It's a good idea to use a torque wrench when working on modern bikes. Modern road and gravel bikes tend to feature carbon fibre components, frames and wheels, and a torque wrench is the difference between hoping you've tightened a fastener properly and knowing you have. 

The best bike torque wrenches give you the means to apply the correct amount of torque to a fastener when tightening it up. In simple terms, if your tightening a bolt or screw, a torque wrench is the tool that will ensure you have tightened it to the manufacturers' recommended spec, which is often, but not always listed on the part.

Today, I'm looking at the M Part torque wrench, which is a more affordable offering for anyone working on bikes. It's a neat little tool and set which comes in a tough plastic case and with seven bits included, which means you can hit the ground running and use it straight away. 

M Part is an in-house brand of UK distributor Madison, so this tool may be trickier to find in Europe or the States, though you may be able to order one. The RRP is £59.99, though you can find it for even less online.  

Design and aesthetics 

The M Part wrench comes in a sturdy plastic case with two snap-lock closures. Inside is the wrench itself, which is silver with a black handle. There's a calibration and instruction leaflet, six Hex and one Torx bit. The Hex bits are 3/4/5/6/8/10mm, and the Torx bit is a T25. 

The torque wrench itself covers a torque range of 3-15Nm, so this unit will cover all your standard handlebar, stem, seatpost bolts, derailleur mount bolts, Shimano crankset bolts, etc. It will cover a wide range, but you may need another wrench for cassette and disc lockrings or bigger crankset bolts. Some fasteners and headset parts do have torque ratings lower than 3Nm, but they are more uncommon. 

The torque wrench itself uses a 1/4 square drive head. If a lot of your sockets are 3/4" size, as I know mine are, don't worry too much, as the included bits will get you off and running. You can always add more bits or sizing converter sockets as you go. 

The wrench has a reversible ratcheting head with a fairly fine action, and a push button on the back of the head releases sockets effortlessly. 

There is a see-through torque scale window on the body of the unit, and you adjust the torque setting by pushing the bottom of the wrench in and rotating it. There's even a handy image on the bottom of the bottom if you need help. 

The torque wrench is calibrated to the ISO 6789 standard and comes with a paper certificate of calibration in the box. This is a pretty stringent calibration, as I learnt when I took torque wrenches to a calibration lab, and guarantees the wrench is going to be accurate for at least one year of use, which is the interval that most manufacturers recommend getting a torque wrench recalibrated. I believe this rarely happens, at least in the bike industry. A torque wrench of mine was still in calibration after at least two years of heavy use. However, it's good to remember this is a precision tool, and it will pay to look after it. 

Torque wrench tips and tricks from the experts.

Performance 

This has been a great torque wrench to use so far. The ISO 6789 calibration gives me confidence that I'm working accurately. This goes for any torque wrench, but you will be able to send it for calibration when needed in most territories.

It doesn't cover everything. I needed a 1.5Nm rating on the Canyon Grail gravel bike I recently finished testing, for instance, but for the majority of common jobs on a modern bike, it will prove very useful for the money. 

It's around 30cm in length, and the grip is comfortable and easy to use. I also like the clear audible click off when torque is reached. M Part recommends just keeping the hand 'centred on the handle' in use, so just hold the black handle evenly to ensure proper torque. 

One thing I found a little niggly at first was following the printed scale for decimal places, the scale doesn't have whole numbers printed. For instance, it goes from 0.8 to 1.2, meaning you have to slow down and take your time to arrive at certain torque ratings. Especially since only even numbers are printed on the white torque scale on the wrench's body. It's hardly the end of the world, but it's more noticeable coming from other wrenches, which are easier to use. I got used to it quickly enough, but it's not the quickest way of working. 

The other thing I would recommend purchasing if you don't have it already is a long hex bit and holder so you can torque down shifter clamp bolts, which often get overlooked. A long bit will also help on other hard-to-access bolts, like seatpost clamp frame bolts, for instance. 

It's nice to have a case included, and it keeps the unit dust and dirt free and adds to the value offering again.

Value 

I think this tool offers pretty solid value. It's made in China, I believe, and I have seen similar looking units on offer from other brands, but the ISO calibration is a seal of accuracy. 

In use, the wrench has done exactly what it says on the tin for me. The scale is my only small gripe, and as mentioned, the included chrome vanadium bits and case add to the overall quality of the package, especially considering the price. 

Verdict 

This is a good value offering from M Part that ticks a lot of boxes at a competitive price point. The included bits allow you to hit the ground running, and the ISO calibration gives confidence. I enjoy using it and will continue to use it to work on a range of bikes. 

There is a huge amount of choice when it comes to tools you can carry with you out on the bike. I’ll be looking at the Nano TorqBar DX torque tool from Topeak here which is a compact pre-set torque tool kit. It’s a useful tool that’s small enough to carry with you on rides, travel with or use at home. It also features in our best bike torque wrenches buyers guide. 

The complete tool itself comprises a small plastic case housing tool bits and three of Topeak’s pre-set torque TorqBits. The TorqBar itself can then be loaded with these bits and used as a regular tool to work on your bike, or with the TorqBits to create a pre-set torque wrench so you can work to the correct specs for your bike. 

The tool retails for £74.99 with all three pre-set TorqBits but you can pick it up with just the specific bit you need for less money. It can also be found at cheaper prices online generally. 

 Design and Aesthetics  

The Nano TorqBar is a tidy piece of kit, and the plastic case is particularly neat and tidy when fully stocked with bits. 

The design can be split into two halves. The TorqBar itself and the bit holder case as mentioned. The Torqbar itself is a smooth aluminium cylinder with a circular cutout drilled into one end. A smaller diameter plastic insert then slides into this cylinder (pictures below). The plastic insert has space to house two of the supplied steel tool bits which are held in place by magnets so they can't fall out. A spring-loaded button locks into the drilled cutout on the TorqBar body to lock the insert in place and finally there is a six-sided magnetic slot to load your chosen pre-set TorqBit. The Torqbar on its own weighs a scant 32 grams and is 11cm in length. 

The plastic case housing the tool bits themselves is sturdy and its two hinged plastic 'doors' both open up for easy access. Neatly slotted inside are 3, 4, 5mm Hex bits and T20 and T25 Torx bits. You could of course replace these with bits of your choice, but they are pretty much the main contenders for working on bikes these days. 

There are then three pre-set TorqBits next to the bits that can tackle 4, 5 and 6Nm torque ratings. So this is a set designed to tackle jobs like seatposts and handlebar and stem adjustments given its size and torque ratings. These TorqBits fit into the end of the Torqbar and then then accept whatever bit you need to use to work on your bike. 

Topeak does stress you undo bolts and fasteners with a bit only and not with a Torqbit fitted, and that the tool is good to undo bolts with up to a 20Nm rating. It isn't a big, burly tool so a bit of common sense is needed here. It's not the tool to undo something really tight or big with. 

Performance 

The Nano TorqBar DX proves to be a useful tool that's pretty versatile. It works well on its own when I've been just generally working on bikes. I swapped handlebars on my cyclocross bike recently using the Torqbar and insert with the four and five-mm hex bits. Its length makes it easy to work with and I really like the way you can load a bit at the end of the bar too which is useful when initially threading things like headset topcap bolts or disc rotor bolts home, this means you can use it like a screwdriver to get things going. 

When you are ready to torque a bolt to spec, just load the TorqBit and bit you need and you're ready to torque. There isn't a loud 'click' to hear from the tool but it does make a faint click as the preset torque is hit and the tactile feedback is provided. It isn't super loud so you do need to pay attention, especially on more delicate components.

The compact nature of the Torqbar means fitting it into a saddlebag or your jersey pockets is easily done. You can load and carry a maximum of four bits and one pre-set TorqBit into the TorqBar, though carrying two inside the tool does make things neater again, again have a look at the pictures for reference here. You can of course carry the case too, but it's one more thing to worry about. 

On the subject of the case, I would like a way to attach the bar to the case to keep them together. You could do this by finding a rubber band or strap to fit, but it would be nice to get one from the off and this is probably my only gripe. 

One point to remember regarding pre-set torque wrenches and units is that they do have something of a lifespan and often can't be calibrated. In simple terms, they may reach a point when they are no longer accurate. Topeak cites the accuracy for the tool of +/- 6% tolerance is guaranteed for 5000 cycles, which is a lot of use. 

For comparison, premium adjustable torque wrenches calibrated to an ISO rating should offer around +/- 1% to 2% across the entire range (typically around 2Nm to 14Nm).

High-end pre-set tools might get as accurate as 2% or 3% and have a longer lifespan, but for an item of this size, price and portability around 5000 uses within 6% accuracy is certainly not a complaint. 

In terms of bit quality, I tested the supplied hex and torx bits against the best ones in my possession, some high-quality PB Swiss bits. The Topeak bits were a slightly slacker fit in T25 and 4mm fasteners, but overall not bad. 

The condition of the bolt you're tightening and your own technique can also affect things here. I also compared the TorqBits to a Wera A5  torque wrench which is calibrated to a stringent 2017 ISO standard and they were pretty much the same, so I feel pretty confident they are in spec and hopefully will be for a good length of time. 

Verdict 

If you're working away all day every day or doing lots of spannering then this tool isn't as relevant, it's probably more of an addition to your toolbox or ride kit rather than a mainstay workhorse.

You can, however, do a lot with the TorqBar, my recent bar swap using it was a breeze. Its length is a strength here I think. It's about the length of my palm which means it's easy to work with when you just have a bit loaded for a range of jobs. Then when you're ready to torque something you can - an advantage over a regular multi-tool.

It's probably best suited to travelling or carrying with you on rides to get you out of trouble. If you arrive somewhere and need to get your bike together it will be really useful and it's just a nice thing to use, which is also a motivation with purchases like this. 

It's a clever design, but I wonder if it's a little on the pricey side. There are cheaper ways to do the same jobs. We're spoilt for choice these days, and this tool is another nice option. 

Amazon Prime Day is in full swing, don't worry it's a two-day sale event with the sale ending at the end of Wednesday the 17th of July. 

As an Amazon event, you'd be forgiven for assuming that the deals only show up there, but as other retailers try to piggyback on the hype, a range of deals can be found across the internet, and across the world. 

As a professional bike mechanic in my former life, and a regular tinkerer nowadays outside of my role at Cyclingnews, I like to pull a tool deals mini hub together at various sale events through the year and have found a few US and UK tool deals today that I think are worth mentioning. 

I own a lot of the included tools here myself and can fully recommend them. There's no earth-shattering gadgets here, just good quality, useful tools that I enjoy using, and would happily buy again. The discounts are healthy and I think they would make a welcome addition to any toolbox or garage set-up. 

There are four US and UK tool deals, from the Competitive Cyclist and Sigma Sports online sales that are taking place at the same time. 

If you're in the mood for a bargain, you can also head to our Amazon Prime Day cycling deals hub for a range of bargains as well as our Prime Day live blog, which we update with the latest deals as we find them. 

Quick deals USA

• Feedback Sports: Up to 50% off
• Unior: 40% off multi-tools
• Pedros: $15 off starter tool kit
• Lezyne: 20-40% off Tool Insert Kits

Quick deals UK

• Park Tool: Up to 44% off workstands
• Silca: Save on floor pumps & more
• Lezyne: 36% off mini pumps

USA tool deals

UK tool deals

• Amazon Prime Day Apple AirPods: Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro headphones hit best-ever prices in Prime Day sale
• Amazon Prime Day Garmin Epix 2: Garmin Epix Gen 2 smartwatch hit its lowest-ever price
• Amazon Prime Day Wahoo Kickr Core: The cheapest we've ever seen the popular indoor trainer

Being able to inflate a flat tyre is an absolute must to bring along with you on every ride, along with a multi-tool, and some tyre levers. If you’re kitting yourself out with some new gear for the first time, or you’re considering swapping from the best bike pumps to the best CO2 inflators and are a little unsure then worry not, I’m here to take you through all the pro’s and cons of each system and give you my suggestions for when you should be using one or the other.

Size

This one is a pretty easy win for the CO2 inflator. Even the largest, with the largest MTB canisters, are smaller than the majority of mini-pumps. Even my go-to tiny mini pump, the Birzman Mini-Apogee, is larger than it’s CO2 equivalent. If you start taking more than one canister out with you though the tables can shift in favour of the mini pump, but only if you’re packing a very small model of mini pump.

If size is your number one priority then go for a CO2 inflator, but if you're packing for a bikepacking trip then reliability should also be a major deciding factor.

Weight

You might think that, as they are smaller, CO2 inflators are also lighter. You may be surprised then to learn that the difference in weight between the Birzman pump and CO2 inflators above is only half a gram different. If I included the protective sleeve for the canister the CO2 setup would weigh more.

A tiny mini pump isn’t ideal for gravel though, so let’s try a different scenario. My ‘everyday carry’ mini pump, the Lifeline Performance MTB, comes in a hair over 120g, while a Silca Eolo III paired with a larger 20g canister tips the scales at just shy of 85g. Again, add in another canister as a failsafe and the scales tip in favour of the pump.

Speed

There’s no getting around this, a CO2 canister will inflate your tyres faster, and consequently you’re much more likely to be able to reseat a tubeless tyre if it has come unseated as a result of deflation, or if you’ve had to take it off the rim to boot a hole in the sidewall or some such scenario.

While a CO2 canister will inflate in a matter of seconds, even the best hand pumps can take an age. This is why we see gravel racers opt for CO2 over a hand pump - if every second counts there’s no question which system you should choose. 

Pressure

This is another win for the CO2 inflator I’m afraid. The little aluminium cylinders pack a punch and can easily get a 28c road tyre up to 100psi. The higher capacity MTB cylinders will also get your gravel tyres to whatever pressure you need, provided you don’t accidentally leak all the gas out somehow. 

One thing to bear in mind though is that CO2 will more easily seep out of your tyres, more so than the mix of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide that mini pumps will deliver, so you may find yourself with a flat tyre the next day. Don’t worry, just remember the best practice if you’ve had to use a CO2 canister is to release the gas from your tyre when you are back within range of a track pump, and then inflate with that. 

Reliability

You may be wondering why anyone would use a mini pump nowadays, if CO2 inflators are smaller, lighter, and can reach higher pressures. It comes down to reliability and repeatability. A CO2 inflator is a one-hit solution, though if you play your cards right with something like a Silca Eolo IV, which has a dial, you can get away with keeping a half-full canister for a second puncture if you’re unlucky. 

This is why if you’re going out with a CO2 system you should always take two canisters. It’s the same reason I carry an inner tube and a patch kit; belt and braces. A mini pump, while slower, heavier, and larger, will continue to work no matter how many punctures you are afflicted with. If you’re bikepacking then taking an actual pump is a no-brainer, and for general riding, I’d even go so far as to suggest that even if you are taking a CO2 inflator for the sake of convenience, you should take an actual pump as a fallback.

It’s also worth noting that you need to be careful using a CO2 canister with a tyre full of tubeless sealant. Some sealants say you shouldn’t use CO2 at all, but for the most part it's fine, just make sure the valve is at the top of the wheel when you inflate so the icy blast of gas doesn’t freeze your sealant solid.

Waste

If you’ve been living under a rock you may not have noticed that we’re living in an incredibly wasteful society. CO2 canisters are single-use, and while they are made of aluminium and therefore recyclable, in environmental terms it's still a hard use of resources to justify when a pump can be used for hundreds or even thousands of times in its lifetime. 

If you are curious about the raw materials used in the cycling industry I wrote a piece all about how bicycles are made from a materials standpoint - before joining Cyclingnews I spent a decade in the mining industry as a geologist, so it’s something of a pet project for me to communicate resource usage as best I can.

What I carry

I have a handful of different setups that I take out with me, but it always involves a mini-pump. Always. I’m an anxious boy, and the thought of messing up an inflation, or having 15 punctures in one ride means that the peace of mind is worth more than the grams and space I’d save not bringing one. 

For most rides, I take a tool canister that I can swap between bikes without changing a thing, It does road and gravel and contains two Tubolito TPE tubes, a Lifeline Performance MTB pump, a Muc-Off tubeless repair kit, a Lezyne multi-tool, and the best tyre levers on the market, the Muc-Off Rim Stix. 

If I am short on space or want to go for lightness I have an extremely pared-back setup that I can slip into a jersey pocket, which includes a Tubolito road tube, two small Cannondale branded tyre levers that I have never used but was given on the launch of the new SuperSix Evo, a PNW Pebble multi-tool that has one tubeless repair worm, and the Birzman Mini-Apogee mini pump. 

Either of these setups is occasionally augmented by a CO2 inflator, but the inflator never replaces an actual pump.

Smoove chain lube has been on the market for several years now and is a popular choice as a drip lubricant for many riders. Smoove is a wax based drip lube that dries very cleanly, and if applied properly can provide fantastic longevity and performance. 

Smoove is one of the chain lubricants featured in our best chain lube buyers guide and took home the best value award in our recent Cyclingnews awards. Coming in a 125ml bottle it's retail price is £16.99 / $21.43, which represents good value when compared to the length of time a bottle should last you (thousands of miles), and the performance and low drivetrain wear rates it should offer. 

Smoove also makes a drivetrain degreaser to accompany the chain lubricant called Smoove prep which comes in a 250ml bottle, though you don't have to use this exclusively with Smoove. 

A clean drivetrain paired with a good chain lubricant or wax can offer up some real gains on the bike as well as save you money. There will be at least a handful of watts between a dirty, oily mess of a chain, and a properly cleaned drivetrain which has been treated with a good chain lubricant. We have also referenced and benefited from the help of Zero Friction cycling regarding our chain lubricant work, which carries out controlled, independent chain lubricant testing. 

Design and specifications 

Remove the white screw top from the bottle (both fully recyclable, thankfully) to reveal a screw on applicator nozzle which uses two rubber-coated side plates to help guide it onto the chain. 

Smoove itself is off-white in colour and is a wax-based emulsion that is biodegradable and solvent free. I don't posses a safety data sheet or know the exact makeup, but it's going to be a water based liquid containing wax and probably other additives or ingredients too. Smoove is fairly viscous and makes a good glug sound when you shake the bottle up before applying. 

Performance 

I applied Smoove to a brand new KMC chain on a gravel bike I was testing. The chain in question being a 11speed KMC model. A brand new chain is a good starting point compared to trying to clean a dirty and contaminated chain if your making the switch to Smoove from another lubricant, especially if your chain already has a decent level of wear. 

I stripped the factory lubricant from the chain using methylated spirits for a few rounds of cleaning, and once satisfied did a final clean with isopropyl alcohol (easily ordered from Amazon).

Zero Friction testing shows Smoove to have some initial penetration issues, due in part to it being fairly viscous. This means a bit more effort is required during lubricant application to achieve the best possible performance and results from Smoove itself. Summed up, tight and closely fitting chain parts can often make it difficult for a lubricant to penetrate deep into a chain and coat the inside surfaces and the pin. This can lead to high levels of wear straight off the bat if not addressed. Imagine a completely naked or clean chain and carefully dripping a tiny drop of a lubricant onto each link in the name of cleanliness. This can result in minimal lubricant actually making its way into the chain link and the first few miles of riding can actually see high levels of wear as the un-lubricated metal surfaces and chain pin just articulate against each other. Summed up, it's important to get enough Smoove into the depths of the chain to achieve the maximum benefit. 

I placed my bottle of Smoove in hot water for a few minutes to help aid penetration and applied it with the chain on the largest cassette sprocket to help open up the chain links that little bit more. I made two healthy applications to the under and upper side of each link and wiped off any excess. I then left the chain overnight (12+ hours) for it to set before riding; Smoove recommends waiting at least an hour. 

Squirt is an off white colour, but dries clear. You end up with an ever so slightly tacky, waxy finish to the chain, but that's it. I rode my Smoove treated chain for several weeks on- and off-road in dry and dusty conditions as it was June. This was all on one application and I was nowhere near needing to reapply after a few weeks. The British summer went downhill rapidly after this but that's another story. One part of the application process I wasn't blown away with was the performance of the updated applicator head, which changed around March this year. I just didn't find it as accurate as a nice fine nozzle and did have to check if my bottle was blocked from storage / transit etc. It wasn't blocked, and I got it going after a bit of a fiddle, but for me the delivery of lubricant onto the chain just wasn't as smooth (pun intended) compared to a nozzle.  

Smoove delivers on all the things you would want to hear regarding a clean, fast running lubricant. It dries clearly and runs very quietly. My 1x Sram drivetrain really did run pretty silently on Smoove which was nice. If you're starting with a clean drivetrain and chain, things are going to stay very clean for you. You get a slight waxy buildup on chainrings and jockey wheel teeth but overall the system stays very clean in the dry and doesn't seem to hang onto much contamination or dust, in part I think owing to the 'plastic', non-wet dried nature of Smoove. If you start noticing a real build up of of waxy lube, you're probably over applying it. 

It's one thing for me to say my chain ran quietly and stayed clean which is definitely a positive, but it's good to know that Smoove has performed well in independent testing too. Zero Friction found that Smoove provided excellent contamination resistance in the dry and low wear rates. 

The application instructions can and really need to be improved to avoid initial high wear from poor lubricant penetration. For the home user, it would be a good move to heat the lubricant up first, run your chain in the large chainring and largest sprocket and apply two to four applications of squirt on the inside and outside of the chain. Wipe off the excess and this should help achieve the best possible penetration. Once applied pedal backwards for 10-20 revolutions as well, which will help. If you have one, you could also apply Smoove ultrasonically with an ultrasonic bath, but if you're that into chain lubricant application you'll probably be waxing your chain anyway.   

I'm conscious I haven't mentioned wet conditions yet and they will naturally test any drip lubricant far more. Bringing extra contamination into a chain, so Smoove, like a lot of other lubricants will require some maintenance and cleaning after wet rides to get the best out of it and to reset contamination. 

Verdict

Smoove is a really good value wax emulsion drip lubricant that will last a heck of a long time per bottle, making it excellent value for money. 

It will keep your drivetrain very clean and quiet, whilst lengthening its lifespan. You can also dive into the full Zero Friction testing results if you want to learn more about it, but it is safe to say that this is a lubricant that will look after your drivetrain and provide good wear resistance and performance. 

If you're switching to Smoove, following the stock application instructions will certainly not be the end of the world, but if you're looking to maximize your advantage then being a bit more thorough to begin with should give you better performance long term. 

Over the course of this year I've spent some time exploring the subject of torque and torque wrenches. I worked on and overhauled our best bike torque wrenches buyers guide earlier in the year. My research on this and my interest in the topic generally led to the creation of a few pieces of work on the subject. 

I did some research and spoke to aircraft, bike and automotive mechanics from other industries, comparing their experience and use of torque compared to the bike industry. Comparing knowledge from mechanics in different industries provided some useful insights and comparisons as well as some tips to take away and possibly implement when working with bikes. I also spoke to several large tool manufacturers to get some tips and best practice advice straight from the top on using torque with bike fasteners and how to best care for your own tools and torque wrenches. 

This final torque piece follows up on a point that has been mentioned several times in these pieces and that was repeated by both manufacturers and mechanics alike. This was to ensure that torque wrenches are regularly calibrated to ensure accuracy can be ensured long term. Most manufacturers recommend and can provide yearly calibrations around every 50,000 clicks (uses), or every 12 months, whichever comes first. A torque wrench that has been in use for years, used as an emergency breaker bar, dropped, or left set etc may not be working accurately any more which means potentially over or under-tightened bolts and inaccurate or even unsafe work. 

Instead of speculating, we found some battle-weary torque wrenches and booked them in for calibration testing. The visit was really interesting, I learnt an awful lot and it threw up some really useful points if you own or work with bikes and torque wrenches. 

Several of the representatives we spoke to from tool manufacturers cited a potential need for increased awareness in the bike industry when it comes to re-calibrating torque tools to ensure accuracy. I've also never personally sent a torque wrench for calibration or heard of a shop doing it in my years working as a mechanic, and most mechanics I spoke with said they hadn't usually bothered. Some mechanics I asked during my research even said they just brought new torque wrenches every few years. 

The torque wrenches in our buyer's guide were all brand-new units and all good-quality ones. Though I had worked through a range of service jobs on them all during testing they were brand-new units and I expected would only tell us what we knew already if we took them for testing. 

For a more interesting set of results and piece in general I needed some used and older wrenches. I had my own Proxxon torque wrench to use, which had done a few years of heavy work and even sustained a couple of drops. The other two wrenches came from the mechanics at my old workplace Gorilla Coffee Workshop. Mechanics Paul and Josh were interested and on board with the project straight away and provided a couple of their own torque wrenches for calibration. 

The torque wrenches we sent for calibration were all click-style and as I've mentioned in the past, I think this style tends to be the most commonly seen in the bike world. 

To recap and to help you picture what's going on inside your torque wrench in the context of testing, I will use Effetto Mariposa founder Alberto De Gioannini's clear-cut explanation of how a click-style torque wrench functions: 

"It's a simple but precise mechanism, based on a calibrated spring that is put under a certain load when setting the "torque" dial. The spring is compressing a bearing placed under the wrench head. When the torque applied to the bolt reaches the torque value set in the tool, the bearing allows the head to move and "click"." he explained. 

I headed to the Calibration Select Metrology lab in Smethwick, Birmingham. The Metrology Services division is an arm of the long-running company Avery Weigh-Tronix which has been servicing and maintaining weighing equipment for over 200 years.

