Tighten your Torx bolts!

[AndrewClark]

Midway through our ride between Manali & Leh, Cass Gilbert had a slight mechanical problem..

He noticed something feeling funny on his rear wheel and on checking it found that 7 of the 8 Torx bolts that hold the Rohloff hub together (non drive side) were missing.  They'd been vibrated loose.... [:0]

Cass has been using this Rohloff for approx 4 years and apart from oil & cable changes hasn't touched it.  Luckily he had spare bolts in the tool kit on one of the support jeeps.

I checked my nearly new hub after this and found that the same bolts needed to be tightened by approx 1/4 turn.

Moral of the story - if you are riding a Rohloff equipped bike on bad roads keep these bolts tightened and carry spares!

[stutho]

Eak! Not good.  Thanks for the heads up.

Just a little warning to those about to tighten the hubcap screws.  They are only to be torque to 3Nm ~25in.lbs.  (That is not very much – about the same as a head set pre load bolt)

I just did quick check mine - one bolt required a slight tighten. Tonight I am going to remove them all (one at a time) lock tight them then torque them in diagonal sequence with a torque screwdriver.

[graham]

Stutho:
(or anyone else reading this come to that)

Do you know where I can get a reasonably priced torque screwdriver?
I'd quite like one because quite a lot on a cycle requires a lower torque than most wrenches will measure, but the only ones I've seen cost over £100. I don't think I want one quite that much.

Ta.

[PH]

Mine came loose within the first couple of months, I used threadlock and they haven't budged since.
I've never felt the need to measure torque on any cycle component.  As long as you're aware of what the right amount feels like it'll be fine, I can't think of anything that's critical.

[stutho]

graham look here

At the risk of talking myself out of a sale:  As a general rule I don't bother with a torque screwdriver - most bike fasteners are tightened up in the range of 8 to 10 Nm.  Even with the Rohloff hub I did a quick check without one before reaching for the toolbox.

Anyway if you still want a torque screwdriver I still have 3 left.  They are really old and battered BUT I wouldn't sell them if I thought that they wouldn't do the job and if you are not happy with the item I will offer you a full refund.

Stuart

[lewis noble]

If Cass Gilbert gets problems, I think the rest of us will panic and be reaching for our toolkits pretty quick!!

I can hear the clatter of spanners and the click of torque wrenches . . .

Worth pointing out, I think, that torque screwdrivers and wrenches at this sort of range tend to use 1/4" drive bits.  Probably much better for bikes than 3/8 or 1/2 anyway, and I will probably gradually re-equip my kit in time.

By the way, my bolts, checked with the driver I bought from stutho some while back, seem fine.

Lewis

[graham]

Cheque went in today's post, thanks Stuart.

[daviddd55]

I checked the bolts on my 6-month old raven Tour and they were fine. There appeared to be some white stuff (thread sealant?) on the threads of the couple of bolts I looked at, however there was none on the Rohloff box bolt threads. I've been over all the bolts on the bike and applied both Loctite and spring washers, just to be sure, especially on the rack bolts. I hope to go offroad for many days at a time in Oz so want to maximise integrity.

[Al Downie]

quote:I've never felt the need to measure torque on any cycle component.  As long as you're aware of what the right amount feels like it'll be fine, I can't think of anything that's critical.

I'm not suggesting that a torque wrench would have helped in this case, but... I've always adopted exactly that approach - adjusting bolts by 'feel', and recently I adjusted a front brake so enthusiastically that the boss broke off the frame. It was a 20yr old rust-bucket, but still a bit disappointing.