Old school cone wrench feel vs. the new torque spec approach

I used to just crank down hub cones by feel, maybe a quarter turn past snug, and hope the wheel spun smooth. After a customer brought back a wheel with a grooved axle from over-tightening in Pittsburgh last spring, I switched to a Park Tool TW-5.2 and started setting preload at 5 Nm on the locknut. Has anyone else made the jump from touch to torque, or do you still trust your hands on older cup and cone hubs?

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patricia_singh812mo ago

That 5 Nm on the locknut is the sweet spot for sure. I still do the old quarter turn past snug on my own bikes, but anything customer facing gets the torque wrench now. Grooved axles are the worst way to learn that lesson.

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