Avery Weigh-Tronix offers a range of metrology services - metrology being the science of measurement. The Calibration Select service and lab are set up to provide calibration and testing services for torque, dimensional, pressure, and electrical equipment amongst others. The lab is also UKAS accredited to the most up-to-date ISO 17025:2017 standard (ISO is the International Organization for Standardization). UKAS is a UK government-appointed body that accredits organisations providing services across a variety of sectors including calibration testing. For reference, our calibrations cost around £40 per torque wrench though prices vary depending on the job. 

Yousuf Ahmed, the lab team leader, carried out the calibration testing on our torque wrenches and gave me a tour of the lab and the various different metrology testing bays, from dimensional to torque. It would have been too easy to pick his brains all day but we had some torque wrenches to test. The lab was spotlessly clean and temperature controlled (a must for UKAS accreditation) with temperature sensors dotted around to ensure controlled testing conditions. 

Yousuf explained the need for "a never-ending trail of accountability and traceability" when it comes to metrology and the sort of testing the lab carries out. Years of test results are logged and a point I hadn't considered was what calibrates the calibration machines, and how far that process can go in the search for ultimate accuracy. You start to go down the rabbit hole here, and the processes in place could almost be never-ending. But quarterly verification checks to calibration equipment take place, as well as yearly calibration being carried out to ensure nothing is thrown out or inaccurate, thus guaranteeing the equipment doing the calibrations is accurately calibrated too. I didn't know what to expect from a Calibration, I didn't know what equipment Yousuf would use to check the wrenches if he'd open them up to work on them or use some sort of rig to check them. I learnt the lab calibrate torque wrenches to two ISO standards. One being ISO 6789:2003 and the other being the newer ISO 6789:2017 standard, both up to 2,500Nm. 

Our wrenches would be calibrated to the 2003 ISO standard which involves a simpler test and can offer a faster tool turnaround time for businesses. Although classed as ‘withdrawn’ the 2003 standard testing is still very much used and widely available. Yousuf explained torque wrenches manufactured pre-2017 would likely fail the new test as the standard hadn't existed at the time of manufacture. Wrenches manufactured to the 2017 standard would also pass 2003 standard testing. The Calibration Select team told me the 2017 test is also at least 90 minutes long, and very thorough, it includes a series of extra tests (approximately 120 test points). This standard really tests the tools to the limits and is more expensive. 

The lab used Norbar testing equipment to carry out the calibrations, themselves a manufacturer of torque tools. The Torque wrenches were calibrated on a fairly large torque calibration rig which could accommodate a range of different-sized wrenches. A quick torque check is performed beforehand on a small Norbar TruCheck machine to ensure a particularly 'bad' or out-of-spec wrench doesn't upset or damage the load cells used on the electronic transducers on the torque test rig. It's a small extra safety step that prevents any unnecessary damage.

Preliminary checks also max-test the wrench to warm up the spring inside. An interesting point was raised here regarding how temperatures can affect torque wrenches' accuracy. So for instance, if you're coming into a cold workshop in the morning a few test clicks are a good thing to do first to warm up the metal the wrench spring is made of. Yousuf explained the first one of the day may give a different reading to later on in the day once the spring is warmed up. So he recommended doing a few clicks first at maximum torque, then torquing the bolt or fastener for maximum accuracy. Is this overkill for torquing a crankset bolt? Possibly, but if you want to be as accurate as possible with a set of $400 carbon fibre handlebars then it's a useful tip.

Once the initial check is complete, to calibrate an adjustable torque wrench the instrument is placed onto the Norbar torque calibration rig. A wrench is mounted to an electronic transducer relevant to the torque range of the wrench being tested. A transducer by definition converts energy from one form to another. Weights are also used to counterbalance each wrench and to ensure each one is flat along two planes, vertical and horizontal (a small spirit level is used for this) this is all about ensuring repeatable measurements are achieved. Depending on whether the 2003 or 2017 standard is being used the lab then performs three test points at different ranges in the torque scale of the tool. Either at minimum or 20%, 60% or Max of the torque wrenches range. Yousuf explained the sternest test for wrenches was often at the lowest end of the torque range. (You can see this test range below in the certificate photos). The lab set each point and then record the error on a UKAS-calibrated indicator. The recorded readings are what the wrench reads when a set torque is applied to it by the transducer. Each torque wrench is then tested five times at each test point for repeatability. At each test point, the technician makes sure they are within the limits stated in BS6789 unless a customer has their own requirements.

The wheel you see in the photos at the front of the rig is wound by hand by the technician, moving the transducer and in turn the head of the torque wrench until the required reading is reached, this is repeated five time so the torque wrench doesn't move (a preconception of mine), and the transducer and technician do the work. The readings are displayed on a digital screen next to the rig which also uses Norbar software. The testing took a while, and I could appreciate how time-intensive calibration for the 2017 standard might be.

Testing was not as black and white as I thought it was. A range of accuracy can be tested and accommodated depending on how accurate a customer needs things to be. For instance, an aerospace client may have a different set of requirements to me making sure my torque wrench for bikes is still accurate. The lab test is to a standard but can account for an acceptable tolerance range for a customer, though the British standard default tolerance criteria is 4%. 

Testing results 

After the calibrations were finished we were left with our results. Two out of three wrenches officially failed their calibrations. The Proxxon wrench passed the calibration and the two older Park Tool and Cyclus wrenches failed, but only in certain areas of the overall torque range. Again this was new for me and showed the area isn't just black and white. The wrenches were fairly accurate at certain points of their range and still ok for use, but overall were classified as a fail. Yousuf explained in the event of a failure the lab could provide a quote for a replacement torque wrench or calibrate a wrench over a specific range to achieve a pass. 

The Proxxon wrench had a range of 12-60Nm and was the newest unit, and despite repeated use was still in spec.  It was tested at 12,36, and 60Nm. The mean result for the 12Nm test was 11.76. The mean result from 36Nm was 34.72 and the mean result from the 60Nm max test was 61.08. The poorest result was in the middle of the range, but overall it met the 4% acceptable standard. 

The Park Tool wrench was a fairly old unit and had seen a lot of use. It had a range of 12-60N. It failed at the top end of its torque range and was tested at the same range as the Proxxon unit. The mean measurement for the 12Nm test was 11.55. The mean for the 36Nm test was 37.41 and the mean for the 60Nm test was 62.79. 

The Cyclus wrench again was a few years old and had seen some use. It had a range of 2-24Nm and it failed at the low end of its torque range, the opposite of the Park unit. It was checked at 2,14.4 and 24Nm. The mean reading for the 2Nm test was 2.26. The mean reading for the 14.4Nm test was 13.93 and the mean reading for the 24Nm test was 23.74. 

I don't really know what I expected in the calibration results. I think I expected perhaps far bigger differences compared to the figures produced during the calibration and it highlighted the levels of accuracy the standards work to and the wrenches themselves. Would a torque wrench being out affect a track bike wheel nut that has been properly tightened? Probably not. Would it affect a lightweight carbon stem with a 3Nm torque rating? Possibly. The decision lies with the mechanic or user ultimately. 

Conclusions 

It was eye-opening to visit a metrology lab and learn more about torque wrench calibration and the process involved. It did feel like something of an endpoint for the topics we've looked at on torque over the last few months. Yes, you could go and buy a new torque wrench and use it for years, but there may come a point where if you don't calibrate it, It may not be giving the same results it once did, potentially running the risk of damaging components. 

I think this is also a good time to address the point that often gets raised in some quarters which is usually along the lines of "I work on bicycles, not space shuttles, why do I have to buy a torque wrench, let alone pay to go and get one calibrated". If you've never used a torque wrench and never had a single problem then that's honestly great news, but I think if your working on bikes for other people, an employer or in large quantities then owning a torque wrench, using it, and calibrating it is the difference between hoping something is right and knowing it is.

Bike industry maintenance work doesn't require the same sort of traceability and paper trail that say the aviation industry does when it comes to torque checks and I think this may be the crux of it. Perhaps this is a reason we don't see, or at least hear about as many bicycle torque wrench calibrations being carried out. Bicycle components and materials are also at the top end, getting lighter and more exotic which does require a high level of torque accuracy to avoid component damage or failure compared to say a burly, steel racing bike from fifty years ago.  

I'm sure there are pro and home mechanics or employers out there who just want to try and achieve the best, most accurate work possible and have peace of mind that their equipment is looked after and in working order. In this case, I think torque wrench calibration is probably going to be an obvious choice and something they go for happily.

We recently published a piece on torque where we looked at how torque in the bike industry compares to others. This second instalment in our deep dive into torque sees a discussion on torque and torque wrenches with some of the biggest tool manufacturers in the bike industry. 

We sent some questions to some prominent tool manufacturers to get a take directly from the horse's mouth. The internet is full of tips and advice on all things bike maintenance but not all of it can be relied upon. For the most part, going direct to the manufacturer whether it be for tools or components will usually provide you with the best advice. 

We spoke with Jernej Muzga from Unior Tools, the Slovenian tool manufacturer, Alberto De Gioannini founder of Swiss torque wrench specialists Effetto Mariposa, Thomas Chasseport from VAR Tools a longstanding French bicycle tool manufacturer and finally, we got to speak to Topeak, a Taiwanese toolmaker of over 30 years as well as the UK Topeak distributor Extra. 

As mentioned in our previous article, most road bike owners are encouraged to own and use one of the best bike torque wrenches to ensure they are accurately tightening their bolts to the correct torque specifications, helping to properly maintain their bike. Nearly every reputable bike shop or workshop will also be using a torque wrench on bolts and fasteners to ensure no mistakes are made.

Torque wrenches are precision tools and need to be treated with care, and ideally recalibrated at fairly regular intervals which is a topic we will be exploring in more depth. We posed a series of questions to some manufacturers with the idea of trying to learn more about how torque wrenches actually work, re-calibration and support processes for different manufacturers' products. We also asked for their tips on getting the most from your torque wrench and whether brands think we need to be more aware of torque wrench calibration in the cycling industry.

Cyclingnews. Why should shop or home mechanics use a torque wrench on their threaded fasteners? 

Jernej Muzga: A torque wrench should be used to torque the components to the manufacturer's torque specifications, which can nowadays be found on almost any bike component. Respecting the manufacturer's torque specification ensures the components don`t get damaged by overtightening. Damaged components represent a huge safety risk for every rider and damage might not even be seen at first glance.

Alberto De Gioannini: The answer in one word is: safety. Across all mechanical industries, the use of torque wrenches has become standard practice, for very good reasons. There are potential issues for mechanics not using torque wrenches when working on customers' bikes if there is ever a problem.

Thomas Chasseport: Bike manufacturers, transmission manufacturers and components manufacturers are creating products that are even more precise. Mix it with even lighter and/or technical materials (steel, carbon fibre, aluminium…), and using torque wrenches becomes mandatory. There is a tiny line where the fasteners are correctly tightened. The range where this line sits is very large, beginning with a “not tightened fastener” and ending with “something is broken”. Applying the correct torque leads to the correct tightening.

Topeak: To avoid over-torque, especially Carbon Fiber products, if over-torque is easy to cause product damage

Cyclingnews: How does a click-style torque wrench actually work? (click style torque wrenches are probably the most common type of torque wrench used in the bike world)

JM: The head (beam) of a click torque wrench is attached to the handle at the pivot point. Inside the handle click style torque wrench feature a spring-loaded mechanical ˝clutch˝. The spring provides a force to the clutch, which prevents the torque wrench from rotating at the pivot point. 

When applying the force at the handle at one point the clutch is no longer able to withstand the force and slips, this is where the ˝click˝ happens. Adjusting the dial at the end of the handle will compress the spring and add more force to the clutch, meaning more force will need to be applied to the handle before the clutch slips and we get a ˝click˝.

AG: It's a simple but precise mechanism, based on a calibrated spring that is put under a certain load when setting the "torque" dial. The spring is compressing a bearing placed under the wrench head. When the torque applied to the bolt reaches the torque value set in the tool, the bearing allows the head to move and "click". It's good old mechanical functioning, no need for batteries.

TC: To summarize, a click-style torque wrench works like a spring-preloaded cam. When the applied torque reaches the spring tension, the cam is liberated, allowing the head to “knock”.

TP: The click-style torque wrench operates in such a way that when the locking torque reaches the preset torque value, a CLICK sound will be generated due to the instantaneous jumping of the mechanical structure. For example, if the torque is set to 6Nm when the locking torque reaches 6Nm, the internal structure will instantly Slip and generate a click sound to remind the user that the preset torque has been reached

Cyclingnews: How are your torque wrenches calibrated during manufacturing?

JM: The last step in the production of all Unior torque wrenches is calibration on specialized calibration devices. Calibration devices are certified and regularly checked.

AG: The calibrated spring is made in such a way as to have a linear behaviour and the needed constant of elasticity in the range of torque we use it. We just have to finely adjust the beginning of the scale so that it displays the torque value that is actually applied

TC: Torque wrenches are individually calibrated, as each spring is different. We cannot 100% predict how will the spring behave, so a calibration bench is required to ensure the correct setup. The bench sets a torque reference, and the calibration process is about how to correctly preload the spring. Then, it’s a control/adjustments steps of the torque wrench on the bench. You have to check your preload at different graduations to ensure there is no spring deflection throughout the process.

TP: There is Calibration with a digital torque gauge for every piece

Cyclingnews: Is it ok to use a converter socket with a torque wrench? I.e ⅜ to ½” 

JM: It's ok to use the torque wrench with the adapters. When using the adapters make sure the adapter is designed to withstand the force you are applying with the torque wrench. This might not be an issue when working on bikes, where torque values are low, but it can be a factor when dealing with higher torque values and downscaling interface with the adapter (I.e. 1/2˝ to 3/8˝).

AG: Sure, as long as it doesn't move the application point of the torque, extending or shortening the "length" of the tool.

TC: To be perfect, the fewer converters you use, the more precise you remain. Torque is a couple of forces around a rotation point, adding converting sockets (of any size) will add imprecision to the torque you apply as there is “play” between your converting sockets. So, if your torque wrench has a 3 / 8 ‘’ square drive, you (ideally) need 3 / 8’’ sockets and bits.

TP: No.

Cyclingnews Pre-set torque wrenches are popular now, but some cannot be calibrated. Is this the reason Unior does not currently offer one?

JM: Preset torque wrenches are in our plans.

AG: Pre-set torque wrenches are useful tools, however, we decided to focus on professional torque wrenches with a very long lifespan, that can be recalibrated.

TC: VAR pre-set torque wrenches cannot be calibrated. Our professional torque wrenches (DV-10400, DV-10500, DV-12100 and DV-12200) can be re-calibrated.

TP: No, because it is a consumable

Cyclingnews: Is it better to undo a bolt and then torque it to spec or is it ok to check the torque spec as is with the bolt already tightened? 

JM: Always undo the bolt first and then tighten it to spec. You don't know at what value the bolts have been torqued previously, if it's rusted, cross threaded, etc. When undoing the bolt first, we take the guesswork out of the equation and also prevent damaging the torque wrench. Never use the torque wrench for undoing the bolts.

AG: That's a good question. We recommend doing the first, undo and then torque to spec, as static friction can lead to quite different final tension values in the bolt over dynamic friction, for two bolts tightened at the same nominal torque.

TC: Both answers are correct, and not correct. It’s correct to apply the right torque by undoing the bolt and then reapplying the correct torque. By doing so, you are 100% sure that you applied the specified torque. Also, you can check if the bolt is tightened as you are undoing it. It’s not correct because you may break the pre-applied thread locker and reduce the thread-locking power.

Checking the torque while the bolt is already tightened has limitations: you only can check if the bolt is tightened, but not how. Let’s imagine a bolt that is tightened to 10 Nm, with a specified value at 8 Nm. Set your torque wrench to 8 Nm, you are not able to know that the bolt is over-tightened.

TP: I think it's best practice to undo the bolt with a normal Allen Key or wrench and then re-torque as required. If you were using a pre-set torque wrench then by just checking the bolts you wouldn’t be able to tell that they have been over torqued.

Cyclingnews: What is your warranty and calibration process for customers wanting to calibrate their own torque wrenches? 

JM: We have certified service partners all over the world, that can calibrate and service our torque wrenches. We are constantly working on adding new service partners to this list, to offer the best possible customer service. A list of our service partners can be found on our website.

AG: For Giustaforza owners based in the US or Canada, they might want to check this link. For Giustaforza owners based anywhere else, we can recalibrate their torque wrench here in Switzerland. The cost is 50 CHF, including shipping back. Normal turnaround time is 10 days and the wrench will come back calibrated, cleaned and lubricated, with a certificate of calibration.

If the wrench has some specific problem, we should be notified before getting the tool (if it fell hard on the adjusting knob and it's broken, there's no point in sending it in for calibration) but I'd say 99% of Giustaforzas can go on for many years and be recalibrated multiple times.

TC: Each torque wrench comes with its own calibration certificate. We recommend our customers reach calibration/metrology specialists in order to recalibrate their torque wrenches. A calibration each year is the first step to keeping a torque wrench accurate.

TP: For the adjustable Digital and Mechanical Torq Wrench, it is recommended to send it back to the original factory for calibration

Cyclingnews: Most people know to zero their torque wrench and treat it carefully as it’s a precision tool, are there any other tips you have for caring for and getting the best results from a torque wrench? 

JM: Besides the golden rule of setting the torque wrench to zero, there are a few other important tips for taking care of a torque wrench. Treat it like a measurement instrument, never use it for untightening, don't drop it, and store it in its original packaging.

AG: We actually recommend taking the torque wrench to the bottom of the scale (minimum value), not zero. Keeping the wrench pre-loaded at 2 Nm won't affect its precision and will ensure all the internal parts stay in place. Taking the dial below 2 Nm isn't a problem per se and most Giustaforzas can go below that... but there is the remote risk that some small parts go out of alignment if - for example, the wrench falls down while totally unloaded. Nothing dramatic, and we can fix it easily, but this is the reason why we recommend going to 2 Nm and not below.

TC: Zeroing a torque wrench is a mechanic rule when you need to stock your torque wrench. By doing so, you release all the spring tension, avoiding any deflection. Also, torque wrenches are provided with a storage box, which protects the torque wrench from shocks, water (or chemicals) projection, and UVs. A torque wrench is a precision / measuring tool, do not let it fall on the ground, and do not use it as a hammer or ratchet. Moreover, a torque wrench is a tightening tool, do not use it to undo a bolt, the spring will be damaged (and then the precision will be affected).

TP: Ensure you’re not using the torque wrench for undoing bolts, keep the tool clean and away from contaminants and try to ensure it's not dropped. 

Cyclingnews: Do you think there is slightly less need in the bike industry to use a torque wrench due to the generally low torque values needed on bike components compared to heavier or automotive industries? 

JM: It's the other way round, the lower the torque values, the higher the risk of overtightening. The usage of torque wrenches on components with low torque values is crucial.

AG: It's actually the contrary. A torque wrench is very much needed at low torques, as they can be easily exceeded using standard hand tools.

TC: As soon as a torque value is mentioned (on the component and/or on the assembly manual), respecting the specified torque is an investment the mechanic does in order to ensure the best working environment. For instance, some bearing compression bolts are tightened above the specified torque. This ends in a higher bearing drag and premature bearing wear.

TP: The cycling industry is full of materials that must be worked with correctly, Carbon, Titanium and lightweight alloys all have very small tolerances and can have severe consequences if they are over-tightened, as this technology continues to develop in search of saving weight I can only envision the need for torque wrenches becoming even more prevalent.

In addition to this we are seeing components such as cranks, headsets, BBs and bearings all coming through with Torque settings, failure to torque correctly affects the longevity and performance of the products and can even void product warranties.

Cyclingnews: Do you think many shops and mechanics re-calibrate their torque tools yearly? Or do we need a greater awareness of this in our industry?

JM: We need a great awareness of calibration in the industry. We sell many torque wrenches but only get a small part of them back for annual calibration.

AG: We see an increasing awareness of the importance of using torque tools, in a proper way and keeping them in perfect efficiency. The number of Giustaforzas being recalibrated is increasing year by year. A very good sign.

TC: Investing in a professional torque wrench is a real choice that bike shops make. Generally, bike shops are asking us how to maintain, and recalibrate their torque wrenches. As the “torque culture” is growing in our industry, the overall awareness will also grow up.

TP: I think there is a lack of awareness of this within the industry from some shops but not all, however in the case of the pre-set torque wrenches I think more often than not the shop replaces the tool for a new one somewhat regularly and therefore its less than an issue.

A big thanks to Jernej, Alberto, Thomas and the folks at Topeak for their time and for sharing their knowledge. 

Every time I leave the house on my bike, I carry a small collection of tools and flat repair supplies. There’s nothing at all unusual about that but, and again this isn’t special, over the years I’ve looked to optimise. How can I minimise what I carry while maximising my ability to support myself while riding? It’s a challenge of constant reassessment and I realised at the end of last year that it was time to revisit my choice of the best bike pump to carry with me.  

In an era of amazing technology, there has to be something out there that makes the experience of road- or trail-side inflation easy. What I ended up settling on was the Topeak Roadie TT mini pump that had actually been in my closet for a while. It’s not perfect but after taking it with me to multiple states and on an uncountable number of rides, I’m ready to talk about all the good and the bad. If you are also looking to optimise your flat repair for the summer season, keep reading to see if the Topeak Roadie TT mini pump is the right choice for you. 

Design and aesthetics 

It's hard to get too poetic about the design and aesthetics of a mini pump like the Topeak Roadie TT. It's a 19.5 cm black, or silver, metal cylinder without a lot of detail that needs attention called to it. The body and head are all metal but there are some plastic pieces that handle the sealing of the outer body to the inner shaft. None of it comes apart so I can't tell you what it looks like inside and you shouldn't expect to one day rebuild it if anything fails. You won't be passing this one on to your children but the important pieces are well-designed. 

The head has a locking lever which is once again fully metal and carries a simple, white Topeak logo. It's a presta valve only affair so if you were thinking of using it for something off our list of the best commuter bikes, you'll want to double-check the tyres. There is protection for the internal seal in the form of a rubber cover though. You will also find a twist-to-lock feature that keeps the pump from opening in your jersey pocket. 

Also of interest for jersey pocket carrying, this is a small enough pump it won't be in the way. Length, when compressed, is 19.5cm and it comes in just over the manufacturer-specced weight at a mere 103 grams. If you decide to carry it on the frame instead, you will find a plastic mount that puts it alongside the bottle cage. Again, the mount is a very simple affair with a C-shaped clasp and a rubber securing strap. 

The real trick in the design department comes down to a system that inflates on both strokes. The name, TT, stands for twin turbo and is a reference to this incredibly clever feature. What happens is that each stroke both pulls air in and pushes air out using two separate air chambers. You could move the same volume of air by doubling the size of the pump but this way you get both a tiny pump and quick inflation. 

Performance

Having long since switched to tubeless tyres for both road and gravel, I rarely use a mini-pump. The last mini-pump I reviewed was the Silca Tattico at the end of 2021. It's high-quality, rebuildable, and it does the job. So, given my lack of need for a pump in general and the fact that the Tattico is pretty good, I stopped thinking about it. 

What brought the whole topic back to the front of my mind was actually the Argonaut GR3 product launch. During that launch, our little group of journalists experienced more flats than I can remember experiencing in years of riding. As it happens, I always carry my flat repair tools with me because I carry them in my jersey pocket. I do that because I like the way the bikes look but also because it doesn't matter what bike I'm on, I never forget my gear. Given that I had things with me, each time someone had a flat I was there with a pump. 

The group I was with represented years of experience reviewing every kind of bike gear. Like anyone though, each time a new person handled the mini-pump, or Fix-It Sticks ratchet, it spurred a conversation. During one of those conversations late in the day, someone made a comment that stuck with me: "There isn't a mini-pump that everyone loves."

It's a simple statement that says so much. The Silca Tattico is a beautiful piece of gear but did I love it? The biggest issue it has is that as the pressure gets higher it takes a good amount of force to keep going. Silca is proud of the fact that it doesn't lose efficiency as it heats up, it does heat up though. I have also run into issues with airlines and the Tattico. Despite bike pumps being on the allowed list, it's big and metal enough that they always examine it and sometimes I have to disassemble it. Could I do better though? 

I tried and what I settled on is the Topeak Roadie TT. I've been loving it since I switched but when it came time to put numbers together for this review, it turns out it's not a slam dunk. The reason I loved the Topeak right away is how small it is but the numbers did illuminate something else. 

I run 28mm road tubeless tyres at 50psi. First I started with my favourite track pump, the Topeak JoeBlow Tubi 2 stage. In the high-pressure mode that mimics a standard pump, the JoeBlow took 21 pumps to get to 45.8psi as checked by the Topeak SmartGuage D2X. That's obviously less than 50psi but I would have called that good enough and headed out so I used it as a baseline. The Silca Tattico took 140 pumps to get to 45.9 which then became my baseline for a mini-pump. 

When it was time to check the Topeak Roadie TT it surprised me by taking 180 pumps to get to a similar 45.6psi. Now, again obviously, 180 is more than 140 but that's not the whole story. As I said before, the Tattico gets hard to push as you get close to 50psi; not anything like some lower-quality pumps but it is noticeable and it requires a firm hand braced against the wheel. The Roadie TT takes an extra 40 pumps but it never feels like it's working. The last pump feels the same as the first pump. 

Just for a point of reference, I also checked the older Silca Pocket Impero I happened to have on hand. It was on hand because I'd recently rebuilt it, which you can't do with the Topeak, so keep that in mind. Still, it's obvious why I stopped using it as that one took 330 pumps for 46psi. 

