Anyone who has ever cracked a  carbon seatpost from over-tightening a seatpost clamp, knows how valuable a torque wrench can be. I’ve used Craftsman (aka, Sears) and Husky (aka, Home Depot) torque wrenches in the past and found them to be perfect for the home wrench.  However, I often use a torque wrench a dozen times or more per month working on my bikes or those of my teammates. Thus, I thought about “upgrading” my torque wrenches.

At first, I got the Effetto Mariposa Giustaforza torque wrench. Holy schnikes! This is one little Italian beauty. If Leonard Zinn likes it, it’s good enough for me. It is ideal for 2-15 nm. This is right range for stems, handlebars, derailleurs, seatposts, etc. If you don’t work that often on your bike, I recommend either getting one of the nice Craftsman Microtork wrenches or picking up the Ritchey Torqkey.

For higher torque needs, I just picked up the Topeak D-Torq DX. I’ve always been a big Topeak fan and like how they actually included a calibration certificate. This goes from 4-80 nm, but I save it for things beyond the range of the Effetto.

The Effetto came with bits, but you can upgrade to  a version that includes a case and a free calibration. The Topeak came with a nice case and bits, but I think you might need to pay for calibration.

If you’re a regular home mechanic, I highly recommend getting at least one torque wrench (especially for carbon seatposts). Otherwise, you might be forking out several bills for new parts.