# Ritchey Torqkey



## Mike T.

I hope you all have one of these. They're a great tool for stems (and other stuff) with 4mm allen wrench bolts. This tool is excellent with its preset 5Nm of torque -


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## frdfandc

I've been eyeballing this tool, not just for home use, but for the shop too. Just need to come up with a little extry cash. BUT IT WILL BE MINE,


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## Mike T.

frdfandc said:


> I've been eyeballing this tool, not just for home use, but for the shop too. Just need to come up with a little extry cash. BUT IT WILL BE MINE,


I think mine cost me a measly $15 or so.


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## Mr. Versatile

That's pretty cheap. Where'd you get it?


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## rloyola0426

got mine for $19 at my LBS. Too bad the bit can't be interchanged. But I love the insurance of not hearing the carbon crunch when tightening a bolt.


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## Mike T.

Mr. Versatile said:


> That's pretty cheap. Where'd you get it?


I got mine at Chain Reaction Cycles mailorder in Ireland but lots of places have them.


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## Mike T.

rloyola0426 said:


> Too bad the bit can't be interchanged.


They can't allow that as the torque is preset. My suggestion would be for them to make a 5mm version then they would have the two most common (bike) bolts covered. They have a multi-bit torque wrench kit but it's mega dollars - 

http://www.ritcheylogic.com/dyn_prod.php?p=05-322-216&k=97993


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## Andrea138

The bit is interchangeable... you just yank it out & put a different one in.


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## Mike T.

Andrea138 said:


> The bit is interchangeable... you just yank it out & put a different one in.


Mine won't come out using my fingers and I didn't put it in the vice to try. I guess that's a good feature to replace worn out bits but the torque wouldn't be right for different sizes :sad: 

It would be great if they had a 4 and a 5 but in different colors - like black & red so we can just grab and use. :idea:


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## Andrea138

Ah... just checked mine and realized that it's "Giant" brand and not Ritchey. That could be why.


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## danl1

Andrea138 said:


> Ah... just checked mine and realized that it's "Giant" brand and not Ritchey. That could be why.


Giant actually makes two of them: one in 4nm and one in 6nm, both coming with interchangeable bits. $12-16.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/partsaccessories/product/112/30658/

I've heard it said that the Ritchey can be made interchangeable with some force and a bit of luck, but I've never tried it.


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## AlanS

So then the question arises: If the spec is 5nm, can the 4 be used, and would the 6 REALLY cause a problem? I just like the idea of interchangability...
Are most torques 4, 5 and 6 nm?


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## Camilo

Changing the bit up or down in size won't change the torque.


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## PeanutButterBreath

Indeed.

The distinction between this device and a full featured torque wrench set is not the bit size, but the range of torque values.


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## Camilo

Mike T. said:


> ...It would be great if they had a 4 and a 5 but in different colors - like black & red so we can just grab and use. :idea:


Do what I do with the screw drivers in my tool box - just spray paint the handles (I use fluro green for all phillips head, and fluro blue for all slot head... why those colors? Because my kids had a can of each left over from some project). That way, I don't have to shuffle around looking at screwdrivers, I just choose a green or blue one in the size I'm looking for (I think I have 4 of each).

Or use nail polish - I use that for other things I want to color mark. But with a couple of tools like the torque keys, I'd probably just paint one with whatever can of paint I had in the garage at the time.


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## frdfandc

I have a hard time even thinking about spray painting my tools. But when you have over $15,000 in Snap on/Matco/Mac tools, it makes you think twice about anything.


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## Mike T.

Andrea138 said:


> The bit is interchangeable... you just yank it out & put a different one in.


I just checked my Ritchey - clamp bit in vice, pull really hard, out it pops. But, unless it's for replacing a worn out bit then it's a pointless exercise as, of course, the torque setting is not variable for a larger/smaller bit.