Verdict

This isn't the best bike pumps buyer's guide so I wasn't exhaustively checking a vast list of pump options. I took my old favourite mini-pump and compared it to my new favourite mini-pump and found that there isn't actually a clear winner. The Topeak Roadie TT mini-pump takes 180 pumps to get to the pressure I like to ride at on a 28mm road tyre. That's more than the Tattico but the final quarter or so of pump strokes are far easier. The Topeak is also smaller in my jersey and, so far, TSA hasn't pulled me out of line to request disassembly. 

If you are checking the buyer's guide, 100 pumps of the Roadie TT gets you to 31psi. That means the Lezyne Digital Pressure Drive pumps faster. Regular users of Lezyne mini-pumps might mention though that Lezyne mini-pumps will sometimes unscrew the valve core. The Topeak design doesn't thread on so you won't have that issue however, I am a bit jealous of the pressure gauge. My hand calibration seemed to think about 30psi was right during this test and adding some features to the Topeak might make it even better. 

If knowing your exact pressure is important, the Lezyne is an excellent option. If you'd prefer a solid metal pump body that can be rebuilt, and you are willing to pay for it, then the Silca Tattico is worth looking at. If you want something as small as possible that's also easy to pump, the Topeak Roadie TT might be the perfect choice. 

Owning and using one of the best bike torque wrenches can help to keep you safe when on the bike.

A torque wrench is a tool that allows you to tighten bolts and screws to the correct torque specification, usually measured in Newton Meters (Nm), as specified by the manufacturer.

Overtightening bolts on lightweight, delicate or carbon fibre parts can lead to damage, which can then fail while you're riding, whilst under-tightening them can result in them working loose over time. On modern bikes, working with a torque wrench along with one of the best multi-tools is good practice.

Based on our testing, we think the Pedro's Demi torque wrench is the best bike torque wrench overall. It's a compact, quality wrench that comes in a tool roll with a handy range of included bits. It works over a 3-15Nm range, so it will deal with most common bolts on a bike comfortably.

For lots of buying advice and more info, head to the bottom of the page for torque tips and advice, my guide on how to choose and information on how we test.

Best bike torque wrenches you can buy today

Best bike torque wrench overall

The Pedros Demi Torque wrench is our best overall pick, and it brings a lot to the table if you're shopping for a torque wrench.

The wrench itself is a compact and lightweight unit that covers a torque range of 3-15Nm. This will have you covered for the majority of common maintenance tasks on the bike.

You'll be able to torque all of your handlebar and stem bolts, seatpost clamp, and most component bolts like derailleurs and brakes, not to mention a range of accessories and computer mounts.

The wrench comes with 15 included bits, including 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6 (25mm) hex bits, 4 & 5mm, longer 50mm hex bits and T10, T15, T20, T25, & T30 (25mm), T25 (50mm) Torx bits.

A standout feature of the Demi Torque wrench for me is the included crow's foot 7/8mm adaptor, essential if you're torquing off hydraulic brake hose nuts on shifters or brake levers, a common job on road bikes due to internal cables, particularly for shop mechanics these days.

This torque wrench will comfortably have you covered for torquing things like handlebar controls and saddle and seatpost bolts, but the included bits mean you can do a lot more with it, too, if you need to.

The tool roll it comes in is handy for storage and protection, and there's even a rubber bit holder on the body of the tool to keep common bits close at hand.

Best budget option

The M Part torque wrench is our best budget offering and is a great torque wrench for the money.

The wrench itself comes in a hard plastic case and includes six hex bits. These are 3,4,5,6,8,10mm hex bits, and there's also one T25 torx bit. This is a nice spread of sizes and, like Pedro's unit above, will mean you can do a lot on the bike. There is no 2mm hex bit; however, at times a useful size to have, but you can always pick one of those up if you need it.

The unit comes with a calibration certificate in the box, and it's calibrated to the ISO 6789 UK standard, the same as several other wrenches in the guide. It has a loud and satisfying 'click off' when you reach the desired torque, and the micro-scale on the adjuster dial means you can work accurately.

If you want to invest in a torque wrench to use on your bikes but don't want to spend too much, I recommend going for the M Part. It brings a lot to the table for the price.

Read our in-depth M Part torque wrench review.

Best for heavy use

The Park Tool TW-6.2 torque wrench is the best option if you want a larger wrench that gives you the ability to work to higher torque ratings. This will be a great option for tightening things like cassettes, chainset bolts and disc rotor lockrings.

The TW 6.2 features a 3/8" square drive head and covers a torque range of 10-60Nm, it’s heavier weight and 36cm length to make it better suited to working on things like crankset bolts and wheels. There’s also a handy Nm to In lb conversion sticker on the wrench that I haven’t seen on another bike-specific unit.

The wrench comes in a sturdy blue case, which is always nice, and the torque is adjusted at the bottom of the wrench using a dial which you push in and rotate clockwise. The dial itself is marked with 0.5Nm increments for increased accuracy, and there’s a clear plastic window further up the body with a scale that increases in 5Nm increments.

This wrench is a staple in many bike shops, and is a quality larger tool if you want to cover even more jobs on your bikes.

There’s a 1-year warranty, and Park Tool offers a calibration service if and when you want to get your unit calibrated.

Best digital option

The Topeak D-Torq DX is a really solid option, but it is a little pricier than some of the other units here, overall it's a very strong package.

Here we have an electronic, 3/8" drive torque wrench that covers a huge torque range of 4-80 Nm, meaning this torque wrench can cover nearly everything on a bike. It also comes with AAA batteries included.

If you like the idea of an electronic torque wrench and also like the idea of using one wrench for everything, the D-Torque DX will allow you to hit the ground running.

The unit has an auto-off function, so you don't have to worry about turning it off. You can also preset desired torque values if you're doing the same job regularly.

It comes in a smart case with one of the largest ranges of included bits and sockets, including a 1/2" inch drive converter socket. I also really like the carbon effect surrounding the case; it just looks techy and cool.

An advantage is the ease with which you can set your desired torque electronically with the soft rubber buttons, compared to manually adjusting a mechanical wrench. It's a real time saver, and if you're working on lots of bikes and regularly manually adjusting a wrench, this could be a real selling point.

Though the wrench covers a huge range of torque, it is a little longer than some of the more compact wrenches in the guide and may make working in tighter spots a little awkward, just something to think about, although you could always invest in a smaller or pre-set unit as well.

Best premium option

If you want to treat yourself or are perhaps buying someone a gift, then you might want to look at the Effetto Mariposa Giustaforza 1-15 Pro Evo.

Effetto Mariposa overhauled its torque wrench lineup recently, and the 1-15 Pro Evo supersedes the Giustaforza 2-16 Pro model that was previously featured in our guide.

The 1-15 Pro Evo gets an oil-slick finish, which is rather flashy, though admittedly it doesn't bring any extra functionality to the table. It does make for a more special feeling, though.

The Pro Evo gets a 1-15Nm torque range, which has changed slightly from the old units 2-16 and also features a clockwise and counter-clockwise tightening calibration, useful for suspension hardware and the like.

Also new is the new micro-scale on the torque adjusting dial, which also locks into place. I've found this very useful on parts that have a specific torque reading, like 6.2Nm, for example.

The wrench is available on its own or with a nice tool roll and bits, as pictured, for some extra cash. The unit comes with some really useful longer hex bits, which are my go-to for working on brake lever clamp bolts. I don't know what I did before them.

There is also a standard 'Pro' model available for less cash, which is all red, and just loses out on the dual-direction torque tightening feature the Evo gets. There are less expensive wrenches in this guide which offer similar performance points, but if you're looking for a special feeling tool to use at home or work, the Guistaforza remains a nice, high-end option.

Read our in-depth Giustaforza 1-15 Pro Evo review here

Best for workshops

The Wera Click Torque A5 is a 1/4" drive click-style torque wrench with an operating range of 2.5-25nm. This means it's suitable for everything on the bike, except cassette and disc lockrings and larger crankset bolts. It's 30 cm long, making it mid-sized against the wrenches in this guide. It's definitely a tool for home use rather than travelling or riding with.

It's a larger unit and will be highly accurate and reliable, making it ideal for shop environments. The A5 conforms with the ISO678-1:2017 calibration standard and comes with a certificate of conformance. I learnt during my metrology lab visit that the 2017 standard is very stringent and checks the torque wrench across a great many test points.

It uses a 1/4" square drive fitting and doesn't come with bits. So you may need to invest in some 1/4" drive bits and adaptors as needed.

I liked the ergonomic, comfy handle, and if you were using this wrench several times a day, I think it would start to come into its own. The click when torque is reached is also loud and easily audible. Once the bottom adjuster dial is pulled open, the whole lower body of the torque wrench rotates with a really nice light action, allowing you to set the desired torque spec quickly and easily.

This isn't specifically a shop-level tool, but it would make a great addition to any workshop or garage setup. Wera also offers a calibration service in the UK that you can send the wrench back to if needed.

Small and lightweight

The Range Click Torque Wrench from Feedback Sports is a neat, compact torque wrench, and it comes in a smart travel case with 13 of the usual hex and torx bits, including some longer ones, which I find handy.

The Range Click has a 2-14 Nm range, which increases in 1Nm increments. Feedback is fairly specific about how you hold the wrench to torque things off, so it's worth reading the brand's guidelines for best practice. When torquing something off, you will need to hold the silver end section of the wrench, so use your other hand to hold the head and stabilise the tool.

The wrench promises + / - 4% accuracy over 4000 cycles, and Feedback offers a calibration service of its own. This is a pleasant torque wrench to use and if you like the size and look of the Effetto Mariposa option above, this will provide a similar experience for a lot less cash.

The case is a little on the large side to carry on rides, and it's probably overkill. But the size of the unit overall makes it ideal for taking to events of all kinds, it's compact and neat and won't take up a lot of space. I like its in-hand feel, and for the price, it's a really attractive option.

Best torque multi tool

The Topeak Ratchet Rocket Lite NTX + (phew!) is made up of a useful and well-thought-out range of tools kept in a neat velcro case. Included is a neat ratchet, chain splitter tool, 11 hardened steel hex and torx bits and a pre-set torque attachment that covers a 2-6Nm range. Ideal for working at home, or for travelling with, the case is also small enough that I can carry it in a cycling jersey pocket if required. It's the sort of tool that would be perfect to take on a trip if you need to work on your bike upon arrival.

You could pretty much build a bike with this kit; the 1/4" ratchet is extendable and has a reversible head and a nifty thumb wheel. I like that you can add a hex bit to the other end of the ratchet too, I recently found this useful when installing disc rotor bolts.

The torque attachment is useful and covers a 2-6Nm range, so this will be ideal for setting seatpost heights or adjusting handlebars. It doesn't click when torque is reached; you need to visually align the dashes on the unit, so this is worth bearing in mind. There is a 2-year warranty and pre-set torque accuracy is + / - 10%. This is an ideal tool to carry or have at home to make roadside adjustments and torque bolts. It won't be quite as accurate as a full-blown torque wrench, but if you need a smaller all-rounder, this is a great option.

Best to carry on rides

The Topeak Nano Torqbar DX is another great portable option and my go-to for carrying on the bike, especially for road rides, thanks to its small portable size and clever in-built tool storage.

It comes with three pre-set torque limiters of 4, 5 and 6 Nm and a selection of bits in a neat plastic case. You then add your desired limiter and hex bit to the tool body.

What I like is the fact that you can just carry the most relevant torque limiter for your bike and two hex bits inside the handle, making for a really compact setup for your saddle bag or jersey pocket if you want the ability to torque things like seatposts or bars out on the road. It's also long enough that you can comfortably hold and work with it, unlike some super small options out there.

The torque click is easy to miss, though, so you will need to get a feel for this starting off to ensure you don't miss it.

Read our in-depth Topeak Nano Torqbar DX review.

Best pre set torque key

Here's a really nice little preset torque key from Prestacycle, a company founded in the US. Though there are other preset torque keys in the guide, they are options designed for being carried on rides.

This kind of T-Handle preset unit is best left at home or in the toolbox for when you need to quickly torque something off. The primary use for me would be handlebar stem bolts and perhaps seatpost clamps. It's very convenient to just pick up a pre-set unit and torque your handlebar stem bolts, and the Prestacycle unit feels great in hand.

Prestacycle offers these units in a range of preset torque ratings in 4,5,6,7,8,10 and 12Nm options, so there is plenty to choose from, but for me, the 4 and 5Nm units are the standouts. I find 6mm Hex bits get stuck in thru axles, etc., when used for that in the 10 and 12Nm option.

The tools accept 1/4" bits, and like a lot of preset torque units, have a lifespan of over 5,000 cycles. After that, it will be time to refresh the tool; the brand also points out that doing this is cheaper than paying to have a tool recalibrated in this case. The brand also says that if the logo on the body is worn, it's time to replace it.

How to choose the best bike torque wrench

It's worth spending as much as you can afford on a quality torque wrench; you should end up with a quality, accurate tool.

Here's a quick list of the things that you should consider when shopping for the best bike torque wrench to work on your bikes with.

• Consider the torque range you need to cover: Not all torque wrenches will measure the same range. Ensure the torque wrench covers your needs. Realistically, you may well end up two torque wrenches, a smaller one with a smaller torque range and a bigger unit for larger jobs.
• Decide if you need a wrench to use at home or to take with you on rides: Does it need to be light and packable to take on a ride?
• Decide if you want to go for an electric or manual wrench: Electronic torque wrenches are generally more accurate, but more expensive and not as robust.
• Consider driver size: If all your tools and sockets are 3/8" size, factor this in. A wrench with a 1/4" driver may at least require an adaptor socket, which can add bulk when working in tight spots.
• Some tools come with included bits: Do you need the additional bits, or do you already have tool bits that you can use with the torque wrench?

Everything you need to know about the best bike torque wrenches

Torque terms glossary

Torque Terminology Glossary

Some specific terminology comes with torque wrenches. We are going to outline some of the common terms in this guide before we begin, so you can follow the buying advice easily and understand everything. We know it can be confusing sometimes when you keep reading a term, but don't completely understand what it means or refers to.

• Torque: A way of measuring the force applied to an object that moves.
• Newton metre (Nm): A measurement of torque
• Square drive: The square connection on the torque wrench that can connect with a range of sockets or tools
• Bits: The small Hex or Torx tool bits are used to work on the bolts on your bike.
• Convertor Socket: A socket that for example allows you to fit 1/2" sized sockets to a 1/4" drive tool, allowing the use of a wider range of tools

How we test the best bike torque wrenches

Research:

How we test for this guide begins with researching and reading about as many of the relevant torque wrenches on the market as I can find. After receiving a test unit, I then went back to the manufacturers or distributors with any additional questions I had.

Initial inspection: I inspected all of the torque wrenches on arrival for any defects or quality issues and photographed them. I also take into account packaging, for example, if there is a lot of non-recyclable plastic or unnecessary packaging.

Workshop testing:

I then use and test all of the torque wrenches we review on a range of different bikes, components, and service jobs to see how they operate. The larger wrenches were used in my home workshop, and the smaller compact ones I travelled with or carried with me on rides.

Repeatability and consistency:

I repeatedly performed lots of jobs that you would expect a torque wrench to be used for by a bike mechanic or home user. From torquing stem and seat clamp bolts to spec to torquing chainset spider lockrings and larger crank bolts. It's important to repeatedly work with and use the tools; a single test may not be a true indicator of performance.

Whether you’re topping up tyres before a ride or fixing a puncture at the roadside, a bike pump is an essential piece of kit for every cyclist.

Heading out on a bike ride doesn’t require much in the way of essentials. You can forego a water bottle if you mist, and beyond a bike, you actually need very little. However, punctures remain an unfortunate reality - even with advances in tubeless technology. Being able to deal with them on the go is a necessary skill, and bringing some form of pump on every ride is a must, along with a spare tube or repair kit and tyre levers at the very minimum.

The best bike pumps don’t just come in the form of portable mini pumps. Floor pumps (also known as track pumps) accurately set tyre pressures at home and reach far higher pressures than most handheld options. CO2 inflators are popular for their speed and ultra-portability, while electric pumps are becoming increasingly common, offering push-button convenience in a compact package. Frame pumps also exist for riders who prioritise higher pressures over weight and size, though they’re far less common these days.

While any reasonably serious cyclist should own a floor pump for home use, if you had to choose just one mini pump, the Lezyne Pressure Drive would be my choice. Mine lasted just shy of a decade, only finally being retired because I insisted on carrying it in a jersey pocket, and, over time, sweat corrosion took its toll.

It performs reliably for both road and gravel riding and while it may not be the fastest pump or capable of reaching the very highest pressures, it’s exceptionally well made, sensibly priced, and available in a range of colours (this is important, honestly). It also features a built-in valve core tool.

Here's our pick of the best bike pumps, and further down, we'll tell you how to choose and answer frequently asked bike pump questions.

Best Bike Pumps

Best mini pump for road

I've given this the title for best mini pump for road, but really, it's the best overall for a bit of everything. The Lezyne Pressure Drive has long held a reputation for its high quality and durable construction, and its ability to inflate a variety of tyre widths on the go. I'd take it out for gravel riding too; while the volumes and pressures diffe,r they do ultimately both use air.

Not too small, not too bulky, the Pressure Drive sits firmly in the Goldilocks zone. It's large enough that you can achieve a reasonable pressure - not so much as a frame pump like the Topeak Masterblaster, but certainly enough to get you home even on 25c tyres - but small enough to fit in a jersey pocket or be mounted to a frame behind a bottle cage with the included mount without looking cumbersome. It also comes in colours other than black or silver, so you can use it as a visual accessory if you're that way inclined.

Mounted to a frame, the bracket easily shares space with a bottle cage, though the top head can rattle against the body. The trick to getting around this is to simply wrap the body with a few turns of electrical tape. This also has the added use of giving you some emergency electrical tape in a pinch, in case your bar tape comes loose or some such emergency. Yes, it's a bit 'turn a bug into a feature', but it's such a useful and easy fix, I find it hard to mark it down on this front.

Arguably, its best feature is the flexible and detachable hose. This does make it a bit more of a fiddle to use than some, but you get a perfect connection to the valve every time and the hose means you're not transferring a load of force to the valve itself directly, which can have disastrous consequences if you're not careful.

Lezyne pumps have previously earned a bit of a reputation for unscrewing valve cores that aren't done up tight. A welcome update that I'm pleased to see compared to my older model is the inclusion of a valve core tool built into the Schrader end of the hose, allowing you to make sure everything is securely tightened before you start pumping.

To find out more, check out our full Lezyne Pressure Drive pump review.

Best value

Cheap pumps have improved massively since I bought my first one. This mini pump from Decathlon's in-house brand Rockrider is a lot more premium than the £15 / $20 price tag would suggest. The body is a lovely brushed finish anodised aluminium, and the dual-purpose head screws on rather than just pressing on for a secure connection.

The body is slender and long, and the rounded end of the handle helps when getting to higher pressures, as it doesn't cut into your hand. It doesn't have the knurled grip you'll find on pricier Lezyne or Silca options, but then it doesn't have the same price tag either.

There's no separate hose, so do be careful to brace the head with your hand while pumping to protect the valve from shearing. That said, it does include a locking mechanism to stop the pump from extending, making it a solid option for frame mounting. It sits neatly against a downtube and is totally rattle-free.

The main drawback, as you might have gathered from the specs sheet, is the speed of inflation. For such a long pump, it delivers relatively little air, and the head is rather fiddly. It'll get the job done, but it's just not as easy or quick as it is with other, more expensive options.

If you’re after a dependable, low-cost pump that won’t fall apart after a few rides, this is a strong contender. Like the higher-end Lezyne models, you can easily disassemble the body and replace the O-ring seal. I don't believe Decathlon sells spares separately, but you'll be able to find one that fits with a bit of effort if you want to avoid waste.

Best CO2 inflator

I’m not a big fan of CO2 inflators. They feel unnecessarily wasteful, especially when many pumps can get your tyres up to the pressures you want, and that’s becoming even easier as road tyres keep getting wider.

That said, CO2 inflators do have their place, even in my on-bike toolkit. For racing (anything without the support of a team car, like gravel events or semi-competitive sportives), they’re much faster than a mini pump. The downside is that they’re a one-shot system, so if you mess it up, you’re out of luck. Personally, for general riding, I carry both, keeping the CO2 cartridge for situations where a tubeless tyre unseats.

Of all the inflators I've tried while writing the guide to the best CO2 inflators, the Silca Eolo IV is the one I actually take with me in my saddlebag. As you'd expect from the Italian brand, it's extremely well-machined and also pretty no-nonsense. What you get here is a tiny product with easy gas modulation, which relates to a better experience when inflating. It also comes in gravel-specific olive green, which I'm sure is key for some gravelleurs.

It doesn’t come with any cartridges, which can be a bit annoying, but it also means you can choose the size you prefer. There’s also no protective sleeve included. As the compressed CO2 expands, it cools rapidly, and ice can form on the head and cartridge, so be careful not to freeze your fingers. In my experience, sleeves that are included are easily lost anyway, so even when they come with one, I usually don’t have them.

Smallest

My Birzman Mini-Apogee has become a permanent resident in the saddlebag of my inner-city hill climb bike. It's the brand's smallest and lightest pump and is small enough to fit in most of the saddlebags from my colleague Tom's guide to the best bike saddlebags. If a clean aesthetic for your bike is your thing, it’s hard to beat.

I’ve had to use it a few times in emergencies, and despite not being able to match the high pressure of a frame pump or something like the Lezyne Pressure Drive, it gets the job done and will get me home.

It’s slightly larger in diameter than the René Herse Nuda, which gives it a similar air volume despite being shorter. The 90º head design has no hose, so you need to brace the valve carefully. Where it outshines the Nuda, though, is in usability: the lockable head presses onto the valve, and a metal ring slides down to secure a good seal. It even has 'UNLOCKED' written on it, so you know if you've done it right.

It's not the best at pumping, but there's more to pumps than pumping, however mad that sounds. I value the tiny form factor in some situations, and there's a lot to be said for having the sleekest, most uncluttered bike you can have, and this is a great way to help that endeavour. It takes a bit of time to get a good seal from a total flat, but once you do get a bit of air in, things quickly improve.

Easiest to use

I’ll admit it, I was sceptical at first too. I’ve always had slightly luddite instincts, but one of my gripes with mini pumps is their inability to reach the higher pressures that 28c (or narrower) road tyres really need for optimum ride quality. Even with the Lezyne Pressure Drive, the mini pump I personally carry, I know that if I puncture, I’m unlikely to get my tyres back up to the 70psi or so that I prefer in my 28s.

When I tested 24 tyres in the lab, I found that running slightly lower pressures made almost no difference to outright performance. Still, it does leave me feeling a bit more nervous about hitting my rims, and it can affect how cornering feels.

The Cyplus pumps, despite their drawbacks, have one major advantage: they can inflate your tyres to a 'proper' riding pressure with minimal effort, and unlike CO2 cartridges, they can be reused. If you're riding road and gravel, the AS2 Pro is the one to go for. If you’re investing in a mini compressor, you might as well choose the version with a screen that lets you set your target pressure. The larger model is too large, and the non-Pro doesn't have a screen.

The AS2 Pro is pocket-sized, USB-C rechargeable, and simple to use, inflating a soft tyre back to full pressure in no time at all. Yes, you do have to remember to charge it, but if you're already running electronic gears then this argument does fall down somewhat. Keep it charged, and it'll serve you well.

There are a few downsides to be aware of. If you’re using inner tubes with plastic valve stems, you’ll need to attach the supplied hose - otherwise the heat generated during inflation can melt the valve, which would be far from ideal. You also have to position the valve at the bottom of the wheel to easily see the screen while it’s running, so you can check progress. This isn't particularly convenient for tubeless setups, though it’s hardly a deal-breaker.

The main drawback, though, is that it’s inexplicably not waterproof. It comes with a silicone case, but the instructions advise keeping it inside the supplied ziplock bag if you’re riding in the wet. Any freezer bag would do the same job -it’s what I use for my phone in the rain - but it still feels like an oversight on a device designed to be carried outdoors.

Best floor pump

Topeak’s JoeBlow range has a long-standing reputation as a go-to pump by amateur cyclists and professional mechanics alike, and the Joe Blow Sport III is a reliable floor pump (or track pump, if you'd rather) that works well across road, gravel, and MTB setups.

I still have an old Lezyne Steel Floor Drive, but since getting the Joe Blow Sport III, it’s mostly been relegated to backup duty. The Joe Blow is a little faster, largely thanks to its head, which locks on quickly rather than requiring screwing, and it’s far more stable thanks to its wider base. Base stability might sound like a minor detail, but when you’re trying to pump up tubeless tyres quickly, it makes a surprisingly big difference. As a taller person, the extra height of the Joe Blow is also easier on my back.

The handle is plastic, with a grippy top, and the ergonomics are sound, even if it does feel a little cheaper than say a lovely rounded wooden handle. The dial is plastic too, but it's large and easy to read, and comes with a handy movable indicator to give you something to aim for.

If you want absolute accuracy, something like the Lezyne Steel Digital Drive is worth considering. In my own testing with tyres in a lab, I found that as long as you’re in the right ballpark, minor pressure differences have very little impact on performance. For the general cyclist, an analogue dial is easier to read, more responsive, and perfectly adequate. If you need pinpoint accuracy, a standalone digital gauge will do the trick - I use the Topeak Shuttle Gauge Digital.

