Make sure you take care of your torque wrench and whenever you’re not using it, reset it to zero or its minimum setting. The TW-5.2 from Park Tool is a conventional ratcheting torque wrench designed for lower torque settings that you typically find on bike components.

The struggle here is it can be hard to read the raised numbers, especially if you’re wrenching in a poorly lit hotel room, or adjusting a saddle bolt upside down. It’s comfortable to use, but the hollow plastic construction certainly feels cheap and can lead to clearance issues in rare cases. With the parts slotted together, you can feel the join between them, given away by a movement that I feel wouldn’t be there if each part was more precisely sized to slot together more snuggly. In the end it might not affect the way the tool does its job, but it certainly gave a slightly cheap feel to the whole thing.

Reviews

Knowing how to use a torque wrench is key, because it is still possible to under- or over-tighten bolts with one if you are not careful. On the other hand, you have to carefully read the beam in relation to a scale to know that you have achieved the correct torque. This can be difficult if the unit you are torquing to isn’t printed on the scale or if you are aiming for a decimal. You’ll also need a steady hand. Most beam-style torque wrenches for bicycles tend to be aimed at the entry point of the market and are often made of plastic or more flexible materials. The main handle and torque part of the tool can be put together in several configurations which mean it can get into tight spots where other tools may not be able to reach awkwardly positioned bolts.

The PTD and ATD tools are assembled and calibrated in-house by Park Tool. Obviously accuracy of a torque wrench is key and the ATD proved consistent and precise when tested on our digital torque tester. For example, we got an average reading of 5.13nm with the ATD set to 5nm.More importantly though, this accuracy remained after putting this tool through some hard use.The included bits will see you through most repairs, and the case keeps it all together. However, it’s penalised for its price given that some online retailers sell effectively the same thing under a different name for less money. Hey, that looks just like the LifeLine Professional or the Pedro’s Demi,” I hear you say. Yep, there’s a good reason for that – it’s the same. Sourced from Taiwan, this Shimano/PRO item is a rebadged tool, but there’s a good reason so many brands put their label on it – it does exactly what it should. Even so, the kit looks the part when you open it up and the main body of the tool is very satisfying to hold. Its tactile nature had me testing the torque of multiple bolts on my bike just to be able to use it again. This isn’t too surprising given that like a gauge, torque wrenches are typically most accurate in the middle range; reducing that range results in greater precision.