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## Pancho's Balls

frdfandc said:


> But when you have over $15,000 in Snap on/Matco/Mac tools, it makes you think twice about anything.


You must be a television repairman because of your ultimate set of tools.


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## Amfoto1

Camilo said:


> Or use nail polish....


Um, okay, I don't get it....

I tried nail polish and am still having problems telling the tools apart. The other guys in the shop are laughing at me, too. Maybe I used the wrong color? Should I paint my toenails too?


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## frdfandc

Pancho's Balls said:


> You must be a television repairman because of your ultimate set of tools.



I actually work on pocket calculators.


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## thatdrewguy

frdfandc said:


> I actually work on pocket calculators.


what's a pocket calculator?  
um, on my phone, i have an app for that. :thumbsup: 

back on topic, I bought mine from the Ritchey website.


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## Mike T.

Amfoto1 said:


> I tried nail polish and am still having problems telling the tools apart. The other guys in the shop are laughing at me, too. Maybe I used the wrong color?


Scream toolmophobia. Go for damages.


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## Keeping up with Junior

*Repair Advice*



frdfandc said:


> I actually work on pocket calculators.


Do I need to change the mix ratio of Foum Lube to work on my slide rule?

(yes, I do have a slide rule in the back of my desk drawer)


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## kreyszig666

Mike T. said:


> I just checked my Ritchey - clamp bit in vice, pull really hard, out it pops. But, unless it's for replacing a worn out bit then it's a pointless exercise as, of course, the torque setting is not variable for a larger/smaller bit.


wow just wanted to say thanks for confirming this. i really like mine too but thought it sucked that i couldn't change the bit.


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## Mike T.

kreyszig666 said:


> wow just wanted to say thanks for confirming this. i really like mine too but thought it sucked that i couldn't change the bit.


It's an excellent tool and a smart design isn't it? I've been doing a plethora of position and handlebar changes on two bikes with new Thomson stems recently and this tool makes the job fun and safe.


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## danl1

Mike T. said:


> I just checked my Ritchey - clamp bit in vice, pull really hard, out it pops. But, unless it's for replacing a worn out bit then it's a pointless exercise as, of course, the torque setting is not variable for a larger/smaller bit.


"Of Course?" Not so fast. 

We rarely use yield-strength torque values on bike applications: We are usually torquing to the sensitivity of the clamped part, such as a carbon handlebar or seatpost. If we get up to the torque defined by the fastener's drive size / yield strength, we've likely already ruined something expensive. Similarly, a 4-bolt bar clamp will be torqued differently than a 2-bolt, even though the fasteners likely be the same nominal size. 

Second, even if we were torquing to yield strength, there's a variety of values for a given size fastener or bit: A CrMo bolt will be torqued differently than a stainless, and a cap screw will torque differently than a button-head.

Eyeball the various ranges of nominally same-size bike fasteners here:
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=88 

And the various torques for same bit-size but various functional types here:
http://www.holo-krome.com/pdf/torquedatachart.pdf

Bottom line is that for most of the bolts we think of as torque-sensitive on a bike and in the general range of this sort of tool, 5 nm is "about right" - tight enough to hold securely, unlikely to damage anything. They're mainly a reality check for both gorillas and scaredy-cats, not precision tools for nuclear rocket surgery. Swapping 3-4-5mm bits on a 5nm tool is perfectly reasonable.


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## MCF

Have it...love it! Always in my jersey pocket during rides.


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## frdfandc

I ordered one today. Should be in Tuesday.


Keeping, no, you don't need to change your mix ratio of Foum Lube. But you will need to reangle your stimilabober.