For more details, check out our full Topeak JoeBlow Sport III review.

Best mini pump for gravel

If you’re running gravel or high-volume all-road tyres, your mini pump choice doesn’t need to focus on reaching extremely high pressures. Instead, look at air volume. Bigger tyres require more air at lower pressures, so a high-volume pump like the Pressure Drive HV is ideal.

The Pressure Drive HV shares many of the advantages of the standard Pressure Drive above, but is specifically tweaked for gravel use. The handle is knurled, making it easier to grip when your hands are wet, muddy, or slippery. That said, I'd have preferred it if the whole pump was knurled - I don't really understand why the body is and the head isn't.

The included hose protects the valve from shearing during pumping, though it does lack the valve core tool addition of the pressure drive. Sadly, the two aren't interchangeable, so you can't swap hoses if that's your plan.

You also can't clip it to your frame as there's no mount included. Given gravelleurs are always awash with cargo pockets and frame bags, I'm sure you'll still find space for it even if your jersey pockets are full - I just toss it in the frame bag and forget about it.

Aluminium can corrode over time, especially if it’s exposed to sweat or grime. The good news is that taking the pump apart, cleaning and lubricating it occasionally, and reassembling it takes very little time and requires no special tools, so you can easily keep it running for years.

Most durable

The Silca Tattico sits between a standard mini pump and full-sized frame pumps. It's large, relatively weighty, and in a riot situation could be used as a weapon more than any other mini pump in this list.

The additional size makes it an absolute breeze for road tyres, and for larger gravel tyres, it performs better than all but a proper frame pump (or a larger size CO2 canister). The inbuilt hose is totally rattle-free, with a locking head, and the knurled grip on both the head end and the handle end means it's easy to use even in the rain.

It comes with a frame mount and a nicely designed rubber strap to keep it secure, but I usually just chuck it in a frame bag on my gravel bike. It’s definitely large enough that mounting it on your downtube could have a noticeable aerodynamic impact.

It's the nicest to use of all the mini pumps, beautifully made, and gets up to decent pressures as well as having volume enough to not take forever for gravel-sized rubber - why not say it's the best overall then? Well, it has an RRP of £70/$70, which is a lot for an item that hopefully you'll rarely have to use.

If you want the best of everything and don’t mind the size and weight penalty, this is about as good as mini pumps get. But if you just need something to get you home in the event of a flat, you can easily go for a smaller, lighter, and cheaper option, and it’ll do the job perfectly fine.

Lightest

Okay, so this isn’t actually the absolute lightest pump out there - René Herse does make a smaller version - but as I’ll explain, I wouldn’t recommend that one even for super weight weenies.

The Nuda is almost entirely made from carbon fibre and titanium, aside from a bit of injection-moulded plastic and a few O-rings, making it incredibly light. If shedding system weight is your priority, this is the one to go for. Considering the materials and craftsmanship, it actually comes at a pretty reasonable price too.

That low weight also means there's no hose, so brace the head when using it to protect the valve. The added frame mounts are minimalist, as you'd expect, and the head features a titanium sleeve which can be rotated to keep muck out of the valve hole so you can mount it to your frame without worrying about clogging.

So why not go for the even smaller Nana? While the Nuda is light, it struggles to reach proper road pressures. I wouldn’t take it on road rides, though it can hit typical gravel tyre pressures more easily. For me, the longer stroke of the Nuda is a real advantage, delivering higher volumes of air for larger tyres. The seal isn’t perfect, though, so you won’t get anywhere near the stated max pressure, I'm afraid.

Best floor pump for travel

This is a perfect option for touring, bikepacking, and bike travel in general, as I’ll explain shortly. The key is not to think of the Lezyne Digital Micro Floor Drive as a mini pump, but rather as a miniaturised track pump. Unscrew the head, which keeps the handle secure via the hose, flip out the foot pad, screw the head onto the valve for a solid connection, place your foot on the pad, and pump downwards into the ground rather than sideways. You can easily reach road pressures, and if your pump has a built-in pressure gauge, you can rely on numbers rather than guesswork.

Yes, it's bigger than a mini pump, but it's only a little bigger than the Silca Tattico. If you're bikepacking or touring long distance, you likely have more capacity anyway, and you still can mount it to your frame under your bottles; it's big, but what are you doing with that space otherwise?

There is a high-volume version too, if you only use bigger tyres, but if you have both, I'd go for the high-pressure version.

Where it really shines is on bike holidays. Imagine arriving in Mallorca only to find a flat tyre. You either have a mini pump that won't quite get the pressure you want, or you go to a bike shop and have to awkwardly buy a gel you don't want to make up for the fact that you had to borrow some air. Pack the Lezyne Digital Micro Floor Drive in your hand luggage instead, and you’ll be self-sufficient right from your hotel room.

Best frame pump

You don’t see many frame pumps these days, but I’m a big fan - especially in winter, when I just want to fix a flat quickly before I freeze. Their bigger size also makes them easier to use when your hands are cold.

Of the ones I’ve tried, the Topeak Road Master Blaster ticks the most boxes. Some purists will argue that the Silca Impero is better, and in terms of build quality and the ability to custom paint it to match a bespoke frame, it certainly is. But it’s heavier, significantly more expensive, and can’t reach the same pressures as the Master Blaster. Go for an Impero if you're a fashionista (like me, it is what I have on my bike), but the sensible choice is the Topeak version.

The thing I really like about the Master Blaster is the spring that sits within the handle. It buffers the impact when the handle meets the body, and puts far less stress on the valve as such. Then, when you start to struggle, and you're only getting inflation at the final bit of the pump stroke, you can switch the 'high pressure' switch on, disengage the spring, and add that final bit of pressure. It works really well.

The pump head is rubberised, while the handle end is hard plastic. Both ends feature indents for pump pegs - little brazed-on blobs of steel often seen on vintage bikes to hold a frame pump at both ends - but the included strap makes mounting easy, even if your bike doesn’t have them. I’d recommend protecting your frame at the handle end, though, as it’s less gentle on paint than the rubberised bumpers found on both ends of the Silca Impero.

Best for tubeless setup

The easiest way to set tubeless tyres up is with a compressor, but for most riders, buying one purely for occasional home tyre changes isn’t realistic. Floor pumps with built-in air chambers offer a popular alternative, allowing you to charge up and release a burst of air, but they’re often expensive. If you already own a decent floor pump, it can feel frustrating to have to buy another one simply because tyre technology has moved on.

Enter the Tubibooster X, a standalone compressed air chamber that makes seating tubeless tyres much easier. Simply attach it to your existing floor pump, charge it up, connect it to the valve, and release the air — then enjoy the satisfying PING of a freshly seated tyre bead. I’ve been using mine for a few years now, and it’s never let me down.

It’s not perfect. The hose is a little short, so it can topple over, but it’s compact and portable, and when I’m done, I can simply use my Joe Blow floor pump to top up the seated tyres.

The Tubibooster X does rely on you having a decent pump, though. If you only own a mini pump, it won’t be much use. So if you’re jumping straight into tubeless for the first time and buying a pump anyway, it’s probably easier to get one with a built-in air chamber.

How to choose the best bike pump

It may appear like the humble bicycle pump is a simple creation. They all pump air from outside my tyres into my tyres, right? More or less, yes, but mostly thanks to differences in tyre sizes and the relative pressures used, there are distinct differences between bike pumps.

In short, you have floor pumps, ideal for use at home before you set off. These deliver air fast and have an accurate gauge to tell you what pressure you're running. While out and about you naturally can't cart something that big around with you, so a mini pump or a frame pump is the next best thing.

These tend to be either low volume but high pressure (for road bikes), or high volume but low pressure (for gravel and MTB). You can mix and match to an extent but we'll get into that later. Frame pumps sit somewhere in between, offering a higher volume of air per stroke, but also higher pressures too.

• Where will you use it most? For roadside flats a mini pump is ideal for portability. For faster inflation at home, floor pumps are the go-to. Small electric pumps are great at balancing portability with speed.
• What maximum pressure do you need? Road bikes typically require higher tyre pressures than gravel bikes, while mountain bikes run at even lower pressures.
• What type of valve compatibility do you need? Check whether the pump supports Presta, Schrader, or both, and make sure it matches the valves on your bike.
• Does the pump have a pressure gauge? Built-in gauges help to avoid under- or over-inflation, though most mini-pumps don't have one. Digital displays are more precise but analogue gauges are usually sufficient.
• Manual or electric? Manual pumps can be more affordable but require more effort and time. Electric pumps are convenient with minimal effort, but most mini electric pumps need recharging often.

Everything you need to know about the best bike pumps

How I test bike pumps?

Initial every pump that comes across my desk gets the usual eye over. Ergonomics, features, and things like build quality you can get a good deal of information on just by having a play, especially with a pile of other pumps on hand to compare to.

There's no substitute for actual, repeatable testing, though. Most pumps come with a stated maximum pressure, which you will not get anywhere near unless you're either very strong, very patient, or both. Each pump in the guide will get a road tyre up to at least a pressure sufficient to allow you to get home. Some may take longer than others to get there though.

As well as taking them out riding with me each pump was also pitted against the same 28c Specialized Turbo Cotton Hell of the North tyre with the same latex inner tube. Each was given 100 strokes, with the pressure afterwards recorded using a standalone Topeak pressure gauge. The more pressure it achieved in 100 strokes the faster it is to inflate your tyre.

Meet the tester

There was a time when the vast majority of bike frames were steel and specific torque specs weren't that big of a deal. Tighten down the bolts until they feel tight enough and call them good. If they feel a bit loose after a ride, give it a little more. The time of this being good advice is long past. As frames have gotten more advanced, torque requirements have become very important. If you want to work on your bike at home you will need a torque wrench. To help you choose one, we've put together a list of the best bike torque wrenches available, within which the Topeak Torq Stick sits very happily.

The Topeak Torq Stick is what we've dubbed the best bike torque wrench for all-around use: We like the features and the price point, and we like that there's an option for more accessories or less depending on how you plan to use it. Now that we've had more time to spend with the product, we are ready to discuss what it's like to use in a bit more detail. If you are looking to start working on your bike at home, keep reading to see if the Topeak Torq Stick is the right choice for you.

Design and aesthetics 

It's a funny thing to talk about how a torque wrench looks but just like any product in your possession, it matters to some extent. Not only does it matter, just as a matter of rule, but the Topeak Torq Stick Pro actually stands out a bit in this regard. The exterior is black anodized aluminium with an overall length of 22.5cm. Down the top of the main body is a simple graphic that reads "Torq Stick" in all caps with white lettering and a thin line helping to ground the graphic in the space.

Just below where the graphic ends is where the working part of the handle begins. This section has a subtly different design if you are looking at the pro version vs the original, non-pro, version. Both units feature a knurled bottom section but the design of the knurled detail has changed a bit. The pro version also continues the knurled texture farther up the body of the wrench. On the newer wrench, it surrounds the torque selection meaning that there's enough space to fit your entire hand over the knurled grip texture. The selected torque indicator has changed a little as well and is now a flattened indent into the rounded wrench body.

What hasn't changed is the design that covers how to select a torque. In both versions of the wrench there is a plus and minus indicator with a line and arrows. If you need a round number torque then the line on the bottom and upper portion of the handle will align. To change the selected torque, pull out on the end of the handle and rotate it towards the plus or minus. On the back of the wrench is a half torque indicator line and when you align the bottom portion to that line, you'll have a half torque measurement selected.

At the other end of the wrench is where the ratchet head sits. The head is the same width as the rest of the body meaning there is no need to worry about getting into tough to reach spots. While some torque wrenches, such as the Effetto Mariposa Giustaforza 2-16 Pro torque wrench, use a shank that requires an adapter, the Topeak does not. Instead of a shank you will find a 1/4" hex socket with a magnet in the back. The top of the head features a bronze switch for the direction. Torque is only measured when tightening a traditional right hand tightening bolt, but given the only common reverse threads found on a bike are on the pedal-crank interface and within threaded bottom brackets this isn't going to cause you any issues.

Topeak Torq Stick Pro vs Topeak Torq Stick

Topeak offer a 1-10 version and 4-20 version of the Torq Stick but, as long as you are talking about the same torque range, the Pro and non-Pro models are functionally the same. Released second, the Pro wrench has benefited from some small aesthetic updates. This amounts to a change in the texture at the bottom of the wrench, a longer section of knurled texture, and the torque selection display has seen a change as well. Instead of following the same curve of the wrench handle on the non-pro model, it now inhabits a flattened indent.

The main change between the two wrenches are the accessories included. Previously the wrench had no case and only a small plastic case with 3/4/5/6/8/10 hex bits and T20/T25/T30 Torx bits. The new to market Pro version adds a case, adds to the bits, and also includes a couple of additional wrenches. For the bits there's everything previously included plus 1.5, 2, 2.5 hex bits and T6, T7, T8, T9, T10, T15 Torx bits. Just as before the bits are extremely high quality and built from S2 hardened steel. There is also an extension that Topeak refers to as a speed sleeve with a plastic sleeve that allows rotation without moving your fingers.

Along with the bits, there's two extra wrenches and a case. The two wrenches are both smaller, non-torque wrenches. One of them is just a simple round grip with no ratchet function. It's perfect for hand tightening. The other is a 9cm chrome vanadium steel wrench that is typically marketed as a mobile solution. Hex bits slot into the ratcheting head directly and there is also a magnetic hex socket at the end of the handle. All of the pieces have a spot in the case and the holders for the bits rotate outward for ease of use and have a magnet to keep the bits held firm.

Performance

When I put together our list of the best torque wrenches I knew right away I wanted to include the Topeak Torq Stick because it was such a joy to use. As I said up above, it's funny to talk about the look of a torque wrench as an important feature but it draws you in visually and it feels good in your hand too. There are no large and cartoonish handles or anything that feels off about it. The design is simple and tasteful and the small updates for the Pro version fix most of the complaints we had about the original version. Namely, that means the addition of a case. Torque wrenches are delicate tools and having a simple plastic case to hold everything is such a nice upgrade.

Aside from the visual look, and feel in your hand, there are two main things that Topeak does really well with the Torq Stick. There are a lot of torque wrenches on the market that make it difficult to understand what torque you actually have selected. They tend to require starting from the bottom then counting turns of the handle to make sure you are at the bottom of the scale. From there you've got to count three turns per whole number and if you lose track it can be tough to tell for sure what number you have. For a half number, you'll need to count.

Topeak throws all that out the window; the dial is clear and concise with an indicator that matches the dial exactly. You don't need to count to move between whole numbers because it's completely clear what's selected. If you need less than a whole number, you can still count individual notches as you turn the handle for 1/10 resolution, but that's rarely necessary. Torque specs on a bike will either be whole or half and having the half marker on the rear means no counting and no ambiguity.

The other thing that Topeak nails, no matter the version, are the included bits. While it's true that over torquing a bolt is an easy way to strip it, so are low quality bits. Even when used with a torque wrench, low quality bits can be imprecise. I have a set of cheap bits that I used to use and I had one slip on a bolt. I thought for sure I was in for a world of pain extracting a striped bolt until I grabbed a more precise bit from the Topeak set. The exact tooling and S2 steel was enough to grab the bolt and get it out. It might not always look like there's a difference but high-quality bits are important and Topeak makes sure that's what you get.

If you are using the Pro version that means a few more of those bolts but it also gets you some extra wrenches. The finger wrench is nice, and does get some use, but it's really the mini wrench that got my attention. For years I've carried a Fix-it-sticks wrench in my mobile tool pack on my bike. This little wrench from Topeak might finally replace it. It lacks some of the leverage that one does but it's smaller and on the side of the road I'm not sure I need that much leverage. Unfortunately, you will still need to purchase the Nano Torq bits to carry with it which aren't included in this kit.

Verdict

There are less expensive torque wrenches on the market but the Topeak Torq Stick is worth the extra money. Compared to similarly priced options, and even more premium offerings, it stands out. It feels good in hand and it's so much easier to read the selected torque than other options that use a window with a vague indicator line. A digital torque wrench such as the Unior Tools 266b offers additional functionality and a luxury option like the Effetto Mariposa Giustaforza 2-16 Pro is worth lusting over, but if all you need is a quality everyday tool and a good price then Topeak Torq Stick is the best option available right now. Choose the Pro version if you want the extra pieces, and a case, but otherwise the cheaper choice is just as good.

Despite being the best right now, there is some room for improvement in the future. When you reach the selected torque, the click is a bit light. I'd love to see a more prominent click and a larger dead zone to keep things safe at the lower end of the torque spectrum. The range is also a bit off and skews higher than necessary. It's unlikely you need higher than 16 Nm if you need lower than 4 Nm. An update to shift the range a little lower would be welcome as well. Despite the complaints though, this is the torque wrench I'd recommend to most people.

Tech Specs: Tech Specs: Topeak Torq Stick 

• Price: £104.99 / $139.95 Pro: £152.99 / $199.99
• Included bits: Pro version adds a case, mini ratchet tool, finger bit holder, speed sleeve bit holder, and 1.5, 2, 2.5 hex bits as well as T6, T7, T8, T9, T10, T15, Torx bits. This is in addition to 3/4/5/6/8/10 hex bits and T20/T25/T30 Torx bits which are included in both versions.
• Measured Torque Range: 4Nm - 20Nm
• Length: 22.5cm
• Resolution: .1 Nm

There's a lot of advice online saying you don't need a torque wrench for bikes. Look in any community of cyclists and you'll see it, the guys who say they've worked on bikes forever and never needed a torque wrench. They've got calibrated forearms and haven't ever broken anything. Please ignore this advice, there is no downside to using a torque wrench. That doesn't mean you need the fanciest torque wrench from our list of the best bike torque wrenches, but pick up something. 

One good option if you don't expect to need a torque wrench often is the PRO mini torque wrench. It won't cover everything but it's perfect for stems, handlebars, seat posts, and saddles. It's something we've carried on every ride since it came out and now, we are ready to discuss the details. If you are looking for a lightweight, reasonably priced, torque wrench, keep reading to see if this option from PRO is the right option for you. 

Design and aesthetics 

The Shimano PRO mini torque wrench is a black and grey study of hand ergonomics. The exterior is glassfiber reinforced nylon roughly 7cm long with an angled exterior that houses a socket sized for a quarter inch hex shank. Saying it a bit simpler, it's a plastic exterior with a place to hold a standard hex bit. It also happens to be exactly the right size to fit inside your hand. There's not a lot of extra space at the end and just enough space to fit your forefinger in front of the bit with two fingers wrapped around the tool aft of the bit. 

At the end of the 111 gram tool is a grey end cap that hides an interior compartment. Pry the end cap off and out slides a carrier with a selection of bits. On the side of each bit is stamped the size but there's a 3, 4, 5, and 6mm hex bit as well a T25 torx bit and finally a slotted screwdriver bit. The bits all fit into a series of three slots with an opening in the middle. You can actually just push them in but the channels do, loosely, hold the bits and the missing section gives room for your fingers. 

On the back of the bit carrier is a much bigger slot. This is the spot where a chosen torque limiter fits. There are three options covering 4, 5, and 6Nm and each signified by a different colour but only space for one at a time in the carrier. Choose what you want to bring with and slot it in. When it's time to use the wrench, you'll slide out your torque limiter and slot it into the bit holder then put a bit into the end of the torque limiter. Slide everything back together and you've got a compact wrench that fits in the palm of your hand. 

Performance

The design and aesthetics section of this review is necessarily short and sweet. The reality is that there's very little to cover. The handle and bits aren't what you pay for, although they do work well. In particular the handle is a plastic that's exceptionally hard but also light and malleable enough that drops are not going to bother it. The real strength of its design is how well it fits your hand. The angles and facets allow you to perfectly palm it and it feels on par with the level of control you might find in a bigger wrench. It's also compact enough that you can fit it in a saddle bag. 

Despite the quality of that piece, that's not where your money goes. Instead of those pieces, what you are investing your money in is three torque limiters. They aren't adjustable but they do match up with the three most common specs you'll find on saddles, seat posts, and stems. If I'm being honest, I have rarely used these with the included handle. The handle doesn't have storage for all three and, given how small they are, I'd rather not choose only a single option.

Instead of the included handle I tend to use them with a Fix-it-sticks ratcheting T wrench and that's what I like about the whole system. When it's time to actually use the torque limiters they are rather abrupt when reaching the limit. It feels almost like you've slipped and you are starting to round off a bolt but, of course, that's actually the opposite of what's happening. It's this feeling, along with the non-adjustable nature of the limiters, that has the system labelled for occasional use in the buyers guide. Still, when you only need them occasionally, you can get a ton of use out of them by attaching them to whatever tool works best for you.

There are only a few included bits and the space for one limiter but the whole kit is less expensive than the competition. From there add whatever your favourite mini ratchet might be and you'll have a super customizable road-side repair kit. You can add, remove, or replace inexpensive hex bits depending on your experience and your bike. At home you can attach the same torque limiters, and bits, to a full-size ratchet.

Verdict

My review of the PRO mini torque wrench is perhaps an odd one. I've made the case that the best way to use it is to take the most important parts and pair it with other tools. It's not that there’s anything wrong with the included handle. In fact, it's the opposite and it's well designed and comfortable to use. It's not a bad place to start at all and the price is less than the competition. At the same time, a mini-ratchet is a better overall experience except it lacks the ability to limit torque. Combine the two and you will find yourself right around the same price as a ratchet kit with torque limiters included. You might even pay just a little more with this approach. 

That pricing challenge is always there anytime you look at a ready-made vs a piecemeal approach. The difference is that if you do it yourself, you'll have exactly what you need. The final kit will perfectly cater to your needs and wishes. As needs change over time, you can make adjustments and you can also use those pieces in different settings such as at home and on the trail. If that's the kind of person you are, it might make a lot of sense to start with a small selection of pieces at a good price and expand over time. The PRO mini-torque wrench is a perfect place to start that journey.

Tech Specs: Pro Mini Torque Wrench 

• Price: $64.99
• Included bits: Hex: 3, 4, 5 and 6, T25 and SL4
• Drive Size: 1/4-Inch Hex Shank
• Measured Torque Range: 4Nm, 5Nm, and 6Nm
• Length: 7mm
• Resolution: One of three options

Modern bikes are precise machines and every single fastener on a bike carries with it a specific torque range. When you experience a saddle that comes loose during a ride, that's probably because it wasn't properly torqued. Of course, there's also always the worst-case scenario of damaged threads or cracked carbon if you go the other direction and get things a little too tight. 

If none of that sounds like much fun, and you'd rather err on the side of caution, then you are going to need a torque wrench. Seriously, no matter how precise you think your arm might be, it's not a torque wrench. If you want to actually hit the specified torque range then you are going to need a precisely calibrated tool to make it happen. To that end, we've put together a list of the best bike torque wrenches out there. 

One of the options we included in that list was the Unior Tools 266B in the 1-20 Nm range. It's a digital type torque wrench and it can handle both left-hand and right-hand threaded bolts. Now that we've had a chance to spend even more time with it, we are ready to cover all the ins and outs of it. If you are considering a new torque wrench for your bike. Keep reading to see if the Unior 266B is the right torque wrench for you. 

Design and aesthetics 

When it comes to high quality torque wrenches, there are two types that get talked about. The Effetto Mariposa Giustaforza 2-16 Pro we talked about recently is a mechanical, click-type, torque wrench. It's a gorgeous tool and we spent time gushing about just how beautiful it is. The Unior 266b is an entirely different animal.

The other type of high-end torque wrench you will see is an electronic type. Instead of using a spring, electronic torque wrenches use a strain gauge. The basic engineering is actually very similar to how a power meter works. There is no click at the desired torque and, relevant to this part of the discussion, there is a very different aesthetic.

Instead of anodized aluminium, the Unior 266b mixes high polish chrome and black plastic. The smaller, 1-20 Nm, range version of the wrench starts with a 1/4-inch square ratchet head. The top of the head features a low-profile release button as well as a drive direction reverse switch. There has obviously been care applied to the design so as to make the top as flat and smooth as possible.

Keep heading back and there's a bit more chrome before the handle gives way to black plastic. This is a look that pales in comparison to a gorgeous mechanical tool but it's perfectly in line with expectations. Every electronic torque wrench looks more or less the same and Unior is following suit.

Also similar to other options on the market is a long flat section on the top of the plastic. It's here that you'll find a clear button that's marked "C." Next to that is the Unit selection/Setting button with a "U/S" on top, and finally, there is an up and a down arrow. Keep moving to the right and you'll find the display and the last two things in this area are a red and a green led. To the side of the control area is a covered port that allows a dealer to calibrate the tool.

Behind the control area is a small section with room to grip the tool and a battery door at the back. There's a Unior wordmark and logo in white along with a texture that repeats around the handle. At the very end is a round door with a slot in it. Open this up and there's room for a single AAA battery. The battery door does have an arrow that helps match up the placement but it's nearly impossible to see. Instead, expect to rotate it until you feel it drop into place.  

It's also worth mentioning the packaging that the Unior 266b comes in. Torque wrenches are precisely calibrated and dropping them, or banging them into other tools, can throw that off. Unior doesn't supply a case as you might expect but the packaging does double duty. It's a clear plastic tube with a place to hang it at the top and a flat bottom. There are two pieces, with foam at each end, and they thread together. Place the wrench inside and tighten down the outer piece and you've got a pleasant and secure case. It's not beautiful but it does work. 

