Vernier caliper?

[andyoxon]

Think I need one of these now.  Some are very inexpensive, but do they do the job for bike related use?  Any recommendations, or tips on minimum spec?

[quixoticgeek]

Think I need one of these now.  Some are very inexpensive, but do they do the job for bike related use?  Any recommendations, or tips on minimum spec?

You get what you pay for.

J

[Jurek]

If you've good eyesight you probably don't need a digital one.
Digi ones start at a tenner from Aldi and go way into three figures from the likes of Mitutoyo.
As has been mentioned - you get what you pay for.
I've had my digi Mitutoyo for the best part of 40 years. I think it is on its third battery in that time - and it gets used most days.
I also have a mechanical Mitutoyo which I've had slightly longer which, on cost, is probably a good compromise.
I've ground one of the jaws of the mechanical one so you can use it for making a mark at a consistent distance from an edge, without compromising the normal function of the jaws.
 

[BrianI]

You'd probably get a better made analogue one, than a digital one for the same price.

How accurate do you need to measure stuff for bike use? Mine are Draper branded 6" vernier calipers. Around £12 or so. Accurate to +/- 0.2mm according to the specs. 

[lissotriton]

I've read enough vernier scales in physics classes, can't be bothered with any more...

I've got a cheap digital caliper from Lidl, maybe about £8. Had it for a few years, works fine. Seems accurate enough for most bike bits anyway.

[nuttycyclist]

Mine was a plastic freebie from a local company I went into looking for something I needed for Mrs Nutty's van.

The markings match a high quality tape measure.  It measures outside width, inside width, and depth.  Accurately.



I'd love a digital one with 0.mm accuracy, but to be honest it'd be like any other tool in that I wouldn't have the correct battery, or the terminals had corroded, when it was needed.   Cheap and manual is the way to go IMHO.

[Jurek]

Also, if you are going to go for something like a Digital Mitutoyo which is priced at 30 quid. Don't.
The chances are that it's probably not made by Mitutoyo.
As has been mentioned, you can get a better quality mechanical one for less money than you'd pay for similar quality in Digi.
ETA: I've just looked - on paper there's no difference in accuracy between my two Verniers - cost-wise, the digi one is approximately double.

[hatler]

£30 gets you a vernier Mitutoyo, no need for batteries.

[grams]

The cheapo digital ones are fine measurement wise but the fit and finish can be poor and they eat batteries even when not being used.

The black plastic digital ones (sometimes labelled carbon fibre) are too bendy to get a solid reading on anything.

[quixoticgeek]

The cheapo digital ones are fine measurement wise but the fit and finish can be poor and they eat batteries even when not being used.

The black plastic digital ones (sometimes labelled carbon fibre) are too bendy to get a solid reading on anything.

My 15 year old aldi or lidl specials (€10 or so back then), have been great. Not sure how the accuracy is (nothing to calibrate against. But I've only changed the batteries once in that time...

J

[Jurek]

Unused quality ball bearings of a known size are a reasonable way of checking accuracy.
Probably not so much if you are making things which are intended to be airborne.

[andrew_s]

I prefer dial calipers - easier to read than verniers, and no batteries to find flat after 6 months of non-use.
https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/measuring-and-test-equipment/dial-calipers/dial-calipers/f/2982  (random example)

[JonB]

As has been mentioned - you get what you pay for.
I've had my digi Mitutoyo for the best part of 40 years. I think it is on its third battery in that time - and it gets used most days.
I also have a mechanical Mitutoyo which I've had slightly longer which, on cost, is probably a good compromise.

Same here, I've had my mechanical Mitutoyo since around 1978, it was one of the first tools I bought as an apprentice fitter. I still have it in its case, it's condition is as new and I still use it regularly (mine hasn't got the little locking screw that is on yours in the picture but that's never been a problem)

[andyoxon]

Excellent, thanks all.  Tending towards the Mitutoyu mechanical.  For bike related measurements how often do people need the inch scale?  Just wondering whether it's good to get dual metric/imp.

Had a look on fleabay, and thought 'that's a good price' - then looked at the poor feedback score, and it seems they are fake/copies. So yep pay more for a good product - I don't want to end up with some caliper where I'm thinking 'is that a real deviation from expected measurement, or just poor caliper accuracy/resolution'...

[Tim Hall]

Excellent, thanks all.  Tending towards the Mitutoyu mechanical.  For bike related measurements how often do people need the inch scale?  Just wondering whether it's good to get dual metric/imp.

Had a look on fleabay, and thought 'that's a good price' - then looked at the poor feedback score, and it seems they are fake/copies. So yep pay more for a good product - I don't want to end up with some caliper where I'm thinking 'is that a real deviation from expected measurement, or just poor caliper accuracy/resolution'...

Inch scale might make chain wear measurement slightly simpler, as chains are 1/2 inch pitch. Brucey (I hope he's getting better) linked to a post by him on the CTC forum detailing how to take chain roller slop out of the chain wear measuring process when using calipers.  I'll dig around to see if I can find it. 

[quixoticgeek]

Excellent, thanks all.  Tending towards the Mitutoyu mechanical.  For bike related measurements how often do people need the inch scale?  Just wondering whether it's good to get dual metric/imp.

Had a look on fleabay, and thought 'that's a good price' - then looked at the poor feedback score, and it seems they are fake/copies. So yep pay more for a good product - I don't want to end up with some caliper where I'm thinking 'is that a real deviation from expected measurement, or just poor caliper accuracy/resolution'...

12.7mm == half inch,
6.35mm == 1/4 inch
3.175mm == 1/8 inch.

That's your conversion factors for nearly everything you're gonna worry about that's imperial on a bike.

Stick with metric only, it's 2021, we aren't barbarians.

J

[hatler]

1mm = 40 thou (if that helps).

[andyoxon]

1mm = 40 thou (if that helps).

I try and avoid imperial, but 1" = 25.4mm is well etched into my brain.

so yep, prob metric only - cheaper too.

[Tim Hall]

Here's a link to the Brucey caliper method of chain checking.

https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=115336