Torque wrench on old carbon bars, the creak that scared me straight

Installed some used carbon bars on my commuter last Tuesday. Felt fine, looked fine, but I skipped the torque wrench because I was in a hurry. First ride, every bump made this awful creak. Thought the bars were cracked. Rode home slow, pulled everything apart, and the stem bolts were way uneven. One was at like 7nm, the other maybe 3. Retorqued to spec with the actual tool and the noise vanished. Spent 20 minutes panicking over a 2 minute job. Anyone else ever trust their 'feel' on carbon and regret it?

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1 Comment

rivera.hannah12d ago

Tell me your "feel" told you 7nm feels like hand-tight and 3nm feels like snug, because mine does the same thing. Carbon creaks are just the bike's way of saying "nice try, human.