Performance

When it's time to use the Unior 266b, the first thing you'll need to do is find a AAA battery. While many brands include a battery, Unior does not. I also wasn't able to get an Amazon branded rechargeable battery to work. Without any obvious directions on the wrench for which way the battery should go, I initially thought I just had it reversed or the wrench was dead. Turns out, it’s just a battery issue. The same battery does work on other torque wrenches but for the Unior, stick to a standard alkaline battery. 

During that process of figuring out if I’d somehow killed a brand-new wrench, I also realised just how simple the Unior 266b really is. A solid press on the Clear button turns it on. At that point, it's in one of four possible torque measurement modes. You can change the scale with a press of the U/S button and it will cycle between Nm, inch-pound, foot-pound, or kg-cm. After five minutes of no activity, the wrench will power off and that setting is something it remembers when it powers back on.

Once you've set your measurement scale, the other two buttons are your up and down for torque selection. Hold one of the arrows and the numbers will fly by silently or, alternatively, a single press will issue a beep and move the scale 1/100th of a Nm at a time. It is possible to go down through zero and bring the wrench to the max to save a bit of time.

The only other function available comes through a long press of the U/S button. Do this and it puts you into a menu where there's options for how the wrench works. This is actually one of the only differentiators between this wrench and the competition. While both Topeak and Shimano have very similar wrenches they both offer only a peak hold mode while Unior has that plus track mode.

The difference between the two modes is somewhat subtle. As you are turning the wrench, you can watch the torque ramp up on the display. At 90 per cent of the torque selected, the wrench will begin to beep and the green LED will light up. At that point, you'll want to slow your movements until the beeping changes to a solid tone and the red LED illuminates. Unlike a click-type torque wrench, there's nothing stopping you from continuing to tighten. If you have peak mode selected, as soon as you let off pressure the peak torque you've selected will remain on the display. In tracking mode, the display remains active and continues to track the applied torque. 

As I said, this is a subtle difference and you'll have to decide if it's worth the extra money for the feature. It is useful to have though. When the torque you are trying to hit is high there's a fair bit of time between 90% and 100% torque value but down near the bottom of the range, it's very fast. When I hear the first beeping I tend to let off a little and if you've only got peak mode the display is now locked. At least for me, it's much more convenient to use tracking mode so I can dial in the exact amount of torque slowly and carefully. 

In terms of the rest of the user experience, there's actually very little to report. The operation is simple and the accuracy matches with the other torque wrenches I have on hand. The handle is small but given the low torque range, it feels a lot more controllable with a dainty grip, so that actually works well for me. Once again, it’s also worth tacking on a small note about the packaging. Topeak has a nicer, zippered, case but the Shimano blown plastic case is actually not as pleasant to use as the clever Unior packaging that doubles as a case. 

Verdict

If you are thinking about buying a nice torque wrench, the first decision is going to be electronic or click-type. The advantage of an electronic is torque measurement in both directions, the ability to see the torque as you ramp it up, and the option of changing the measurement scale. The disadvantages are that there’s nothing to stop you when you hit the torque you’ve set and an electronic wrench is more expensive.

If you’ve decided to make the choice to go electronic based on the features then that leaves only the price. The Unior 266b only exacerbates this decision. It’s already significantly more expensive than competing products and it doesn't have accessories which effectively means it’s even more expensive. For the extra money paid, you do get a wrench that’s just a little bit easier to use. If you think you are already spending a good amount of money and a bit more for a slightly easier-to-use wrench makes sense, the Unior 266b is worth a buy. If not, grab a competitor. 

Tech Specs:  Unior 266b Electronic torque wrench 

• Price: €212.99 / $339.99
• Included bits: none
• Drive Size: 1/4-Inch Hex Shank
• Measured Torque Range: 1-20 Nm
• Length: 206mm
• Resolution: .01 Nm

Hand pumps not quite giving you the inflation you want? A CO2 inflator is a faster, and far easier tool to use - plus they take up less space in your pockets.

They're incredibly simple, as they act as a valve. To use, screw a CO2 canister on one end, screw the other onto your valve and either turn a knob or just press down on a lever and with a short blast of pressurised gas, you're good to go.

Unless you're a racer or need the smallest, lightest setup possible, then it might be best to see them as an accompaniment to, rather than a replacement for, the best bike pumps, although we have discussed which is best.

That being said, even the best gravel tyres sometimes unseat if they go flat, and a blast of carbon dioxide is far more likely to reseat them than your frantic pumping.

We have tested eight of the best CO2 inflators listed below, although given their simplicity, there's little difference between them. They all achieved the desired outcome of popping air into tyres, however, some offer more features than others. If you want to know more about CO2 inflators, check out the 'how to choose' section at the bottom.

Best CO2 inflators you can buy today

How to choose

Still a bit unsure as to what you're after? Worry not, I've got you covered. Whether you want to know more about how to use CO2 inflators, or simply aren't quite sure what they are as yet, then scroll down and have a read of my curated FAQ's.

How we test the best CO2 inflators?

We’ve used plenty of CO2 inflators here at Cyclingnews, so we know what to look for in terms of ease of use, thermal protection, gas delivery modulation and overall build quality.

For this grouptest we used the same tyre each time to avoid any differences in the valve, and always started from totally flat. The tyre in question was a Challenge Strada 27mm, which can be a little tricky to reseat, so it makes an ideal test subject.

Despite the sense that bikes are getting more complex all the time, they are actually incredibly simple. The most important thing you need, in most situations, is a willingness to take your time and carefully follow the directions. Each time you tackle a job you'll be one step closer to being self-supporting and you'll have expanded your knowledge base. Part of the whole process is going to be adding the right tools for the job.

Everybody has to start the process somewhere. One product you'll need very early on is one of the best bike repair stands. As with most good quality shop tools, this is probably going to be a once-off purchase  so it's worth taking your time and getting a quality piece. We've been using the Park Tool PRS-25 Team Issue repair stand for the last six months or so and are ready to share all the details with you. 

If you are considering a new bike repair stand, keep reading to see if this is going to be the right choice for you. 

Design and aesthetics 

Right away you might notice a couple of design details that make the Park Tool PRS-25 Team Issue repair stand what it is - such as the fact that it doesn't use a tripod style base. This isn't the only repair stand on the market to use this style, the Unior BikeGator is a case in point, but it's definitely not the most popular system. When opened up, the legs form a 92cm x 92cm x 115cm triangle. The large base means that in combination with a few other details the maximum supported weight comes in at 100lbs (45kg) and eclipses most other home repair stands. 

Another obvious, albeit less so, supporting design feature is the shape of the tubing. Park Tool refers to it by the name "Hexatude" which apparently even carries a trademark. There's nothing overly ground breaking here though, the tubes are hexagonal which allows them to be lighter and stronger than a round tube would be. In particular, the main support of the PRS-25 is a single piece of aluminium tubing that runs from the floor up to a quick release for the extension. 

Also unusual and helping to support that max weight is the design of the aluminium leg straps. These are what form a virtual gusset plate and add strength when the system unfolds. Park Tool has made them longer than usual and they come all the way out to about the centre of the support legs. They are also tucked under the support legs so that despite the long length, they don't reduce work space or get in the way of the wheels. 

At the end of each support is a plastic end cap. At the far end, where the legs are nearly parallel to the floor there's the addition of a small rounded plastic ball that is the actual floor contact point. No need to worry about a scratched floor from this design.

The guide that connects the support legs to the vertical support is metal with gusseting everywhere. The metal, the gusseting, and the hexagonal shape to the tubing keeps there from being any hint of flex as you fold and unfold and at the back you'll find a standard quick release. You can lock the legs in their outstretched position if you so desire but the cantilevered design means it's not all that necessary. 

At the other end of the vertical support is another plastic cap. This time the point is not to protect the floor, but rather to support a smooth slide if you decide to pull the extension out. The extension will go far enough to put the clamp at a height of 152cm but, if left alone, the minimum height will be roughly 114cm. Integrated into the plastic cap is another quick release mechanism as well an attachment point for accessories such as a paper towel holder or tool tray. 

Sitting at the top of the extension is where the clamp head mechanism sits. Actually, what's first is the "Top Tube Assembly" part number 1935a and like every other piece of the PRS-25 it's removable and replaceable. It's inside of the Top Tube Assembly that the clamp head actually sits. There's a handle at the back of the assembly that allows unthreading of the crown jewel of this repair stand, the 100-25D Professional Micro-Adjust Clamp.

The 100-25D Professional Micro-Adjust Clamp is the same as the 100-3D which is the shop clamp that fits into the floor mounted shop repair stand. The only difference between the two is the way in which they attach to the stand. In both cases you get a clamp that's designed to accommodate all kinds of seatposts. It's 7cm wide with a set of replaceable jaw covers that won't scratch the finish but will hold tight. There's a cam system, to quickly open and close it but the clamping force adjusts with an infinitely adjustable screw system. Rotate the whole head 90-degrees from vertical and you'll find a plastic cover to protect saddle rails if you are only hanging a bike by the saddle. 

The "Saddle Cover" is one of just a few spots of the trademark Park Tool blue that you'll find. Most of the PRS-25 is black and it's only the saddle cover and the leg strap that are blue. There's also a few stickers and an emblem where it makes an appearance. 

Performance

In the past I've always stuck to the kind of repair stand that supports a bike under the bottom bracket and attaches to the fork. It's what you'll likely see at WorldTour races but for me, it became a hassle. I found myself not using it because I didn't want to bother removing the front wheel. The main reason I'd made the choice to use that style was that I prefer riding aero bikes that inevitably have deep aero seatposts. The PRS-25 solves this problem though. 

As mentioned, the PRS-25 repair stand uses the 100-3D clamp. This clamp has gained my favour first because it's specifically designed for aero seatposts. In the centre of the jaws is a round space that makes room for a standard round seatpost. In the centre of that void though, there's another smaller notch. Put an aero seatpost in there and the leading-edge fits into that notch while the wider squared off trailing edge of a modern virtual kammtail shape fits where a round seatpost would. 

The other part of the design that feels perfect is the way that clamp tightens. Actually, this feature brings both good and bad features. The lever that actuates the quick clamp, or release, is way too short. It prevents you from having enough leverage, hopefully, to close the clamp and crack a delicate carbon tube. It also means the head is effectively not a quick release. With such a small lever I'm not strong enough to clamp or release the clamp with the quick release and I've stopped trying. Given how nervous I am about making a mistake, it's actually a feature I prefer but there's no point pretending it's a quick release. Instead, put the post between the jaws and slowly rotate the closure until you've got enough clamping force to hold the bike. 

That little quirk isn't the only one. The other is that it's effectively impossible to rotate the bike in the clamp. You can loosen the clamp in the Top Tube Assembly and rotate the bike but if the weight isn’t centred in the support triangle there's no stability. You could flip the bike completely upside down if you needed but if your goal is to make the bike vertical, you'd want to rethink that. Instead, take advantage of the height adjustability and move the whole bike up to keep it stable while providing the necessary access. It’s another one of those things that I haven’t found to be a problem in use but also requires a change compared to how you might think it will work.

Not all the quirks are bad though. When it's time to set the stand up, the gusseting between the support legs create a perfect place to push against. Just lean the stand back, so the weight is against the vertical legs, and push down on the gusset between the other two legs. The pieces will slide smoothly and easily down the vertical support and you don't even need to lean over. I tend to not bother locking that lower quick release. When it's time to fold everything back up, just pull up on the same gusset. 

Verdict

The Park Tool PRS-25 isn't the cheapest model that Park Tool offers; there are options in the range that are half the price. That means you'll have to think about your needs and requirements. The upgrade to the PRS-25 is somewhat subtle. You get an upgraded clamp head and tubing bringing a higher max weight and max height extension. You also get a little bit less weight for the system. 

There are also very high-quality options from competitors. In general, they compare well but tend to suffer from the same constraints as the other Park Tool options. Max weight is a little lower, as is height extension and they are a little heavier. However, the Feedback Sports Pro Elite Bike repair stand is one notable outlier as it’s actually lighter. If you've got a high-end aero bike though, this is the product that makes the most sense. The 100-25D clamp does a better job with kammtail shapes and it's otherwise a well-designed system. 

The system isn't perfect. It would be great if the head somehow folded for storage and the quick release on the head doesn't really work. None of that affects the reason for buying it though. As far as the triangle support system goes, Park Tool offers a new alternative. The PRS-26 has similar features but switches the support to a tripod style. If that detail was holding you back, there's now an alternative.

Tech Specs: Park Tool PRS-25 bike repair stand

• Price: $409.95 / £385 / €535
• Clampable Tubing size: 7/8 to 3in / 23–76mm, including aero tubes
• Clamp Rotation: 360-degree infinite clamp rotation
• Clamp Width: 2.75 inches / 7cm
• Folded Size: 46.25in
• Clamping Height: Up to 60in
• Base size: 36 x 36 x 45in / 92cm x 92cm x 115cm
• Weight: 13 lbs / 6kg
• Max Weight: 100 lbs / 45kg

Every fastener on your bike has a maximum torque value associated with it. Get those numbers wrong and you risk cracking an expensive piece of carbon fibre or stripping a bolt. The only way to ensure you hit the number you need is with a quality torque wrench. 

We recently put together our list of the best torque wrenches. A buyers guide like that means the opportunity to test lots of options against each other at the same time. Some don't make it to the list at all but there are options such as the Giustaforza 2-16 Pro that really stand out. Over the last year, long before the current buyers guide, this wrench from Effetto Mariposa has been our go-to option. 

It's not for everyone though so keep reading to see our thoughts on this option. We've spent a lot of time with it and now we are ready to discuss why we like it but also why you might decide to make a different choice.  

Design and aesthetics 

There are a few different variations of torque wrenches offered by Effetto Mariposa. They vary not only in torque ranges but also in types of heads offered and how they come packaged. Choose the 2-16 Pro Deluxe and you'll be getting a torque range that covers just about everything you'd regularly need to adjust on a bike. You'll also be getting the wrench with a tool roll and a collection of bits. 

Open the box and you'll find a two-part, hard plastic case. Pull it apart and inside is a tightly rolled vinyl roll secured with a red strap and Velcro. Keep unwrapping your new wrench and you'll find that the roll has a flap at the top and space inside for a plastic holder with 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, and 6mm hex bits, T10, T15, T20, and T30 torx bits, as well as a slotted and a Phillips head screwdriver. Above that, there are four 100mm extensions including a 4mm and 5mm hex, a T25, and one more that will accept the bits. 

The bits themselves don't look to be anything special but the specs say otherwise. The steel used is high-quality S2 tool steel. It's a harder steel - in this case specifically called out as being HRC (Hardness Rockwell C) 62, that doesn't show up on lower quality tools. Less precision bits will use Chromium Vanadium Steel and generally be a softer material. The point of all this is that a harder steel is less likely to lead to rounded bits over time. 

The lower section of the aluminium body has a knurled section signifying the hand grip and a window with laser-etched markings for the torque settings. Whole numbers are on the left and half number marks are on the right. That attention to detail continues when looking at the actual wrench. To see the wrench, you'll pull it out of a unique slot to the left of the roll. There is no plastic and the main body is a single piece of red anodized aluminium. The upper section has branding and the model name is laser-etched into the aluminium. Opposite the branding is a unique number that changes for every wrench. 

The moving parts of the wrench include the adjustment cylinder at the bottom. The bottom of the adjuster also has a knurled grip at the bottom and there's a hard stop that keeps the adjustment from coming out of the body. The very end of the wrench includes a 4mm hex opening that makes it possible to use a wrench in case you need it to get all the way to the max torque. 

At the other side is a ratcheting head with a 1/4-inch square driver. Both versions of the wrench include an adapter to convert the driver so that it can accept standard hex bits. In the centre of the head is a silver release button and surrounding that is a knurled dial that reverses the drive direction of the ratcheting head. Keep in mind that while you can reverse drive direction, you shouldn't. Loosening a bolt with a torque wrench risks breaking the calibration and there's no reverse torque measurement. 

On the subject of calibration, Effetto Mariposa checks each wrench they send out. The guarantee is that the tolerance will be +-4% for 5,000 clicks. It also offers a calibration-renewal service. The tool comes from Italy but Effetto Mariposa is a Swiss company and it's in Lugano Switzerland that you can send the wrench back for a new calibration. The price is 50 CHF and that buys you a new calibration certificate for another 5000 clicks. 

Performance

The first thing you'll notice when you touch the Effetto Mariposa Giustaforza 2-16 Pro torque wrench is its heft. The company proudly claims that the aluminium body keeps the weight down below 200g and they are correct. My scale puts it at 188g without the adapter for hex bits and that's similar to other wrenches I have on hand but this one is smaller. The effect is that there's a solidity to it that feels better in the hand than those other wrenches. 

The length is purposeful, too. The details on the product page list the length as 170mm but that includes the length of the adjustment as well. The actual tool, from the tip to the end of the main body, is about 150mm and is noticeably shorter than other options out there. The most obvious result is a reduction of leverage that better matches what's necessary for the torque ranges this covers. The other advantage is that it reduces the space for your hand. 

Torque wrenches are only accurate if you hold them in the right place. It's common for people to move their hand around on a torque wrench depending on how nervous they might be about a particular bolt. With such a short shaft, there's really only one comfortable place to hold it. Grab the knurled grip in the aluminium and you've got your hand set just right for perfect measurement. 

Start using the wrench, and the first thing you'll need to do is set your desired torque. There's a line that's visible through the window in the body. Rotate the unfinished metal adjuster and that line moves up as the spring compresses inside. The more common system requires pulling back on the adjuster and rotating against the spring weight. This is a more convenient system that's faster and you can see it move from line to line, representing .5Nm per line, without needing to count turns or look at the back of the tool. The system also keeps the spring protected from dust and grime and even after a year of use, the built-up grease is hard to see on the finish. For those that care about such things, this is a tool that will continue to look good for a long time.

Once you start actually wrenching, you'll notice the next big advantage. Click-type torque wrenches get their name because of the distinctive click they make when they hit the desired torque. The thing is that some of them have a click that's easy to miss with a small amount of dead area that is easy to blow past. The Giustaforza 2-16 Pro has a loud click and a solid dead zone that feels very positive and rewarding to hit. You'd have to try really hard to overshoot this one. 

Verdict

There's no doubt you can get a cheaper, equally capable, torque wrench. Marketing hype aside, the number of clicks and accuracy aren't super unique. Even the high-quality hardened steel bits will either come with the competition or you can buy them. Put all this together and it shouldn't make sense to spend the money on a tool like this but it's worth it on so many levels, not to mention the fact that it will last you a lifetime. 

The biggest reason you might decide to make a different choice is that the price puts it into the company of electronic torque wrenches. An electronic torque wrench allows for measurement of torque in either direction of rotation and in whatever torque scale your part uses. On the other hand, they don't click and there is no dead zone. They flash and/or beep and you need to stop when you reach the desired setting. It feels better to use a mechanical wrench of this level even if it does lack some of the features that a digital option brings. 

The only bugbear in terms of this particular wrench is the lack of a quality hard case to store it. 

Tech Specs: Effetto Mariposa Giustaforza 2-16 Pro torque wrench 

• Price: $290.99 / €276.99
• Included bits: 2/2.5/3/4/5/6mm hex, T10/T15/T20/T30 torx, slotted and phillips screwdriver, 100mm x 4mm hex/5mm hex/T25 torx extension, and 10mm extension with hex socket
• Guaranteed Tolerance: +-4% tolerance for 5000 cycles with recertification available
• Drive Size: 1/4-Inch Hex Shank with included adapter
• Weight: 188g
• Length: 150mm
• Resolution: .5 Nm

Carrying the best bike multi-tools with you when you are cycling is something that's really worth doing. A multi-tool will allow you to fix a range of potential mechanical issues that can occur whilst out riding as well as allow you to adjust your position and contact points should you need to.   

You can choose from a simple, small multi-tool to larger more comprehensive tools that have a wide range of functions if you want to carry a bit more. Bigger tools can obviously do more, but there's a trade-off if you don't want to carry too much. There are also plenty of tools now with tubeless repair features and CO2 inflators built-in if this is a factor for you. 

It's also adding here that a well-maintained bike that's in good order should rarely fall foul of a major mechanical out on the road. Take some time to do a monthly bolt check with a torque wrench and general inspection, and you'll find you rarely get into trouble on the road with a crank arm in one hand wondering how it fell off. 

I'm a qualified mechanic and have tested and used all of the tools in this guide myself on a range of maintenance jobs. You can also find a lot more info about how to choose the right tool and what to carry at the bottom of the page. 

Best bike multi-tools

How to choose

Although not universally accepted (yet), the benefits of tubeless tyres are winning over riders all the time. The Silca Ultimate Tubeless sealant hopes to mix it with the best tubeless sealant on the market with a novel mix of materials and a system by which you can prolong the life of the sealant by a refreshing top up of latex and solvent intermittently.

Tubeless sealant typically comprises a natural or synthetic latex, a solvent to keep it from drying out and more often than not some form of small particulates to help clog holes. As with so many things in life there are trade-offs; less solvent means more gloopy tyre goo but it’ll dry out more quickly. Less solvent gives you a sealant that’ll last longer, especially in arid conditions, but at the risk of not sealing holes so well. 

What’s different about this sealant? 

The Silca Ultimate Tubeless Sealant is, like all other sealants, a mix of Latex, solvent, and particulates. Where it differs is in the choice of materials, particularly the particulates. Until now, old carbon frames and components were destined for landfill, where they’d stubbornly resist breaking down for a good few millennia. Silca has decided there's a better option; crush them up and mix the fibres into their latest tubeless sealant. 

Particulate addition has varied from microplastic glitter, through glass fibres to natural materials like walnut shells and cornmeal, so it was really only a matter of time before someone added carbon fibre to tubeless sealant - the list of non-carbon components is now one shorter.

Frames are crushed and ground into individual fibres, that are then, through a proprietary process, cleaned of the epoxy resins that binds the fibres together in bike components (and makes them so hard to break down). I was admittedly sceptical about how this could be achieved, and although the process remains a mystery, the resulting electron microscope images certainly attest to some extremely clean carbon fibres. Combine carbon with natural latex and you have a sealant that, should you blow out a sidewall and void the innards of your tyre into the environment it should do no damage save for some short lived unsightly splatters.

Natural credentials, though to be applauded of course, mean very little if the stuff doesn't work.

How does it perform? 

Carbon fibres are famously light and stiff. It’s why so many of the best road bikes are made of the stuff but also why it, in theory, makes an excellent suspended particulate addition to tyre sealant. Being of low mass means a greater volume can be suspended in the latex and solvent without it settling out and clumping up, and the stiffness allows it to bridge holes and tears more easily against the air pressure forcing the sealant out through the hole. Silca claims that by using a mix of fibre lengths their Ultimate Tubeless Sealant can seal holes up to 7.5mm, which is 25 per cent larger than that of conventional technologies - no qualification as to what ‘conventional technologies’ consists of however.

So, it can seal the best gravel tyres after you have a run in with some sharp flint but that’s only half the story. As mentioned earlier, if your sealant dries out in a fortnight it’s not going to seal anything at all. Silca has come up with a strategy to counter this issue - instead of replacing your sealant regularly, after initially filling your tyre with Ultimate Tubeless Sealant (into the tyre itself, not through the valve as it’ll clog), you can revitalise your setup with a shot of Ultimate Tubeless Sealant Replenisher (this time into the valve. The replenisher is basically the sealant without the fibres, and a bit more solvent to refresh the liquid inside that is yet to totally dry out, and should be added every three months

This will make the annual sealant cleanout and replacement a slightly more mucky job, and add more weight to the wheels than regular replacement would, but for those of us who dread tyre servicing day it could be just what the doctor ordered.

Price 

Given 25mm tyres don’t require as much sealant as 2.7in mountain bike tyres, Silca is selling the Ultimate Tubeless Sealant in 8oz, 16oz, and 32oz bottles, which retail for $18, $24, and $38 respectively (approx. £14, £18, and £29). The Replenisher is only available in 4 oz bottles, retailing at $12 each (about £9). 

The best bike repair stands are just as much an essential tool for home mechanics as for professionals.

If you're doing any bike maintenance or even just want to clean your bike and the chain and lube the drivetrain, a bike repair stand will make the job much easier, as it gets your bike off the floor and allows the wheels to spin freely.

Bike repair stands hold your bike by a range of means, but whatever your chosen system, rest assured any from the following list will make your life in the workshop easier. Lower down, we've got a buyer's guide to how to choose the best bike stand for your needs.

Quick list

Best bike repair stands

Best Bike Repair Stand

The Feedback Sports Pro Elite bike repair stand is lightweight, sees quality finishing and has arguably the best clamp on the market. There is a reason that, at just about any cycling event around the world, you'll find these work stands kicking around. The tubing is made from aluminium and the three-legged stance is stable even on uneven ground.

While the red anodised tubing is immediately recognisable, it's the ratcheted dial clamp that sets the Feedback Sports Pro Elite apart. With ratchet teeth placed in 5mm intervals, squeezing the jaws together with your hand will get you within one turn of the adjustment knob of the stand supporting the weight of your bike. The jaws can accommodate tubes up to 6.6cm in diameter, and when secure, the clamp can rotate through 360-degrees, so you can easily access the underside of the bike when you need to. Even better, when a repair is complete, the clamp is released with the push of a button.

The base is triangular, with each side measuring 115cm, and when fully extended it can reach 180cm tall, making it suitable for even the tallest of mechanics. There's a carry-case available, although it's sadly not included as standard.

