The nuts and bolts of torque

If you’re working on your bike, even if just doing mild maintenance, you need to be aware of torque. It isn’t only the thrill you get when you open the throttle and your bike surges forward—it’s also the rotating force you apply when you’re tightening a bolt, whether it’s an oil drain plug or an axle nut. What is torque? Loosely speaking, torque is simply the application of a force, some distance from an axis, to create a twisting action. As the diagram below shows, if I double the length of the wrench, I can get the same torque at...