been over-tightened?
This is not an easy question and definitely not a question that can be answered in general. Once over-tightened and then loosened immediately is typically not the end of the world. With critical carbon, creaking noises often announce during tightening already that the pressure was too high. You can also hear them when loosening. If this is the case, it is definitely time for replacement. I also recommend that you contact an expert.
 
The interview was held by Stefan Frey
 

If you want to read the entire article, order the respective issue from Delius Klasing Verlag online.
 

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