Best for everyday use

Even though Park Tool's Team Issue bike repair stand isn't dressed entirely in the brand's signature blue, it still gets the brand's revered build quality, which comes in a folding design and a stable three-point platform. The hex-shaped tubing is made from aluminium which keeps the weight low. It can achieve a clamping height of 152cm and offer 360-degree rotation so you can easily get in underneath the bottom bracket.

The clamp itself is cam-actuated; the lever flips like a quick release and then spins for fine adjustments. The jaws can accommodate tubes from 22mm up to 76mm and are lined with soft-touch rubber. For fast repairs, there is enough room to hang the nose of the saddle over the clamp.

It comes with a base that measures 92 x 92 x 115cm, but thanks to its two-legged fold-out construction and slightly angled vertical shaft, it manages to offer stability to rival the heavy-base shop stands. You can read more in our Park Tool PRS-25 review.

Best for weight weenies

Weight weenies rejoice, now you can have a bike repair stand and a scale in the same unit - Topeak has integrated a gram counter next to the clamp on its Prep Stand Pro.

The clamp is limited to 4.5cm, although this is still plenty enough to accommodate the width of most aero tubes, and the jaws are lined with a dense non-marking rubber. For the Prepstand Pro, Topeak added a fold-out knob to help you gain additional leverage and make quick work of tightening the jaws, but it would greatly benefit from some sort of a quick-release mechanism.

With three 71cm legs, the stand has a wide footprint and is stable on uneven ground, and it's one of the fastest to go from the carry bag to prepped and ready for a bike.

Best race-style stand

With a sliding mount, the Park Tool PRS-22.2 Team Issue Repair Stand can hold any bike, connecting the front or rear dropouts and supporting the bottom bracket without any adaptors to keep track of - it's also the best of the bunch if you're dealing with thru-axles. The main beam is fore and aft adjustable to customise the balancing point and the bottom bracket support can be tailored to your bike's specific needs.

The Team Issue Repair stand has been updated and now spins more easily to allow access to the bike at any angle without moving your feet. At 5.65kg, it's relatively light and breaks down flatter than any other Park Tool stand.

Best for quick repairs

Unior is well known for its tools, and the Gator+ bike repair stand is fantastic if you're consistently repairing bikes with the same seat tube diameter. The clamp on the Gator+ is based on the design of a proper workshop stand with a big lever operating the jaws, however it's limited to tubes up to 32mm which will put off many mountain bikers and aero roadies.

The action is smooth, but you'll need to adjust the clamping tension before you're trying to balance a bike in one hand and spin the threaded adjuster rod with the other - a spring-loaded version of the clamp is also available. The jaws are lined with rubber, so there is no need to insulate your frame with a rag.

Our favourite thing about the Bike Gator + is the included foam tray with a divided top and slots for tools; it's a luxury that requires an additional purchase with most stands.

The entire stand, including the clamp, is made from steel, so it's not completely immune to rusting, but it manages to remain lightweight.

Best value

The Feedback Sports Sport Mechanic stand comes with a lighter price tag than its red anodised sibling and with the cost-saving, misses out on the nifty quick-release ratcheting clamp, yet it's still a stable, lightweight and portable bike repair stand.

The clamp is still lined with grippy rubber, but to grab your bike's seatpost, you'll have to spin the lever on the clamp until it's tight enough to support the weight of your bike. Despite the max weight being 29kg in comparison to the Pro Elite Stand's 39kg, with anything except an electric mountain bike, it's no less stable as you try to loosen bottom-bracket bearings or stuck pedals.

The Sport Mechanic compacts down just as small as the rest of Feedback's stands and it's still lightweight despite the lower price point.

Best for travelling

Made with Feedback Sports' eye-catching red anodised tubing, the Sprint Repair stand works with every modern axle spacing and standard except for Super Boost and can grab onto bikes at the front or rear.

Weighing 5.7kg, the Sprint Stand is lightweight yet strong enough to support bikes up to 39kg in weight. The tripod-style legs are stable even on uneven ground and the rotating platform allows you to spin the bike around with the flick of your wrist.

The bottom bracket is supported by plush 12cm rubber-covered metal strips with a cut-out to allow cable routing and the like to pass through unobstructed.

The 360 degree rotation means you can stay put whilst accessing every angle of the bike while wrenching or cleaning, and to top it off, Feedback Sports also makes a range of extras from tool trays to bottle openers that attach to the centre column.

Best for home mechanics

Yet another option from Park Tool, the brand claims that the PCS-9.3 is a basic stand designed for home mechanics. Height adjustable over 46cm with a 99cm lowest height and with a 360-degree rotating clamp, it's designed to fit any bike for use either seated or standing and includes a foldable, locking base with two stable legs.

There's a wide-jawed clamp, with an easy-to-use screw closure with a lever that's easy to spin. The jaws' rubber covers can be replaced too, increasing the stand's longevity.

Park Tool says that the tubing is teardrop shaped, not for aero gains but for stability and rigidity. The PCS-9.3 can support any bike up to 36kg, so it's safe to use with most e-bikes.

The 7.2kg weight and compact folded size make the stand easy to carry and to store when not in use. You can read more in our full Park Tool PCS-9.3 review.

Best for heavy bikes

With a four-point leg system, the Park Tool Deluxe stand is ideal for home use. It's available with two different clamps; one with an adjustable linkage and a micro-adjust cam clamp. Both of these are top-end, shop-level clamps meaning the bike can be adjusted at any angle and the jaw protectors are replaceable and readily available.

The legs are made from powder-coated steel tubing and are a bit wobbly on uneven ground. When you lift the stand up the legs collapse flat meaning the work stand can be tucked into a corner or down the side of a cabinet or closet, but it's far from the most portable option on this list.

How to choose the best bike repair stand for you

Not sure what features you really need, or whether you're after a clamp or race-style stand? Scroll down and read on and we'll guide you through any questions you might have.

How do we test?

Bike repair stands only need to perform one job, hold the bike securely when performing bike maintenance. However, this is easier said than done and it's often the small details that make or break the performance of a repair stand.

The first thing to consider is portability, if a repair stand is designed to be folded away and transported we take note of pack-down sizes and evaluate how easy it is to assemble and fold away. Once set up we measure the footprint and asses leg format and stability.

The repair stands are tested with different styles of bikes to determine how well they hold a range of bikes from aero road bike tubes to heavier gravel bikes and mountain bikes. Full testing revolves around performing maintenance tasks on a bike to establish how the stand performs when working on a bike, highlighting positive or negative features.

Testing is the backbone of the tech department at Cyclingnews and how we test is taken seriously, so read on to find out more.

If you care about maintaining your bike and optimising your performance, a clean, correctly lubricated bike chain should be high on your list of priorities.

There are countless chain lubes on the market, and not all of them are created equal. How do you really know what's in a lubricant and if it's doing the job it's meant to?

Over time, a dirty chain with lots of contamination inside will wear out faster, and in turn wear out your more expensive chainrings and cassette. Metal, dirt, and other contaminants can be suspended in a lubricant's carrier liquid, essentially forming a grinding paste that wears out your equipment.

The best chain lubes and best bike chain wax will help protect your components, lengthen the lifespan of your drivetrain, and ideally help you save a few watts.

Knowing how to clean your chain is an important step in the process, as it's essential to get it as clean as possible before applying a quality chain lube.

All of the drip lubes featured in our guide have undergone independent testing by Zero Friction Cycling. Meaning each product's claims and performance have been verified by a stringent third-party test, not just our own experiences.

All of the chain lubes here are excellent products that I like to use the most. Any one of them will be a good choice for your drivetrain, and this guide should help you narrow down which will be best for your type of riding and maintenance preferences.

Best bike chain lubes available today

Best bike chain lube

When I'm using a drip lubricant, CeramicSpeed UFO Drip All Conditions is the one I reach for the most.

UFO Drip has been on the market for a long time and has undergone several updates in that time, the most recent being an update to the branding. Though its green credentials have greatly improved over the years, it is now a bio-friendly chain lube.

UFO Drip All Conditions sits alongside the brand's indoor and wet conditions lubes, and whilst it's not quite as fast as Indoor (a good choice for track riders), it's the best all-rounder.

It's easy to apply from the bottle, and the brand recommends applying to a clean, dry chain, then letting it dry overnight, so factor this in if you have a ride planned. Don't just apply, then head out the door.

It dries overnight and runs very clean, so your drivetrain will stay spotless. It's also very quiet and smooth in use.

The reapplication interval isn't huge at a quoted 180 miles, so if you like to apply and forget your chain lube to an extent, you may want to look at another option like the Effetto or Silca options.

Hot wax friendly

Super Secret is a wax-based chain lube from Silca that's a very high-performing, fast and slippery chain lubricant in its own right.

This is also a product designed to be compatible with Silca's hot wax product. Chain waxing is very popular these days, and the ability to add a drip wax to a waxed chain to 'top up' protection in between full immersive waxing intervals provides an advantage and saves you some effort.

If you wax your chains too, and love working on and prepping your chains, then this is a product that can be used with Silca's wax setup to make your life easier.

Super Secret dries clean and runs smoothly. I use it on my track bike chain, but find it very slippery; it almost slides off the chain links as you apply it and is probably not quite as effortless to apply as some other lubes in the guide. Apply it outside if you are working with it.

Best value drip-on wax lube

Smoove is a white-coloured wax emulsion drip lube that, like the two products abov is 100% biodegradable and solvent-free.

I've used Smoove on a lot of bikes, and it's always worked very well for me, running quietly and cleanly. It's also a strong performer in Zero Friction testing. Though it doesn't penetrate a chain's links quite as effectively as some other products here, a key factor in starting with enough metal chain protection. (see the bottom of the page for more info)

After thoroughly prepping the KMC chain on a gravel bike, I applied Smoove and left it to set overnight. Once on, it runs really quietly, which I have loved, and the chain is spotless with minimal waxy buildup on pulley wheels etc. It does set with a degree of tackiness, so you may need to be more diligent on maintenance if you are using it for a lot of gravel or off-road riding, where there is a lot of dust or even mud.

If you have traditionally used any old lubricant on your chain and are keen to improve your chain care regimen and learn more, this could be a nice starting point to help you work out what you like and if the initial extra chain prep is for you.

Best eco-friendly chain lube

Flower Power wax by Effetto Mariposa is a drip chain lube manufactured in part using oil from Sunflower seeds.

It's water-based, so it's totally green and biodegradable. Which a lot of strong-performing wax chain lubes now.

It doesn't run as cleanly as CeramicSpeed All conditions, for example, it will appear dirty after some use, but it has a 600km reapplication interval. much longer than the SuperSecret or All Conditions lubes, making it ideal if you do a lot of riding or want to go longer between reapplications.

It also performed fantastically in Zero Friction testing, like the other products here. If a spotless drivetrain isn't a deal breaker for you, and you want a longer reapplication period, this could be the product for you.

Best all-weather chain lube

Tru Tension's All Weather lube is another biodegradable drip lube with excellent all-around performance, but this product can be applied and ridden within 10 minutes.

If you're the kind of rider who often applies a hurried application of chain lube before a ride, All-weather should give you a bit more leeway than some other products here with longer cure times.

This should be one of the drip chain lubricants you should consider for all-around riding protection. In Zero Friction testing, it dealt with extreme contamination very well, meaning it should keep performing well in wet and generally poor conditions. If you don't want to be cleaning and lubing your chain quite as often, like the Flowerpower wax, it will do well.

It comes in the smallest bottle in the guide, but the affordable price and high performance mean it should still last a decent amount of time.

High-performance wet lube

Silca Synergetic is a wet lubricant, meaning it has an oil base, not a wax one like every other product in the guide. In short, Synergetic will appear to be similar to more traditional oil-like chain lubes, but it's probably the best-performing one on the market.

It also has the longest claimed reapplication interval at 500 miles, giving it a bit more of a fit and forget factor than some of the other products here; it's over double that of CeramicSpeed All Conditions, for example. It also runs clean, and like a lot of 'wet' lubes give a really smooth drivetrain pedalling feel when riding.

Silca Synergetic was first developed as a lubricant for F1 applications, and there is some interesting info on this on the Silca Website. It has been tested as just about the top wet lubricant during ZF testing.

If you want a very good, 'wet' lube that will stay clean and quiet that you can run for hundreds of miles, try Synergetic out.

How to choose the best bike chain lube for you

Honestly, things may just boil down to how interested you are in drivetrain cleaning and the world of chain lubes when it comes to choosing a product.

Some riders just aren't hugely bothered about having a mucky chain that may wear out a little faster, and that's absolutely fine.

If you do want to up your game and try to use the best possible product to increase efficiency and lengthen drivetrain life, then start with cleaning. You will need to start with a properly cleaned chain.

Investigate what degreasing products you want to use to get your chain sparkling, and head to Zero Friction Cycling, which has more information than we could possibly include here on the subject.

All of the lubricants in this guide are excellent. Their differences are highlighted depending on the conditions you are riding in and the reapplication intervals. But any lubricant from our guide will perform very well compared to poorer lubricants on the market that may actively contribute to chain wear.

Everything you need to know about the best bike chain lubes

How do we test the best bike chain lube?

I researched independent testing website reports to help me narrow down the best-performing drip lubricants, guaranteeing the inclusion of proven, top-level products in this guide. I also spoke to manufacturers directly when I had additional questions or queries on the products themselves.

I then prepared brand new or very lightly used chains so they were as clean as I could possibly get them using white spirit and isopropyl alcohol, and applied each lubricant as per the manufacturer's instructions. I then spent some time riding each chain to see how the lubricant performed in the real world, noting drivetrain noise, speed and longevity.

Cleaning your bike isn’t just about appearance. Keeping your components (especially the consumable, expensive-to-replace ones) free of baked-on dirt helps to prevent premature wear and rust from forming. That’s where the best pressure washers for bikes come into play.

Rinsing your bike after a muddy ride is one of the easiest ways to keep it running smoothly for longer. This is especially true for winter cycling, when road salt, mud and gritty debris can quickly build up on chains, cassettes and derailleurs, and these are pricey to replace, so the more use you can get out of them, the better.

The best pressure washer for your bike will depend on how and where you clean it. Whether you prefer to wait until you get home, or rinse down your steed before popping it back in the car, there are lots of different types of washers to choose from.

With that in mind, this guide covers everything from bike-specific options like the Muc-Off Pressure Washer, designed to be safe for bearings and paint, to portable and versatile units like the Kärcher OC3 and Aqua2Go Pro Washer: great options if you don’t have access to an outdoor tap or much storage space at home.

Whether you’re giving your best carbon road bike a quick rinse or tackling the caked-on mud on your best gravel bike, a pressure washer makes light work of stubborn grime.

Best Pressure Washers for bikes

Best overall

Marketed as the world’s first bike-specific pressure washer, the Muc-Off unit works much like a light-duty pressure washer you might pick up from a hardware shop. You’ll need both a mains power supply and a water connection to use it, and it offers a flow rate of 6.5 litres per minute and a maximum pressure of 1450psi.

The kit includes three interchangeable lances. One features a low-pressure spray pattern designed specifically for bikes, helping to reduce the risk of forcing water into delicate bearing systems or seals. Muc-Off also includes a snow foam lance with an inline bottle mount so you can apply your favourite bike cleaner and cover the frame in foam.

At the time of writing, the Muc-Off Pressure Washer is available in the US and Europe but not in Australia.

Read more about the Muc-Off Pressure Washer in our full review.

Best portability

The Kärcher OC3 is a compact, battery-powered washer that suits flat-dwellers or anyone without access to an outdoor tap. With a 4-litre onboard water tank and gentle bike-friendly pressure, it works well for quick post-ride rinses and is the best portable option.

Weighing just 2.2kg, it is easy to carry and small enough to store in a cupboard or keep in the boot of your car. The translucent tank lets you see how much water remains, and the hose and nozzle store neatly inside the unit for simple transport.

The smaller tank means you will usually get one bike cleaned per fill. Larger versions, such as the OC3 Plus or Foldable models, offer more capacity if you need longer run time. For those living in urban spaces who want a simple and tidy cleaning solution, the OC3 is a solid and practical choice.

Read our full Kärcher OC3 Pressure Washer review.

Best for muddy rides

The Aqua2Go Pro Washer is a portable option that carries a 17-litre water tank and runs from an internal rechargeable battery, giving roughly 12 minutes of spray time per charge. The included pistol-style sprayer lets you adjust the pressure from 44psi up to 115psi, and the 5m hose gives you plenty of reach without having to stand right next to the unit.

Among portable washers, it sits on the heavier side, but if your bike is really dirty after a very muddy ride, it packs a lot of punch. The fixed battery brings the weight to around 7kg before you even fill the tank. Wheels make it easier to move around, though slightly larger ones would improve stability over rough ground.

The washer also includes a showerhead attachment and a brush with an inline soap mount, which helps when you want to apply bike wash while scrubbing stubborn grime.

Check out our full Aqua2Go Pro Washer review.

Best spraying power

The Kärcher K3 Power Control is a really versatile pressure washer that handles bikes just as well as it does cars, patios and other outdoor cleaning jobs.

In testing, we found the K3 Power Control to be really powerful, easy to operate, and still manageable for bike cleaning. With a maximum pressure of 120 bar, it offers noticeably more cleaning power than the Muc-Off pressure washer, which makes it useful for all your at-home pressure washing needs.

One standout feature is the Power Control system. You can adjust pressure levels directly on the spray lance and check the current setting on the LCD display built into the handle. Select the lowest level for bike cleaning, and the display shows level 1, so you know you’re using the gentlest setting. Rotate the nozzle further to shift through higher power levels when you need extra cleaning force.

At this price, the K3 sits towards the upper end of this guide, but if you’re likely to be pressure washing more than just bikes at home, then its versatility makes it the one machine to rule them all.

Read our full Karcher K3 Power Control review.

5. Best Budget

The K2 Classic is one of Kärcher’s entry-level pressure washers. Alongside the main unit, you get a high-pressure spray gun and two interchangeable lances. One produces a standard fan spray, while the rotating Dirt Blaster lance targets tougher surfaces like paving or stone.

During testing, we noticed the K2 runs fairly loudly. That won’t necessarily matter much when you quickly rinse mud from your bike, if you’re likely to be using it for a longer session, we’d recommend some ear protection to make it more comfortable.

The K2 removes heavy mud quickly and works particularly well on tyres and deep tread patterns, thanks to the extra cleaning power it offers.

For the price, it offers good value for money. It also doubles as a useful household tool for cleaning gutters, fascias, paving and other outdoor surfaces. It costs slightly less than the portable and battery-powered OC3 unit from Karcher and can be connected to a tap for unlimited water supply, so if you want more power and don’t need it to be portable, the K2 is worth considering.

For more info, check out our full review of the Karcher K2 Classic.

How to choose the best pressure washer for bikes

• Water source: built-in tank vs hose connection - Decide where you’ll clean your bike. Hose-fed washers suit home use and provide constant water flow, while models with built-in tanks work well for flats and car parks.
• Power source - Battery-powered washers are easily portable and usable off-grid. Mains-powered models usually deliver stronger cleaning performance and unlimited run time.
• Pressure vs flow rate - You don’t need high pressure for bikes. A steady flow rate of around 5–7 litres per minute is enough to lift dirt effectively without risking damage to bearings or seals.
• Pressure adjustment - Look for adjustable spray settings or interchangeable lances. Lower settings help to protect paint, suspension seals and hub bearings.
• Portability and storage - Compact washers suit small homes, flats or those who travel with their bikes. Larger wheeled units work better for garages or sheds.
• Water tank capacity - Portable washers vary in capacity. Smaller tanks will clean one bike per fill, while larger ones last longer, but add weight and bulk.
• Hose length and reach - A longer hose gives more freedom to move around the bike without dragging the main unit across the ground.
• Attachments and accessories - Foam lances, brushes and detergent bottles help apply bike cleaner more effectively and speed up the cleaning process.
• Noise level - Some pressure washers run louder than others. This might matter if you clean bikes early in the morning or near neighbours.
• Versatility - If you plan to clean cars, patios or garden furniture as well as bikes, choose a model with higher pressure and multiple spray settings.
• Bike-specific features - Bike-friendly washers often include low-pressure lances and foam sprayers designed for delicate components. They’re more convenient, but a light-duty general pressure washer can also work well.

Everything you need to know about the best pressure washers for bikes

How we test?

Testing is the backbone of the tech department at Cyclingnews and how we test is taken seriously, so read on to find out more.

We tested a total of eight pressure washers in a range of different scenarios, from muddy trail rides to commute dust and grime. We assessed each pressure washer for pressure control, battery life or power source, water efficiency, and bike-safe features like spray settings and accessory compatibility.

If you've got some of the best road bike tyres, and they are in good shape, you hopefully don't experience flats too often. This is especially true if you have switched to a set of the best tubeless tyres. Things happen though, and you need the right tools when you find yourself stopped on the side of the road. 

The Silca Tattico mini-pump is a product that made our list of the best bike pumps available in Bluetooth guise. At half the price, the non-Bluetooth version works in exactly the same way, just without the accompanying smartphone app and pressure gauge. We've spent some time with it and are ready to let you know all the ins and outs of using it. If you are looking for a new portable mini-pump then keep reading to see if the Silca Tattico should be on your shortlist of options.  

Design and aesthetics

The Silca Tattico is a 9.5 inch/~24 cm solid cylinder of aluminium in its closed form. In the centre, about as long as a closed hand, is a section that's thinner and smooth. 

Moving out from the centre towards the end of the pump is a flat aluminium bottom and a non-functional band of rubber with a couple of Silca logos. On either side of the central smooth section is a knurled hand grip. This lower section doesn't move. 

Head in the opposite direction towards the top of the pump, and you'll see the same knurled grip. Depending on how you look at it, this is the moving part of the pump. You'll encounter a piece of rubber that marks the transition from the smooth section to the grip and this piece moves. Push it against the grip and it will seal out any foreign material while keeping the pump from opening.

At the top is the last external piece of rubber, that acts as a domed cover for where you open the pump, and where the chuck is tucked inside. The initial view is that of aluminium threads, which allow you to unthread the chuck and flip it in case you need to fill a Schrader valve. Whatever you might think, the chuck is not supposed to be threaded into the pump.

Instead of trying to unscrew it, just pull it out. As it comes out, you'll see the lock that works like a floor pump you'd use at home. From there you get a short section of rubber hose. If you have a need to clean and re-lube the pump, extend it fully and there's a nut in the centre that once unthreaded allows the pump to come apart for service.

The hose and chuck are stored inside the air chamber of the pump. That keeps the closed shape smaller. It also means when replacing it that you can't put your finger over the air outlet as it needs to displace the air inside of the pump to occupy the space. Just a small design detail that changes the way you might naturally use the piece.

Performance

The Silca Tattico keeps the parts of the pump that work to inflate a tyre internally protected. Even if it doesn’t see much actual use and lots of weather, it should continue to work when you need it. When you do have occasion to reach for it, the pump feels solid and comfortable in hand. Using a hose to connect to the valve means no need to worry about movement as you pump the tyre up and the chuck itself is easy to attach and secure once locked. 

Silca claims that there's an internal air gap that will protect the exterior from heating up. I did not find that to be completely true. It does heat up although it's not hot, just warm. Starting from flat, I first tried a 40mm tyre, and after about 40 pumps you start to feel some resistance. By 60 pumps it's not easy to pump anymore, but much less of a struggle compared to other small pumps. Getting to 50psi on the 40mm tyres took about 150 pumps. Next, I jumped over to a smaller set of 25mm tyres and in that case, I stopped at somewhere around 175 pumps and 80psi.

In both cases if I hadn't been checking the pressure against a Topeak D2x digital pressure gauge I would have stopped long before. 50psi on a 40mm and 80psi on a 25mm tyre felt like a rock and even at home with a floor pump it's more than I'd inflate them. I was curious to see if I could keep going, and I could. The pump gets warm but not hot, and while I wouldn't call it easy at 150 pumps it's not a huge struggle either. Silca claims it will handle 100psi and I imagine if anyone had reason to do that, it would be possible. 

When you don’t have a gauge in hand and you are matching 30psi on a gravel tyre by feeling it’s incredibly fast to get there. Using the Silca Tattico on a ride with an actual flat tyre, the first thing I did was add air to the tyre with the hope that the sealant had done its job. After a bit of pumping, I was hearing air escape. A few minutes with a Dynaplug and it was time to put the pump back to use. Long before my arm felt tired, the tyre was ready to go and I was back to riding. It’s easy to get the chuck on and off and fast to use. The experience was as good as anyone could hope.

Verdict

You take your pump with you on every single ride with every bike. For years your mini-pump endures everything you do on a bike but hopefully it sees very little actual use. When you eventually pull it out though, it has to work. The Silca Tattico is solid aluminium with the internals well protected. If you need to disassemble it for cleaning or repair, it's possible. 

In testing, the numbers show it takes quite a few pumps to get to high pressures. In use though it's fast to get to the numbers you need to get home. As long as you remember you don't need to unthread the chuck from the body of the pump you'll be back to riding quickly if you've got a Silca Tattico with you.

Tech Specs: Silca Tattico 

• Price: £51 / $65 / €58.95 / AU$89.99
• Frame Bracket included: Yes
• Max Pressure: 100psi
• Closed Length: 9.5in
• Weight: 165g
• Compatible valve type: Reversible for Presta or Schrader

Silca is a bit of a one-stop shop when it comes to super high-quality products, from pumps to lubes, the brand's strive for perfection is the same. Silca’s attention has recently turned to 3D printing, utilising the new possibilities this manufacturing process opens up to begin developing new products.