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## Mike T.

danl1 said:


> "Of Course?" Not so fast.
> 
> We rarely use yield-strength torque values on bike applications: We are usually torquing to the sensitivity of the clamped part, such as a carbon handlebar or seatpost. If we get up to the torque defined by the fastener's drive size / yield strength, we've likely already ruined something expensive. Similarly, a 4-bolt bar clamp will be torqued differently than a 2-bolt, even though the fasteners likely be the same nominal size.
> 
> Second, even if we were torquing to yield strength, there's a variety of values for a given size fastener or bit: A CrMo bolt will be torqued differently than a stainless, and a cap screw will torque differently than a button-head.
> 
> Eyeball the various ranges of nominally same-size bike fasteners here:
> http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=88
> 
> And the various torques for same bit-size but various functional types here:
> http://www.holo-krome.com/pdf/torquedatachart.pdf
> 
> Bottom line is that for most of the bolts we think of as torque-sensitive on a bike and in the general range of this sort of tool, 5 nm is "about right" - tight enough to hold securely, unlikely to damage anything. They're mainly a reality check for both gorillas and scaredy-cats, not precision tools for nuclear rocket surgery. Swapping 3-4-5mm bits on a 5nm tool is perfectly reasonable.


I guess I should have said it's ok to put ANY size bit in there as long as you want the fastener to be 5Nm.


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## Mike T.

frdfandc said:


> mix ratio of Foum Lube.


Foum Lube? I wonder if this is better than Homebrew?


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## wedge962005

I love mine and use it religiously for the quick stuff around the stem. Beyond that I get out the real torque wrench and get exact. Of note; I have tested the Ritchey against my much more expensive full size variable torque wrench and it was dead on out of the box and remains as such.


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## DrRoebuck

This is better.


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## frdfandc

I ended up ordering another one so I can swap out the 4mm allen for a 5mm. Quite a few of the bikes we sell have a 5mm allen with a spec of 5 Nm.


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## mayamon

Wow, whoever got the 4mm key off by hand is a scary dude. I had to tap it with a hammer to get it to budge at all, but yeah I'll validate that it does come out. Now it swaps bits no problem.


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## FTR

Just got mine from Chain Reaction.
But mine actually came with 2, 3, 4 and 5mm allen heads and a T-10 and T-25 torx head.

But, a question.
Should the tool click or something when I get to the right torque??
I have tightened a few things much tighter than I would usually and no click.
Have I just been undertightening in the past or is there something wrong with my Torqkey??


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## frdfandc

This is what we are talking about. Sounds like you purchased a torque wrench.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=39478


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## FTR

frdfandc said:


> This is what we are talking about. Sounds like you purchased a torque wrench.
> 
> http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=39478


Yes that is EXACTLY what I have except when I received it , it came with all the other heads that I listed.


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## frdfandc

Interesting. Both of mine only had the single 4mm bit. Lucky you.

But yes, it will click when you get to the set torque spec.


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## FTR

frdfandc said:


> Interesting. Both of mine only had the single 4mm bit. Lucky you.
> 
> But yes, it will click when you get to the set torque spec.


Hmmmm
I just tried a friends Torqkey over the weekend as well and could not get it to click.
5nM must be a LOT tighter than I have ever done anything up because I have not been able to get either to click yet despite me wrenching down a lot harder than I would usually feel is safe.


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## frdfandc

I thought the same thing when I first used mine. But then you have to consider that you aren't getting the leverage like a torque wrench, or using the handle part of a T-allen wrench.


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## FTR

frdfandc said:


> I thought the same thing when I first used mine. But then you have to consider that you aren't getting the leverage like a torque wrench, or using the handle part of a T-allen wrench.


Yeah, well I left my bolts done up as tight as I usually would and then used the Torqkey.
No click.
I then backed them off and used it, still no click.
I must have been too cautious previously.
Will give them a good turn and see what happens.


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## CrisGC

mayamon said:


> Wow, whoever got the 4mm key off by hand is a scary dude. I had to tap it with a hammer to get it to budge at all, but yeah I'll validate that it does come out. Now it swaps bits no problem.


I was able to remove the 4mm by using a pair of vise grips. From what I read it could be PITA to remove it but then I was able to pull it our easily.:thumbsup:


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