Topeak Nano TorqBar 6Nm

Few people think they need a torque wrench when they first start cycling, but anyone who's ever under- or over-tightened something will undoubtedly agree it's a good idea. One of the key drawbacks is that they are generally fairly large, so adjustments on the road are always a bit of a risk. This is where the Topeak Nano TorqBar comes in: it offers the practicalities of a torque wrench in a small sized package.

As with any torque wrench, the most important element is going to be how well it tightens bolts. The Nano TorqBar not only makes this easy, but given its size it also means you can get into tight spaces to make the necessary adjustments.

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Topeak claims the Nano TorqBar is the smallest torque wrench on the market, and I haven't found a smaller one in my research (although Topeak has another option, the TorqBox – review to come). It fits easily in a pocket or saddle bag, and takes up less room than a gel or CO2 pump.

It works through having a pre-set tension head, in this case 6Nm (4Nm and 5Nm heads are available too), which sits in the ratchet at the top of the bar when in use. This is accompanied by five of the most popular heads – 3, 4 and 5mm hex and T20 and T25 Torx – which slot into the magnetised head with ease before use.

> What's a torque wrench?

At road.cc towers, we tried to work out exactly how accurate the tightening was for the head, which is surprisingly difficult without specific equipment for it. We decided on the not-very-scientific method of tightening it to the same tension with a regular torque wrench and seeing if it was roughly as difficult to undo. From this rigorous experiment I deduced that the tension seems accurate.

The tension head slides into the bottom of the Torqbar and the body of the bar opens to allow you to store two of your most used heads within it. Given that you are provided with five heads, this means you need to carry the other three around in a small carry case (about the size of a match box), so you'll need to take care not to lose them.

> Check out our guide to the best multi tools here

Although not outrageous, the RRP of £24.99 is still quite expensive, especially bearing in mind that it can only tighten to one pre-set tension. You can buy a set with all three tension heads for £54.99, but at that price you can buy a professional torque wrench set with variable tension settings. You can't take a full size version with you on a ride, but given that you will only have two heads to use with the Nano TorqBar (unless you carry the others separately) it loses a fair amount of practicality.

Overall, the Nano TorqBar is a great idea and solves the issue of safe tightening on the go, but it's limited by the fact that it can only hold two heads, and the high cost. That said, if you're willing to carry around the other heads and you can pick it up for less than RRP, it becomes more appealing.

Verdict

An innovative design and useful idea, but a bit expensive considering its limitations