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More than one Abound reviewer reported that the steering was wobbly with 100 pounds on the rear rack. I figured they didn't have adequate tire pressure. The first time I hauled a load, mine wobbled dangerously. I thought the frame was flexing. Then I remembered tire pressure. I inflated them to...

She looks as strong as a horse! In that case she needs Allen keys. Like the bit of a bridle, an Allen key communicates through minor pain. In 1909, many factories still used overhead shafts to power machines through belts. The heads of set screws on pulley collars were dangerous. In 1911...

Combination wrenches are insurance for "farmer tight." In 1982 I installed a replacement water pump on a 1964 Wilcat. I used a 3/8 ratchet to secure it with 7/16 nuts on studs. My uncle was watching. He must have been over 60 when he retired from the Air Force. He knew his stuff. On the first...

A folding set came with my bike. I couldn't tell how much torque I was applying. With an allen key, the only contact area is along the long arm. With a smaller H size, both the diameter and the length are smaller, meaning it starts to hurt with less torque. It doesn't require math; when it...

My recent post about measuring torque was in response to your first reply in this thread: "If you take a regular 6 mm hex wrench, hold it 1/3rd length (counting from the axle), and use the usual hand force, it is enough to tighten the axle properly." I didn't know what kind of wrench you were...

I like to grease threads. I said in this case it would defeat the purpose of the threadlock that came on my bolts. Why do you argue? I like those guys because they don't practice what they preach. All start by saying to use a 50 Nm torque wrench, but all do it by feel, using only what torque I...

It's as of your Park video said to put cement blocks in your trunk for winter traction, and I said it wouldn't work for my Beetle because the trunk is in the front. So you google pictures of cars with the trunk in back and say the problem is that Beetles were made of no-name Chinese parts. When...

Bolts for BSA cranksets come with threadlock. Grease would defeat the purpose. The video said manufacturer specs vary from 30 to 45 Nm. Aventon has published a sheet of 52 torques for the Abound. Several are for the birds. They say 40-45 Nm for crank bolts. The bolts are 5/16 -24, often...

I tried, but it kept extracting itself! ;)

I believe the part you call the crankarm nut, I would call the crankarm bolt because I believe it has external threads. (To be old-fashioned, I'd call it a screw. Traditionally, a "bolt" was a screw if you tightened it by turning it. A bolt was designed to hold still while you turned a nut. The...

The shaft of the BB rotates. The body of the BB holds the ball bearings that allow the shaft to rotate freely. Well, if it really spun freely, you could clamp the end of the shaft in a vise so that it extended horizontally, and give the body a spin about the shaft. If it really spun freely, it...

I torqued my BB shell to 35 Nm. I thought like you, so I couldn't account for it when it loosened. Park Tool recommends thread locker. Crank arm bolts are tightened with a lot more torque than thru-axles. The ones I've seen have come from the factory with thread locker. it seems that grease...

Shoestring. I smoked some in Asia when you were 3. That's what they once smoked all over the continent of North America. They would order pipestone from more than 1,000 miles away to make pipes to smoke it. They smoked broadleaf in the Caribbean because they didn't have good pipes. Broadleaf...

If normal threads can be counted on to keep a bolt from turning, why use liquid thread lockers? Why are there so many washers and other mechanical devices to keep nuts from loosening? Why do some nuts use nylon inserts to prevent loosening? Thread friction is counted on to hold lug nuts on a...

Mine's the same way. I don't see anything but thread friction to keep it in place. The rear nuts are 45 Nm, and they're serrated.

Years ago the postmaster returned a box to the sender without even telling me because it was from a tobacconist. Fortunately, the tobacconist didn't put a sign on the box telling everyone to rifle through it. The new law was about cigarettes, not tobacco. It was to help states cash in on...

OTOH, maybe the threads are intended not to be greased so they would stick and not work loose.

My clamp says 8 Nm max. I use 2.5. I do something else. I stack playing cards as feeler gauges to adjust the corner screws for the same gap. Otherwise, the screws might put twisting force on the clamp.

You tell me to use a chart that the publishers warn not to use. Too many variables, such as the parent material and the depth of thread. Until 1970, I believed in rules of thumb. I also knew of readily available torque wrenches that might be more reliable than the spring-loaded kind: common...

I wasn't born yesterday. Static friction can make it harder to break a fastener loose than to tighten it. If it's been sitting months, the initial torque requirement may be quite high. Don't you wish you'd used grease? 🧐