Silca began its 3D printed titanium project with Mensola computer mount which was launched earlier in the year, and it has now focused its machines on producing a range of ultra-premium 3D printed titanium tools, the tools on offer include a chain whip, lockring tool and machinist hammer. 

Design and aesthetics

The initial outlay for these tools means Silca is primarily aiming these at the travelling pro mechanic. While it might be the riders on course doing the actual bike racing, that doesn’t mean it’s any less competitive in the pits. Pro-mechanics are a special breed, highly creative and knowledgeable they continually strive for the best. While most of their time is spent servicing and optimising bike setup, they do have a little free time to work on other things, and so began #toolboxwars.

For those unaware of #toolboxwars, it started as a bit of fun between mechanics as they showed off the tools of their trade. This quickly became a game of one-upmanship where setups became more optimised, personalised and the tools became the crowning jewels. 

There are plenty of brands offering ultra-premium tools, too, but for those mechanics looking for the lightest setup, Silca has to be the way to go. We aren’t talking marginal gains here either, Silca claims that its trio of tools will knock around 450g off other equivalent lightweight sets. 

The finish of the tools has a very raw quality about them. While some premium tooling goes for smooth and weighted, Silca’s tools feel ultra stripped back and minimalist. The handles gently widen towards the end to give a comfortable grip and have a slightly textured feel adding some additional purchase. The bottom of each handle are flattened and have the Silca logo subtly embossed on the end, this is the only branding on the tools. At the business end, the lockring tool’s splines are sharp with the Shimano/SRAM and Campagnolo ends sandwiching a cross beam supported midsection. This central cross-beam section is also used on the hammer. The chain whip’s teeth are rounded in design to mimic the shape of a chain to provide purchase on a cassette. Attached is a gold section of the chain, which gives a pleasing contrast to the grey finish, with hollow pins and cut-outs in the link plates as weight saving is everything here. 

Object of Desire series

• Rapha Explore Powerweave shoes
• Campagnolo-equipped Pinarello Dogma F12 Disc
• Rotor ALDHU Carbon cranks
• Mathieu Van der Poel's race suit
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• Rapha Classic shoes
• CeramicSpeed 3D-printed Ti OSPW system
• Rapha x Palace POC Ventral Spin helmet
• Corima 47mm MCC DX tubular wheels
• Selle Italia Flite Boost MVDP Edition saddle
• AbsoluteBlack Hollowcage Carbon Ceramic Oversized pulley cage

Specifications 

All three items are 3D printed from a hardened 6Al/4V Titanium and have a combined weight of just 245g, 160g for the hammer, 80g for the chain whip and a staggering svelt 45g for the lockring tool. The chain whip is 11-speed compatible and uses eight links of TiN YBN 11-speed chain. To add strength, the 28cm handle has an internal spiral riffle which has been added to bolster the handle. The lock ring tool has the same handle design and is compatible with both Shimano/SRAM and Campagnolo lockrings.

The Titanium Machinist Hammer is also made from titanium and uses a hollow head filled with stainless steel and fine tungsten grit to increase impact strength. For hitting delicate things, there is a hard rubber side on the other side.

Silca sent us the chain whip and lockring tool and when holding the tools in your hand it’s hard to believe that something so lightweight could possibly function properly as a workshop tool. Silca does make it clear that these are to be your Sunday best and as such, should only be used when working on your best bikes. If you think you might need to pull out the breaker bar to get the cassette off your winter bike, these aren’t the tools for the job. 

They aren’t a showpiece though, we know that 3D printing titanium is able to produce extremely light yet functional products, check out the Titanum MyTi 3D-printed titanium pedals which despite a feathery 102g for the pair, are rated for the rigours of cross-country mountain biking. In the case of the lockring tool, while the titanium used may not be as hard as other super-premium tools, Silca claims that it’s four to six times harder and stronger than the aluminium used in high-end lockrings. 

That said, we are yet to bring ourselves to use them in anger, however, once we have a reason to remove a cassette we are looking forward to trying them out. Until then they will be kept near my desk to be occasionally picked up to marvel in their lightness and design.

Early impressions

Ultimately, for most tool swingers, Silca’s Titanium shop tools are going to be pretty hard to justify, especially considering that this set of three tools is more expensive than most comprehensive home tool kits from the likes of Park Tool and Unior. For professional mechanics and people who have a real love of tools then these are some truly aspirational pieces. Unless you are lugging your tool kit around, the weight savings of the tools are meaningless but that doesn’t change how wonderfully premium they feel as soon as you pick one of them up. These tools will not be the workhorses of your tool kit but they are going to feel special when you do, plus you will get to revel in the reactions of friends and colleagues when you hand them a 45g lockring tool.    

If these ultra-premium, made to order 3D printed titanium workshop tools aren’t personal enough, Silca offers the option to get some text of your choice engraved onto the handles. 

The tools are available directly from the Silca website and can be purchased individually for $150 a piece. The chain whip and lockring set we have here comes in at $275 and the full range will set you back $399. Want that aforementioned personalised touch? Silca charges $25 whether it’s one or three tools, which is actually pretty reasonable if you are getting the full set.   

Tech Specs: Silca Titanium shop tools

• Price: $150 each ($399 for the full set)
• Weight: 80g Chain Whip, 45g Lockring Tool, 160g Hammer
• Material: Titanium

Muc-Off has today unveiled the latest product in its line-up, an all-new raceday lubrication, which it claims is the fastest in the world. 

Known as Ludicrous AF, the new product flies in the face of the recent trend toward wax-based lubricants, and the brand makes bold claims about its performance. 

According to Muc-Off, as the chain is used, the molecules of the Ludicrous AF lubricant react with its surface, leading to the creation of a 'fluid sheer plane' that helps to reduce friction and thus power loss. It is also said to be consistent in both wet and dry conditions, and its formula is bio-degradable and made from renewable sources.

It was developed in conjunction with Ineos Grenadiers and was used by Egan Bernal during this year's Giro d'Italia win. 

"We’ve had many trips to Poole to spend time in the workshop with Muc-Off’s scientists and engineers," explained Carsten Jeppesen, Technical Director at Ineos Grenadiers. "It’s always inspiring to meet their Head of R&D. He always has ideas for development, and we bring ideas from the team. Our partnership with Muc-Off has always been a really good case study, not only for how we operate as a team, but also for how they operate as a company." 

The performance claims

Over the past year, radical claims have come from two of Muc-Off's biggest competitors in the race chain lubrication segment: AbsoluteBlack's Graphene lube and CeramicSpeed UFO Drip, both of which are considered among the best bike chain lubes available.

Pitting its Ludicrous AF lube against both of those as well as Silca's Synergetic Drip Lube, Muc-Off makes equally lofty claims, stating that it requires five, 18 and 195 per cent less power than Silca, AbsoluteBlack and CeramicSpeed respectively - results that it achieved during a three-hour dyno test on new chains.

While not quantifying that in terms of a watt saving, Muc-Off also claims that after running in each chain for six hours, the results continue to impress, albeit the savings drop to three, 15- and 124 per cent respectively. 

But having a fast chain is only half of the process, and it's no use if it only lasts an hour before the friction returns. To that end, Muc-Off says that Ludicrous AF is designed to penetrate deep into chain links, and has 'self-lubricating capabilities' which are said to aid durability and deliver long-lasting, repeatable performance. 

To quantify this, Muc-Off performed wear testing across the same four products, where it said that Ludicrous AF once again came out on top, with Silca coming a close second. 

However, Muc-Off knows that its own testing will always be taken with a giant pinch of salt, so the brand sought out independent testing from New Motion Labs.

In these tests, Ludicrous AF was once again crowned victorious, with an average efficiency score of 96.3 per cent, rising to 97.1 per cent after being 'conditioned' at 300 watts for three hours. 

This was an average over power output ranging from 100 to 1,100 watts, at cadences between 60 and 140 rpm. Silca once again slotted into second place with a score of 95.2 per cent. 

Price and availability

A 50ml bottle of Ludicrous AF will be sold at £49.99 / €64.99 / $64.99. 

That price puts it just shy of £1 per millilitre ($1.29 / €1.29), which is even steeper than AbsoluteBlack's GraphenLube's 82p / $1.04 per ml - a price that we described as astounding at its launch last year. 

Nonetheless, if every last watt counts to you no matter the cost, you can get your hands on it directly from Muc-Off.com or from selected retailers.

Choosing the best bike pump is very much dependent on your tire inflation needs. If you're looking for a pump to quickly top up your tires before you head out the door, you'll likely want a floor pump. 

Punctures are a pet peeve for any cyclist. They can strike at any time no matter how robust your tires might be - even chunky mountain bike tires aren't immune.

Having a good pump at hand is important to avoid being stranded at the side of the road or sitting at home unable to go for a ride because of a flat tire. Floor pumps are the best for big inflation duties, be that at home or in the car park before a race. 

Otherwise known as track pumps, floor pumps are the most efficient method for inflating tires at home. With a wide steady base, a large air chamber and being able to use your weight to push the handle makes inflation much quicker and easier than a handheld pump. Floor pumps also have long hoses, which makes reaching valves simple, even if a bike is mounted on a work stand. 

Most floor pumps will include a pressure gauge so that tire pressure can be set up accurately. An analogue gauge is simple and easy to read, however, some offer digital gauges for easier reading. 

As the forces that are put through floor pumps are greater than hand pumps, investing in a high-quality pump - rather than cheaper plastic designs - is worthwhile. Often, high-end brands will offer spare parts and replacement seals should you need to service your floor pump.

Before the holidays, a press release from a popular bike maintenance brand touting its shiny new aerosol spray on chain lube landed in my inbox, and I groaned loud enough that my partner, who was sitting across the room, asked me what happened. Spray on chain lube is one of the worst ideas the bike industry has ever come up with, and I wish we could collectively put an end to it once and for all.

Aerosols sprays no longer contain the chlorofluorocarbons that ripped a hole in the ozone layer, and they are handy for certain jobs, whether making sure your skin is covered in an even coat of mosquito spray or de-stinking your pain cave after a sweaty indoor ride. On the bike, an errant spray can blow the grease off of something that needs to be greased or put oil on something that should never be oiled, they are wholly unnecessary.

• Best bike chain lube
• Best bike multi-tools
• Best bike repair stands

When it comes to spray-on chain lube, the latter is a real risk. Especially with the proliferation of disc brakes across every category of bike, the extra work you make for yourself by contaminating your brake pads or coating your rotors with chain lube is immense. Even the oil from your hands can affect braking performance, so what do you think an oily blast from a spray-can will do? 

Either way, I hope you have spare brake pads, plenty of brake cleaner, sandpaper and lots of clean rags handy. For the #teamrimbrake crowd, it’s not as big a deal to decontaminate a rim brake track and pads, but it’s definitely maintenance that can be avoided altogether with the non-aerosol version if the exact same lube. 

Depending on your lube of choice, even the more viscous options can be hard to guide every drop onto the chain rollers without a drip or two finding its way onto your frame and garage floor. Putting an aerosol accelerant behind it, and sending a shotgun blast in the general vicinity of your chain sounds like an expensive way to make a slipping hazard on your floor, and creates extra work cleaning the mist of oil that didn’t hit your chain. Even in the glossy marketing imagery for spray-on chain lube, you can see clear as day how little actually ends up on the chain, and how much ends up on everything else — like in the photo above.

Worse still is that it doesn’t lube your chain all that well. The entire point of chain lubricant is to reduce the friction between moving surfaces so each link will actuate around your chainrings, cassette, and through the jockey wheels efficiently, loaded with hundreds of pounds of force as you grind up and hill, sprint for a town sign or spin along at high cadence.

Your chain is made up of four components: inner plates, outer places, a roller, and a pin. The pin is riveted to the outer plate, which passes through the inner plate with a roller in the middle. While no part of the outer plate as the chain spins, the inner plate rotates around the pin and the inside of the roller — so that’s where you need your lubricant to end up. 

These voids are tiny, and even the best bike chain lubes are fighting an uphill battle relying on capillary action and the articulation of the chain to seep into the right places. When you’re precisely dripping lube onto each roller, it gives the solution the best possible chance to soak down deep into the chain. 

Knowing this, it should come as no surprise that just about every independent test friction test we were able to find, spray on lubes were not only slower than the same exact formula in drip lube, but also motor oil and Vaseline.

When you are indiscriminately spraying lubrication on and around the chain, a good portion of what’s delivered will coat the non-moving components that don’t need lubrication, if it hits the chain at all. Worse, if you neglect to properly wipe down the chain, or anything else that was in the blast radius, it’s going to be a magnet for grit and grime. So again, this is more cleaning that is totally avoidable.

I will be the first to admit the bike industry does a lot of annoying things, from standards that are anything but standard, to incompatible parts and things that are horrendously overpriced for what they offer. But spray-on chain lube really grinds my gears, and if you use aerosol chain lube, it will make yours grind too because it’s not actually lubricating your chain. 

The all-new Karcher K3 Power Control is a supremely versatile pressure washer that’s as good at cleaning your bike as it is your car or patio — it’s really versatile.

If you really must have a pressure washer that’s been created specifically for cleaning bikes, then you might be interested in the Muc-Off pressure washer we reviewed at the beginning of last year but it's not that much cheaper.

But we think the Karcher K3 Power Control is every bit as bike-friendly (it’s just not advertised so), plus it’s easier to use, it’s got more power than the Muc-Off pressure washer (120 bar max versus 70 bar max for the Muc-Off), so you can clean more than just your bike with it, and the looks are more appealing for most. 

One of the best things about the new Karcher K3 is the addition of the Power Control system, which allows you to easily adjust the power of the K3 on the fly and see, in real-time via the display (LCD) built into the handle, which pressure setting is being used at all times.

Want the lowest power setting that’s specifically tailored to bikes? Just twist the nozzle and the LCD screen will light up level 1 on the gauge, so you know it’s safe to use. Need a bit more power? Then twist to a harder setting and the gauge will go up to two more levels of power. 

Alternatively, a very handy ultra-low power ‘Mixer’ setting enables you to fill up your shampoo bucket without getting water spray everywhere.

Unlike the Muc-Off pressure washer, there’s no need to muck around (ahem) with connecting and disconnecting different lances when you want to adjust the settings.

• Pressure washer for bikes
• The importance of drivetrain maintenance

Design and aesthetics

The K3 is built well (as all Karcher pressure washers are, in our experience) and it’s also quite compact, so it’s easy to store when not in use. The built-in handle and wheels allow you to easily move it around, although at just 4.4kg, it’s easy enough to just use the regular handle and carry it to where you want to.

It’s also easy to set up the first time — just plug it into the mains, connect your garden hose for water, then plug the high-pressure hose into the K3 (easy enough once you figure out you need to release the locking mechanism!) and then into the gun. 

Both the hose and the cable have plenty of length to allow you to reach wherever you’re working.

Included with the K3 is the adjustable Vario Power spray lance, and you also get a Dirt Blaster spray lance which is specifically for cleaning stubborn dirt on patios. 

There’s an integrated water filter as well as a removable detergent tank, for when you want to give the patio or decking a clean. As with the Muc-Off pressure washer, there’s no snow foam attachment included. 

We think this is pretty essential for helping to shift dirt before getting stuck in with the wash mitt. You can, of course, buy it separately for £32.99, with a litre bottle of foam shampoo included, which isn’t especially cheap.

As with the Muc-Off pressure washer, the K3 is a strictly home-only affair, due to the need for mains power and an external water supply. Bosch recently released the Fontus, a lithium battery-powered portable pressure washer with a built-in 15L water tank, which is much more suited to that task, if that’s what you’re after.

Performance and cleaning capabilities

At the bike-specific pressure setting, the lance puts out a stream of water that’s akin to a more powerful setting on a regular garden hose spray — that is, not especially powerful, so you can use it to rid your bike of muck without worrying about stripping grease from bearings.

If your bike is particularly dirty and has been stationary for some time, you might find the dirt a bit too stubborn for the lower pressure. Provided you’re careful about where you aim the lance, we found the higher (medium) setting was preferable for getting rid of mud that wouldn’t shift on the lowest setting.

Unless you’re after a completely touch-less wash, once you’ve completed the initial rinse, you can always go in with some shampoo/all-purpose cleaner afterwards to really get it properly clean (or a snow foam beforehand helps).

As you might expect, the K3 is just as effective at cleaning cars, as it is bikes, though again we found that it was possible to go up a couple of notches on the Power Control screen for a bit more cleaning power. You just need to make sure you don’t get too close to the object you’re spraying, or spend too long on one area.

The K3 also has a companion app which you can download onto your smartphone (for Android or iOS). Once you’ve inputted your model into the app, it tells you which power setting to use depending on the type of thing you’re cleaning. 

There’s also a useful step-by-step guide to show you how to clean whatever it is — the bike-specific guide was admittedly quite handy, but it’s unlikely you’ll use the app again once you’ve got the hang of the settings.

The more expensive models come with Bluetooth, so you can actually change the settings of the pressure washer via the app, but we think that’s total overkill, especially when it’s easy enough to do so on the actual machine itself.

• Best pressure washers for mountain bikers
• Best chain lubes for road, gravel and MTB

Verdict

The K3’s £149.99 price tag puts in the higher end of the pressure washer price spectrum but there’s definitely a lot to like here, given that you can clean your bike, car, patio or whatever. There’s plenty of power for more stubborn applications, and due to the handy Power Control system, it’s easy to quickly tailor the pressure of the K3 to suit what you’re cleaning, so you know it’s perfectly safe to use.

The other advantage of the K3 is that there are loads of attachments available, so it really can be a one-stop cleaning solution around the home.

• Aqua2Go Pro washer review
• RinseKit bike pressure washer review
• Mobi V-15 pressure washer review

Tech Specs: Karcher K3 pressure washer

• Weight: 4.4kg
• Power source: Mains
• Price: £149.99

Choosing the best bike pump is very much dependent on your tyre inflation needs. A floor pump is fast, but cannot be taken with you on a ride. A mini pump is portable but slow to inflate. A Co2 inflator is portable and fast, and the go-to choice for many cyclists. 

Punctures are a pet peeve for any cyclist. They can strike at any time no matter how robust your tyres might be - even chunky mountain bike tyres aren't immune. Having a Co2 inflator at hand is important for fast tyre inflation when at the roadside. 

CO2 inflators are the best bike pumps for those looking for one-time effortless inflation at the roadside. CO2 canisters offer a huge benefit in convenience and speed as well as being very packable in a jersey pocket or saddlebag. Small canisters of compressed carbon dioxide connect to an adaptor and deliver a powerful blast of inflation. 

Being able to inflate a tyre in a matter of seconds can be crucial mid-sportive or at the side of the road in the freezing rain. A 16g canister will happily inflate a road tyre to around 90psi and if you have larger volume tyres there are 20g and 25g options available.

As CO2 canisters provide a finite amount of inflation, you're reliant on having enough cartridges, so consider whether CO2 is the most practical for your ride or a mini-pump should also be taken for backup. An element of care must be considered when using CO2, the discharge of gas will freeze the outside of the canister and unless protected by a cover or gloves, your skin will stick to the metal. The cost factor and waste must also be considered due to the throwaway nature of emptied canisters.

2020 has been the year multi-tools have started adding tubeless puncture sealing skills to their resume and Topeak has just launched its Tubi 11 and Tubi 18 tools. They’re a typically high-quality set of tools from the German brand but you’ll still need to pocket an 8mm Allen key and a chain splitter if you want full trailside repair capability.

The conventional tool roster includes 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6mm Allen keys, T10/T25 Torx wrenches and a Philips screwdriver, all made from stainless steel to combat rusting and they are all really accurately sized for clean, secure connections.

• Best bike multi-tools: Fix your bike on the go with these multi-tools

The penknife format also includes a fork ended plug insertion tool/tyre reamer, a detachable plastic hole plug to help keep the air in while you sort out the plugs and tools and a short locking knife blade for trimming the excess plug off. You also get three 3.5mm plug rubbers and a detachable collar for the plug tool inside a plastic tray that slides out of an alloy extension plate.

Unlike a lot of tubeless tools, the fork is actually big enough to slide the rubber plugs into, but not so tight they pull straight back out again and not so big it tears a gaping hole in more fragile tyres. The collar to help stop it punching too far through and damaging the rim tape or other side of the tyre is a neat touch too, although a bit of a faff to unclip and mount onto the tool. Both plug fork and cutting blade also automatically lock into place when extended to save nasty accidents.

That means it’s well on it’s way to being a really useful tool for riders using the best gravel tyres, but the lack of 8mm Hex key and chain tool definitely let it down. Hopefully, a Tubi ‘20-something’ is on the way or you could just buy a Mini PT30 tool for a few quid/bucks more and pop some tubeless plug strips in the neoprene case with it.

Tech specs: Topeak Tubi 18 multi-tool

• Price: £36.99 / $44.95
• Size: 7.5 x 4 x 2cm
• Weight: 123g
• Colours: Gold, Silver, Black

Considered as one of the major proponents of the best bike multi-tools sphere, Topeak’s mastery of mini tools as hit new miniaturisation levels with the tiny-but-totally-comprehensive Mini PT30. 

Performance

With a conventional tool roster of 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8mm Allen keys, 10mm Allen socket, T10, T15, and T25 Torx wrenches, 15g/14g/Mavic M7 and Shimano 4.5mm spoke wrenches, chain tool, and Phillips & flathead screwdrivers, the PT30 will take pretty much any mechanical in its stride. The tools are all really good, accurately-sized stainless steel pieces too but where it gets really impressive are the cunning extras.

The T15 includes a rasp surface to do double duty as a tire reamer, there’s a tubeless tyre plug inserting tool and even a super stubby knife/saw for trimming the plug - so that’s tubeless tyre fixing sorted. The blade locks into place too so while it’s super short it’s genuinely useful for trimming zip ties or other slicing and whittling duties.

The chain tool needs to be unbolted (you wind out the rivet driving pin) before using but not only does it have a master link holder built into the handle (you supply your own links) but you also get a detachable hook to hold the chain together while you work on it. The chain link cover also works as a disc brake pad spacer but our favourite bit has to be the master link release bolt. Slide your double-backed chain into the chain tool handle with your stubborn master link at the top and a small captured bolt in the tool frame pushes a sliding metal tab that squeezes the link together and releases it. That’s something we’ve never seen before and shows why Topeak deserves its reputation as true innovators rather than just headline chasing gimmick gear producers.

While the tools are very stiff to start with, loosening the cage bolts fractionally makes the tool more useable and you even get a neoprene pouch to keep it clean. The only thing it doesn’t have is leverage for big jobs like loosening pedals and a bottle opener for celebrating how brilliant it is.

Verdict

Genuinely brilliant miniature toolbox with bonus tubeless irons and master link management genius. 

Tech specs: Topeak Mini PT30 multi-tool 

•  Price: $49.95 / £39.99 / AU$79.99
•  Weight: 170g 
•  Size: 7.5 x 4 x 2cm 

CeramicSpeed has unveiled an all-new UFO Drip chain lube formula that replicates melt-on waxes in an easy-to-apply drip on formula. 

According to the brand, the new chain lube is over 15 per cent faster than the outgoing UFO Drip, but more importantly, it claims to be faster than any of its rivals on the market. The graph below outlines CeramicSpeed's findings from a five-hour friction test. Throughout the test, the new UFO drip consistently matched or outperformed its contemporaries, with losses of between 2.5 and 3.5 watts over the five-hour period. This performance trumped competitors by up to 3.5 watts and was matched most closely by AbsoluteBlack's GraphenLube. 

• Best bike chain lubes

10,500km per bottle

In addition to this increase in efficiency, the lubricant is said to be 50 per cent longer-lasting than its predecessor, with CeramicSpeed claiming a lifespan of up to 300km per application. The 180ml bottle is said to offer more than 35 applications, which equates to 10,500km. 

Despite this increase in both efficiency and longevity, CeramicSpeed has also taken the step to reduce the price from €70.00 to a more attainable €40.00. This still dwarfs many everyday chain lubes we've tested, but it's far from the most expensive on the market - AbsoluteBlack takes that crown. 

The application works similarly to any other drip lubricant, however, once applied, it will need to stand overnight to allow it to harden. Once dry, the chain is clean to the touch and is said to offer protection against the elements for riders of all disciplines, on- or off-road. 

If CeramicSpeed's claims are to be believed, then this bottle looks like a good investment for those looking to optimise their drivetrain efficiency without the headaches of application. 

Of all the different components on your bike, the chain is one of its hardest workers. It’s essential for keeping your pedals and wheels turning smoothly, and your gears shifting efficiently. The constant metal-on-metal contact between the chain and the gear sprockets means that it eventually wears down, which causes slippage when you try to shift gear. While the chain itself isn’t the most expensive thing to replace, it’s important to maintain it the best you can, as a wearing chain will also wear down other, more expensive, parts of the bike’s drivetrain.

One of the best things you can do to help your chain last as long as possible is to keep it lubed. Lubrication helps reduce the friction caused by the metal-on-metal contact, and essentially forms a barrier between your chain and sprockets to stop them from wearing each other out.

Failing to lubricate your chain regularly will not only lead to early wearing out of the drivetrain, but also risks corrosion and rust.

To help keep your bike ticking over smoothly, here’s our guide to what you should look for when choosing the right chain lube for your bike, and also a list of our top picks.

What to look for

There are so many different types of chain lube that it can be overwhelming to choose the right one for your bike. There are wet lubes, dry lubes, wax lubes and ceramic lubes. Most contain synthetic oils, plus additives like PTFE (Teflon) to reduce friction. Each of them has its own advantages intended use, which we’ll break down for you here.

