Review: Lezyne Torque Drive

(2021) If there is a quote that is common at the creakybottombracket.com service course, it’s a request for a torque wrench. While not needed for most aluminum connections, torque wrenches have become a staple to the carbon bike owner. Without torque wrenches carbon parts can crack when tightened too far, or slide apart if not tightened enough (carbon paste aside). According to Silca, roughly 70% of high end carbon components are damaged when making adjustments without a torque wrench. Yet a quick scan of the torque wrench offerings it is easy to get carried away with price tags. Having trusted Lezyne products for years, we were curious to see what they offered.

Lezyne has been in the bike market for years. We know this because we reviewed Lezyne’s Steel Drive floor pump years ago and still use it. It has outlasted all the other pumps we have had combined. It didn’t break the bank, either. That appears to be Lezyne’s business model: make great products, the rest will fall in place. True to form, the Torque Drive pocket-sized tool kit looks great out of the travel case. 

The Lezyne Torque Drive comes in a convenient padded carrying case.

Open the case to find three areas of focus. There is a machined aluminum gold beam in the center of the kit. The torque drive is the expected Lezyne black, also machined aluminum. The Nm settings stand out on the torque gauge. Along the top are eleven magnetic tips for bike maintenance. The chucks range from 2 - 6 millimeter allens as well as three T nuts. There is also a flat-head and Phillips-head attachment.

To operate the Lezyne Torque Drive one must unscrew the end of the beam to slide through the top of the torque wrench. It can create either a T handle or slide back and forth for easier work. Select the chuck needed, slide it into the wrench and begin to tighten. Using the torque gauge, one can tighten until the gauge and the Nm line up. There is no pre-set calibration to disengage the wrench.

We went around our asphalt bike checking the tightness of bolts ten Nm or less and found the wrench to perform well. Per the Lezyne packaging, the accuracy of the wrench is +/- 0.5 Nm, a bit of a broad percentage error, yet still good to know. 

The inner portions of the carrying case include the three essential parts of the Torque Drive as well as a mesh pocket to stash the prime cash from the local crit.

Lezyne has made a point to sell common sense items at common sense pricing. Avoiding flare means items may be lacking in luxuries, or the price is kept down by doing things the old-fashioned way. The torque gauge is just that focus. Without a pre-set on the wrench, the user must be in a well-lighted place to avoid under/ over tightening. The tightening responsibility is solely on the user. Once the indicator lines up with the appropriate line, it is time to let up instead of feeling a satisfying disengagement. With a +/- error of 0.5 Nm, the accuracy gauges are awfully close together. And speaking of accuracy gauges, will those lines hold up over years of use? 

Lezyne has produced cycling accessories that mirror Silca. The Lezyne Floor Drive is reminiscent of traditional Silca pumps. The Lezyne Torque Drive is similar to the T-Ratchet Torque Kit. The main difference is Silca makes theirs out of titanium while Lezyne uses machined aluminum. A noticeable difference is Lezyne’s torque setting goes to ten Nm, whereas Silca’s wrench stops at eight Nm. It may seem like a trivial amount but notable torque settings happen around ten Nm. Further differences are in the cost. Lezyne comes in lower than Silca’s T-Ratchet + Ti- Torque Kit, just like they want to. 

Heirloom quality at this price should not enter the conversation, but Lezyne bullies itself into it. The Lezyne Torque Drive, like their Steel Drive floor pump, will be in operation for many years. Simplicity should not be expensive, nor should well-made tools designed to protect the rigs and bolt-ons that propel riders at KOM speeds. It’s not like cyclists require daily usage of torque wrenches. Those that do aren’t reading this anyway. At a fraction of the cost, and with Lezyne dependability, it might be worth trading off the pre-set torque to preserve the greater model.