The right price

While you may not want to spend a fortune on chain lube, it’s worth understanding how the cost of a bottle fits into the overall cost of maintaining a drivetrain. Once your chain is worn, or your drivetrain is rusted, you’ll need to replace not just the chain, but also the gear sprockets and the chain rings on the front. This is where it can get expensive.

So, a cheap lube could end up costing you a lot more in the long term, if it results in poor efficiency and more drivetrain wear. Investing in something that does the best job, will help you keep your drivetrain running for longer, saving you money in the long run.

Weather conditions

Which lube you use on your bike will depend on the kind of weather conditions you’re cycling in. For example, dry lubes are designed for riding in dry conditions. The lubricant has a lower viscosity, which basically means that about 90 percent of the fluid will evaporate after some use, leaving about 10 percent oil behind. This is fine when the weather is perfect and dry, but if you do get caught out by the rain, or wind up riding through lots of puddles, it will very quickly wash away and need topping up. One of the other advantages though, is that dry lube is less likely to attract grime from the road, so you won’t need to clean your chain as often.

Wet lubes, on the other hand, are designed for wet weather conditions. They have a much higher viscosity (meaning more oils), and should last longer as a result, because it won’t simply get washed away. However, it does leave your chain feeling sticky, which makes it a magnet for dirt and grime, especially when you’ve applied too much. This leads to many more chain cleanings as a result. Your best bet is to apply it sparingly and wipe off any excess afterwards.

 Materials 

As well as weather-specific lubes, there are other types available, such as those made from wax and ceramic particles. These have their own advantages that are worth considering.

Ceramic lubes are designed to increase performance, so you may want to give these a try if you’re racing, for example. They’re claimed to contain tiny ceramic particles, which are meant to reduce friction even better than the synthetic oils found in wet and dry lubes. They’re more expensive, but if they increase efficiency as much as they’re supposed to, this means your drivetrain will last a lot longer as a result, saving you money in the long-term.

There are also wax-based lubes, made with paraffin wax particles and PTFE. The thinking behind wax lube is that it forms a hard layer that’s almost dry, and significantly reduces the friction on the chain. This not only increases the drivetrain’s efficiency, but also prevents contaminants from sticking to the chain and working their way inside. The only word of warning if you do decide to go for a wax lube, is that your chain needs to be exceptionally clean and dry before application. This means even a brand new chain out of the box needs to be completely stripped of grease and oil.

Choosing the best bike pump is very much dependent on your tire inflation needs. If you're heading out into the wilderness, the portability and never-ending air supply of a mini-pump will be your best bet. 

Mini-pumps are the best bike pumps for those looking for portability and repeated inflation. They are a pocket friendly evolution of the classic frame pump. While the frame pump has its advantages, a mini-pump is much easier to carry, and can be mounted beside the bottle cage for easy reach.

Pumps will attach to the valve with either a built-in valve head or a flexible hose stored inside the pump body. While screw-on hoses can present an extra fiddly stage, they reduce the stress on the valve itself and allow a more comfortable pumping position.

Mini-pumps are available in high-volume and high-pressure options. With high volume being designed for mountain bikes and the high-pressure road-specific models that are capable of reaching 100psi and beyond.

While mini-pumps excel as practical and reusable offerings they can require a lot of effort to reach the desired tire pressures due to their small chamber size and slim shapes.

AbsoluteBlack has added a new graphene-based chain lube product to its portfolio, and with it comes huge claims of efficiency, impressive watt savings, and an astoundingly high price.

The cycling brand best known for its oval chainrings has developed a new hydrocarbon lubricant containing graphene. AbsoluteBlack claims that its formulation has outstanding durability per application, delivering reduced friction for prolonged periods of use.

Two years in development, the 'graphenlube' is bereft of toxic solvents, using a wax-based water emulsion with an inherently superior resistance to moisture to thwart chain friction.

Correctly applied, the durability claims are tremendous. AbsoluteBlack says that a single application of its new lubricant will last effectively for up to 1800km of riding. Enabling this lubrication endurance is graphene, which has a low friction coefficient and can successfully fill all those minuscule surface imperfections on your drivetrain, preventing abrasion.

Graphene also repels water and resists oxidation, reducing rust exposure on your chain. Due to its incredible strength, even a single atom layer of graphene can be an extremely effective lubricant additive. AbsoluteBlack's control testing has seen this new lubricant record a claimed energy saving of up to seven watts.

AbsoluteBlack is marketing its new graphene lubricant in two volumes. The 14ml canister retails for £11.99 ($14.95) and 140ml of AbsoluteBLACK graphene lube, prices at £114.99 ($145.95).

Are you after an expensive, one-of-a-kind track pump for your garage? We've found the perfect example on eBay: a Pegoretti Ciavete-version Silca SuperPista Ultimate. Oh, and it really is expensive.

Some people get misty-eyed over frame-fitting pumps – a throwback to refined, gentlemanly roadside mechanics, deemed a world away from frenetic mini-pump activity or, heaven forbid, CO2 cartridges.

And then there are track pumps: those upright, reliable, workshop-style pumps that perfectly and easily inflate your tyres to the desired pressure from the confines of your own home – or garage. They tend to be a little on the pricier side, but follow that maxim of 'buy well, buy once', and a decent one should last you for many years, if not forever.

And they don't get much better than this Pegoretti Ciavete-version Silca SuperPista Ultimate. Many of our 'eBay Finds' here on Cyclingnews are second-hand or NOS (new old stock), but this is, in fact, a new product, according to the seller. We'll 'discuss' the price of this eBay listing at the end.

This beautiful pump marries a Silca SuperPista Ultimate track pump with a design by famous Italian framebuilder and painter Dario Pegoretti, who passed away in 2018.

Silca – the famous Italian pump manufacturer that was bought and became US-based in 2013 – have a great selection of track pumps available, and you can currently get this special, slightly cheaper, Richard Sachs version of the SuperPista Ultimate on the company's website for US$800, too.

The 'final edition' in the details from this US-based eBay seller refers to the fact that there aren't going to be any more of these made, although its stunning Ciavete paint job – Pegoretti's one-of-a-kind paint option for their custom frames – ensures that this really is a one-off anyway. Ciavete is a kind of dismissive, one-word phrase in Pegoretti's own Trentino dialect that means something along the lines of "forget it", or "whatever!"

So if you like the sound of that, and either you – or someone you know – qualify as 'a cyclist who has everything', here's the point at which you baulk: the pump is listed on eBay for US$49,999 (£40,150), which could buy you a pretty decent car. Or, even better, a good few top-notch bikes – perhaps even a custom-made Pegoretti frame, with the company still operating out of Verona.

We're constantly on the lookout for unique and rare cycling relics on eBay. If you have any suggestions or leads, please send them to cyclingnews@cyclingnews.com with 'eBay Finds' in the subject line.

Mobi’s V-15 is a compact low pressure washer that carries enough water for cleaning multiple bikes before heading home but it’s not without some potential grumbles.

Construction

While the bigger Mobi V-17 (£149.99) has a built-in battery, the Mobi V-15 is powered from a 12V ‘cigarette lighter’ connection to your car/van. That means it can be much lighter and more compact and it still holds 15 litres of water. It’s not insulated but if you fill it with hot water it’s still tepid after a few hours if you’re using it to wash yourself or your dog.

There is two mesh side pocket for the hose, nozzle/gun and the brush attachment, but we’d keep the 12V lead in your van to stop it getting wet/dirty. You also need to be careful plugging in/unplugging the hose as the spigot is right next to the power cable connection.

We’ve also heard reports of screws not being tight and units leaking from hoses or the filler cap so check for proper assembly before you fill it. Because there’s no pull handle (and the carry handle is too low down to be comfortable he tiny wheels don’t really do anything useful besides making it more likely to slide around in your car/van. The tall, narrow design also makes it more likely to fall over too and together with the potential for leaks that makes storing it securely for transport a good idea.

Performance

The first time we used the Mobi we just relied on the battery of our van and the results were frankly pathetic, with just a light drizzle coming out of the nozzle. Turn the engine on though and it’ll produce a much more useful pressure and flow. It’s still not jet wash strength but the focusable spray is enough to get a filthy bike that’s still wet, relatively presentable without endangering precious bearings. It’ll shift baked on grime eventually if you soak it with bike cleaner first and get the supplied brush involved too. Don’t bother trying to stick it on the nozzle like it looks as though you should as it falls off as soon as you touch the bike. The ‘long brush’ with built-in cleaning solution bottle has a proper attachment though. 

While it’s a fair old weight to lug around when full the 15 litre capacity means there’s enough to wash two mucky bikes, a dog thoroughly and still have spare water left to get the worst off shoes/shorts etc. If you accidentally break or lose the hose, connectors or nozzle then you can buy spares and there’s a replacement O-ring kit available as well. Relatively expensive official pricing on the washer and spares is generally significantly reduced in reality.

• Best pressure washers for mountain bikers
• Best chain lubes for road, gravel and MTB

Verdict

Mobi’s V-15 isn’t perfect. Getting descent pressure relies on you running the engine which isn’t fume or eco-friendly and the brush attachment only works handheld. There’s no convertor for running it from the mains at home either and QC can be variable. Other than that, the Mobi V-15 is a decent ‘bring-along’ cleaner with enough capacity to clean a couple of bikes and riding companions - it does everything well. 

Tech spec: Mobi V-15 pressure washer

• Capacity: 15L
• Weight: 4.3kg
• Power source: 12V Auto
• Price: £99.99

Muc-Off has built a very good business out of making bike maintenance look fun and funky, and now, they’ve taken aim at making the best pressure washer for bikes. After years of development, they’ve added their own pressure washer kit to the collection and it’s a really good package for simplifying home cleaning without ruining your bearings.

Design and construction

Having managed fine with a cheap and cheerful, all-purpose supermarket pressure washer for years, we greeted the much-hyped arrival of Muc-Offs trademark pink and black “world’s first pressure washer built purely for use on both bicycles and motorcycles” with a fair degree of scepticism, and judging from social media we weren’t alone. Maybe our digital algorithm just matches us to other miserable cynics, though, as Muc-Off have been repeatedly out of stock of the washers since they started arriving.

That’s partly why we opted for the bag bundle for testing (which was in stock) but also because we thought the comprehensive package would give the washer the best chance of impressing us. The reinforced dry bag (£24.99 separately) is certainly handy for keeping the wet washer and parts inside when transporting, and it’s big enough that once you’ve detached the hose you don’t have to fight to get it in or out. All the bits fit inside too, even once you attached the cable cradle and ‘lance rack’ that are part of the short and very simple assembly process. The bag also has extra external pockets for brushes and the 1l bottle of bike cleaner (£10.99) and 1l bottle of ‘4 to 1’ concentrated cleaner (£19.99) that comes in the bundle. You also get the £14.99 snow foam lance in the bundle so you’re getting £70.96 of genuinely useful accessories for just £20 more than the £99.99 washer only price. That makes the bundle look a lot better value as well as being a much more versatile user-friendly package.

While the angular ‘Transformer’ styling won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, the washer has a good level of solid constructional detailing too. The hoses all lock into place solidly with chunky release catches to avoid any strenuous ‘pulling apart’ which always damages connections over time. The various lances lock together securely with bayonet or catch release connections and they’re all soft rubber coated to reduce the chance of scratching your paintwork if you get too close. You get a low pressure ‘bicycle’, mid pressure ‘motorcycle’ and general-purpose high-pressure lance with the washer too. Finally, the hose and the cable are both a decent length so you don’t have to wash your bike directly outside the back door. The 5.4kg weight, compact size and carry bag definitely make it easier to live with when you’re not using it.

Performance

The 1200W washer motor operates at around 7 bar (according to Muc-Off) but by using different lances to change the pressure and spray strength, it’s really easy to set the washer up for safe use. The bicycle setting is certainly a pretty gentle broad fan jet that’s definitely more of a rinser than a blaster. That means you’re much less likely to force water past bearing and suspension seals than you are with a normal cleaner. 

Also, if you pre-wet the bike then use the snow foam lance to cover the bike with Muc-Off cleaner, and then wait a few minutes before hosing it down and you’ll generally get a really good result even with gravel bike or cyclo-cross bike levels of filth. Make sure you’ve got the snow foam dial set to minimal though or you’ll go through the cleaner very quickly. 

More stubborn chunks can be shifted using the ‘motorbike’ lance if you’re careful around the delicate bits of your bike and if you need to clean the patio afterwards then the focusable general-purpose lance will give it a go. If you’re looking for a cleaner to do all your domestic work as well as your bike it’s not as powerful as a full-strength DIY pressure washer though. The fact it needs a mains power and water supply obviously restricts it to home use too, so if you need a mobile washer look, at the options from Aqua2Go and Mobi.

• Best pressure washers for mountain bikers
• Best chain lubes for road, gravel and MTB

Verdict

Muc-Off’s Pressure Washer isn’t the most powerful washer around, but then that’s the whole point. By throttling back the power and then capping it off with different lances, they minimise the danger of you accidentally destroying your bearings. It’s still strong enough to do a decent job if you’re patient and if you use the snow foam lance it does a brilliant job. The fact it’s light, compact, all fits together well and packs into a neatly designed bag makes it much more useful. Add the bottles of cleaner and the bundle looks good value even compared to basic multi-function washers.

Tech spec

• Empty weight 5.4kg
• Motor Power: 1200W
• Pressure: 70 bar
• Power lead length: 5m

The RinseKit pressure washer a really clever idea that’s really well executed in many ways but there’s a fundamental flaw that potentially limits it’s usefulness unless you add accessory kits.

Construction

The RinseKit looks like a big hard-body coolbox with a sturdy handle and removable lid that’s tough enough to sit/stand on if you’re short of a seat/step. It’s insulated like a coolbox too, so you can use it as a warm shower or a cool down spray depending on the weather. Flip the lid and the 7.5 litre (2 gallon) reservoir in the main body of the RinseKit is sprouting a chunky ‘non kink’ braided hose over 2m long with an on/off switch and standard push fit connector. That syncs with a trigger controlled shower head with six different rotary 'rose' settings from ‘jet’ to ‘mist’. Each lock into place with a solid click and the whole set up feels solid and well designed. You get an outside tap adaptor included and there’s a plug in heater kit for warming your water up for showers. There’s room under the lid for brushes, rags, sprays etc. too, so your whole cleaning set up can be kept neatly self-contained

Performance

The really ‘clever’ bit of the design is that fact there’s no motor to power the water flow either. Instead, you just connect it to a normal hose outlet (domestic tap adaptors are available) and let it fill until the water pressure can’t get any more in. That means no worries about batteries being flat, connecting to a car/van hook up or any other motor issues. It also means there’s no extra weight besides the water and the RinseKit itself so it’s easily portable.

The problem is that the water pressure in the tank depends entirely on the pressure of the source you’re filling it from. So while the tank has a 60psi (4.1bar) maximum rating the average UK domestic pressure is 30-45psi  (2-3 bar) and the minimum UK legal pressure is only 10psi (0.7 bar). Whatever pressure you start with drops dramatically once you start using it - particularly if you use a higher flow rose setting. You’ll generally get around 1-2 minutes of adequate power to wash chunks of less tenacious filth off, but it soon dies off to just a trickle.

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Verdict

The initial pressure makes it fine for a road bike rinse or two but it means using a brush and careful rationing of rinsing is key to getting a single mountain, cross or gravel bike properly clean. You’ll have to be equally clever with soap and miserly with the actual water use if you’re using as a shower for yourself/your trail dog too.

That means the optional ‘Pressure Booster’ screw in hand pump (£33.00) to let you re-pressurise the reservoir is actually more of an essential for off road or multiple mountain bike washing. At which point, the relatively small reservoir becomes the issue and the whole set up looks pretty expensive compared to powered solutions that offer more consistent results for dirtier bikers.

Tech spec

• Capacity: 9L
• Pressure: 60psi
• Accessories: Hose nozzle, 6ft hose, hose bib adapter, hot water sink adapter, on/off valve, quick connect

Torque wrenches were once considered an optional luxury, even in better bike shops. But more aggressive advances in bicycle frame and componentry technology now require stringent handling in terms of service and maintenance and even the most finely calibrated 'mechanic's feel' can't substitute for the real thing. Consider yourself warned...

Today's high-end parts are lighter, stiffer, often stronger, and definitely more expensive, and yet simultaneously more delicate as they’re increasingly engineered to fulfill very specific functional requirements and little more. As you, the market, continually demand more efficient uses of material, designers must prescribe more narrowly defined requirements in how those bits are installed and serviced. Whereas back in the day we used to see snapped bolts and stripped threads, it's become increasingly common to see cracked parts and broken bikes instead – the fasteners are no longer the weak link like they used to be.

"Products of the past were limited in their design by the manufacturing technology that was available to make them rather than the loads the products would see in use," says Garrett Smith, engineer manager for SRAM's California development center and former stress analyst for Lockheed Martin Astronautics (in other words, a bona fide rocket scientist). "Engineers could only make tubes so thin, or forgings so complex, because of manufacturing constraints. So you could say that the strength of the part was driven by manufacturing rather than use. But modern manufacturing technology is no longer the constraint that limits how thin a tube can be; the limit is now being driven by the loads the product actually experiences in the field."

"The design of our frames and components is always oriented towards lightweight," adds Scott engineer Benoit Grelier. "Thanks to our experience and FEM analysis, we can optimize precisely all wall thicknesses and we can use different materials, depending on the forces involved. But this also implies that we have less margin for the tightening torques."

The proliferation of carbon fiber in cycling stresses the importance of proper torque even further.

"While torque specifications are important with all type of materials, the growing number of carbon fiber components has led to an increasing focus on torque specifications," says Pedro's engineer Jay Seiter. "While carbon fiber allows for more optimal design and provides a far higher strength to weight ratio compared to steel and aluminum, it is also more susceptible to crushing and cracking when improperly set up."

Interestingly enough, torque isn't even the thing engineers and designers really care about – it's merely the most readily accessible indicator of the tension in the fastener, and subsequently the amount of force applied to the parts that are clamped or otherwise held together. With that being said, knowledge of what those forces are supposed to be is exactly what is allowing the industry to push the envelope on equipment weights.

See those little torque markings on your parts? Use them.

Automotive mechanics generally have to resort to extensive reference manuals to determine the proper torque spec on a particular fastener but we're much luckier – most critical parts now have the specifications etched or marked right on them so there's little chance for error. That is, assuming you pay them heed.

A spec of 5Nm doesn't mean 'snug' and 15Nm doesn't translate as 'tight' and regardless of what you may believe, so-called 'mechanic's feel' can at best only provide a close approximation of reality. Even the most finely calibrated hands are still both imprecise and inconsistent, varying by the day, mood, and routine of their owner.

"Having and developing a correct 'feel' when tightening fasteners is still important to the professional mechanic; there are many cases where the part cannot be fitted with a socket, or a torque wrench is simply not available," says Park Tool resident guru Calvin Jones. "[But] I have seen people be off a torque spec by as much as 50 percent, either too loose or too tight. Mechanics, like the entire human race, are susceptible to habit. As a rule, untrained people tend to under tighten the higher torque values, and then over tighten the lower torques.

"Given a limited number of steel fasteners, a mechanic might learn by trial and error, by failure, how much to load a thread," he continues. "Now throw in aluminum threads, carbon parts, magnesium, and titanium, where the feel and even the desired loads are different, and you are asking for trouble."

Studies conducted by torque industry specialist J.H. Williams Tool Group/CDI Torque Products (a division of Snap-On) yield similar conclusions, using a more high-tech test apparatus that accurately measures actual applied torque on a load cell in relation to what the subject thinks he's applying.

"At Interbike [2008], we had a transducer set-up to a ¼” breaker bar and hex bit socket and we asked for volunteers to tighten the bolts at the stem/steerer to the recommended torque value [4.5Nm – a common spec for those types of parts]," said marketing product manager Glenn Kalnins. "Of the nine volunteers, only one person was within spec (+/- 4%) of the 4.5Nm value [and] some people pulled five and six times the value that was set on our clicker. Imagine your stem faceplate needs to be tightened to 5Nm to hold your brand new carbon bar in place and you or your local mechanic tightens it to 25Nm or 30Nm. This variability is totally unacceptable in terms of safety and liability in the bicycle industry."

Given that quoted safety factors in some high-end parts can be as low as 1.1 (meaning that exceeding the spec by just 10 percent can result in failure), it doesn't take much of a ham-fisted mechanic to do some real damage. Conversely, the narrow window also means it's easy to leave a bolt too loose, resulting in unwanted movement or slip.

Torque wrench types – some are better than others but almost any of them are better than none at all

Torque wrenches remove the guesswork from tightening fasteners and their wide range of available types and costs mean that integrating one into your home toolbox is now easier than ever – and strongly recommended if you couldn't tell by now.

So-called 'clicker' wrenches such as the Park TW-5 and TW-6, Pedro's Demi-Torque, Effetto Mariposa Giustaforza, and Syntace Torque Tool (starting at around US$90) are the most common and readily available, operating via an internal spring mechanism that gives way when the desired torque is achieved. Both fixed-torque and adjustable models are currently on the market, and Kalnins stresses the 'sweet spot' for adjustable models is between 30-80 percent of the calibrated range. For more specific applications, small fixed-setting tools such as Ritchey's Torque Key can be had for as little as around US$20.

Proper usage and tool care is essential, though. According to Kalnins, the most common errors are continuing to apply force after the 'click' or applying torque too quickly (which can lead to overshooting the target), holding the wrench incorrectly (he says to always use the designated handle), or putting the tool away in anything other than its lowest torque setting (which can affect the calibration). Used correctly and adequately maintained, though, and clickers' claimed accuracy of around +/-5 percent should suffice for most applications.

Home mechanics on a budget can still find reasonable accuracy in a simple 'bending beam' type of torque wrench such as Park's TW-1 and TW-2, which often sell for as little as US$40. Completely devoid of mechanical joints, these simply operate on the principle of calibrated flex: simply insert the tool bit into the fastener, hold the handle, and apply torque until the indicator needle moves to the desired value.

Though generally inexpensive, bending beam wrenches are prone to damage if improperly stored (the needle is often exposed) and improper readings can result if the user isn't looking straight on at the gauge. In addition, they're often quite big and cumbersome and ill suited for portable use.

For well-heeled mechanics, the ultimate torque wrench is a digital type such as CDI's Computorq3, which offers a +/-2 percent claimed accuracy by foregoing mechanical devices for a solid-state electronic force transducer. Most models include an easy-to-read (and interpret) LCD display that readily converts between various units, too, and in the case of the Computorq3, a three-stage LED and audible tone also warns users when the preset torque is near. Even more useful, however, is that it also stores the actual applied torque, which also serves double-duty to train mechanics on proper usage.

That extra functionality comes at a high price, though. Suggested retail price on the Computorq3 is between US$325-350.

Other notes

Fastener and part conditions can drastically affect torque readings – and the more important actual bolt tension – so be sure to follow indications provided by the component, not the tool, manufacturer. Should the bolt be greased or should threadlock be applied? What if the bolt is rusty? All of these factors can affect the reading and not always in the direction of prudence.

Likewise, clicker-type wrenches should be periodically calibrated for optimum accuracy as values can drift over time. Kalnins also recommends that buyers stick to wrenches that include a calibration certificate from a qualified third party, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US or equivalent. However, even a slightly out-of-calibration torque wrench will still almost certainly boast better accuracy than your bare hands.

The consequences for failure

US$500 for a torque wrench is an awful lot of money for most users but even so, it can be a small price to pay as compared to the cost of failure. Take BMC's Pro Machine SLC01, for example, which uses a carbon fiber seatpost clamp integrated into the frame structure. The torque spec on the lower bolt is just 8Nm and 5Nm on the upper – exceed either of those values by too much and you've basically got yourself a US$3000 trainer bike. That's an extreme example for sure though also one we've witnessed firsthand (a little too firsthand, in fact).

Other failures can be far less expensive but more catastrophic: carbon bars can break during a sprint, steerer tubes can crack, cranks can come completely undone. In more fortunate situations, improperly torqued parts will fail during servicing instead of while on a ride, or items will simply loosen up without causing a crash. In any event, the potentially negative effects can range from merely inconvenient to much, much worse.

From a technology standpoint, though, consumers' more rigorous adherence to torque standards may allow designers to build ever lighter and higher-performance bits in the future.

"If stricter torque values are adhered to, products can be made lighter and lighter yet keep all the required strength," says FSA technical support manager Dae Oh. "Currently, a lot of the overbuilding of products is to survive improper installation."

In other words, proper torque can mean safer and more hassle-free riding, cost savings in the long run, and lighter and more reliable parts for all of us. Sounds like a win-win to us.

Pedro's clever Vise Whip may be more expensive than standard chain whips but once you use one you'll never go back – and for shop mechanics who swap cassettes on a daily basis, it's a must-have. 

The adjustable steel jaws wrap around a cog and, like the everyday vice whip upon which it's based, they lock on tightly and securely with no chance of slippage (shop mechanics: think of the last time you slammed your knuckles into the benchtop).

The Vise Whip has a more substantial handle than a regular chain whip, too, which can be particularly useful for stubborn lockrings (even though it's a tad short).   

The jaws are adjustable to fit cogs from 11-23T but we set it for a 13T sprocket since nearly every cassette has one and never needed to change it.

The jaws aren't wide enough to fit around 1/8in track cogs but aside from that, there isn't a single fault we can think of.