Naish Torque 55 ATB 2020 vs 2021

[Lukas M]

Hey guys,
I am relatively new to the sport (kiting for a year) and am currently buying my own equipment. Now a question about the Torque bar from Naish:
have there been any changes from 2020 to 2021? I am particulary interested in the wear of the lines close to the bar.
Does anyone have both bars?
Sorry if this is a bit caotic, but I am looking forward to your replies

[BillyGoatGruff]

Naish 2021 and 2020 Torque bar is exactly the same bar... 100% the same. The centre line is (I believe, I need to measure) 4mm Dyneema. There are no issues with the wear on the centre line, you obviously need to change it after a few years of heavy use. You can easily splice and make your own centre line. The Naish Torque bar is a fantastc bar, perfect spinning chicken loop that never jams up, you can also eaisly adjust the length of the centre line to suit your arm length.

ps the bar changed from 2018 to 2019, this was just minor changes of colour and a slightly new grip on the bar. If you can get a brand new 2018 it's very near to the 2020 bar. All Naish bars are normally 24m lines, but you can also order a 20m Torque bar. You ideally want the 24m lines on all Naish kites, the 20m lines are for massive kiteloops, they alow the rider to get the kite lower in the loop and get level with the kite.

[Lukas M]

Naish 2021 and 2020 Torque bar is exactly the same bar... 100% the same. The centre line is (I believe, I need to measure) 4mm Dyneema. There are no issues with the wear on the centre line, you obviously need to change it after a few years of heavy use. You can easily splice and make your own centre line. The Naish Torque bar is a fantastc bar, perfect spinning chicken loop that never jams up, you can also eaisly adjust the length of the centre line to suit your arm length.

ps the bar changed from 2018 to 2019, this was just minor changes of colour and a slightly new grip on the bar. If you can get a brand new 2018 it's very near to the 2020 bar. All Naish bars are normally 24m lines, but you can also order a 20m Torque bar. You ideally want the 24m lines on all Naish kites, the 20m lines are for massive kiteloops, they alow the rider to get the kite lower in the loop and get level with the kite.

Thank you so much for this quick response!

[KVL]

I have been using the Naish bars the last many years, and not much has changed in the last few years. The clamp for the trim line was changed around 2018/19.
For all of them is, that the trim lines often has quite some wear and tear, maybe not a real issue. I have always been wondering why the Torgue bar was assembled with non-rust-free parts - maybe not the biggest issue, but in long term it would cause a weakness in it I believe. You clearly see the rust after a while.

The safety release is simple, maybe too simple. I have had several bars, where it just self releases without barely being touched. Both on land and on water.. I know other guys have had the same issue. I have had maybe 6 times on a one year old bar (have had it on two bars), and I think it is being caused the the plastic release and rubber bands getting too loose to keep it tight. I never had it previously, and i dont know if it is faulty 2020 release, or because of the many extra open/close when using a sliding rope harness.
For me it turned too much of a risk to use, and I had to change to different bar.
Thou said, the bar is simple and nice to use, but the safety is just too loose (for me) which makes it insecure. If using it it with a normal hook, I can recommend it. If using a rope I would reconsider it..

[Lowkeydude]

None of you had issues with the knots and stopper ball of this bar? To me the knots often pass through the hole in the stopper ball

[Johnnyrotten204]

I've not had the knot/stopper slip through. The old line organizer (2017 or 2018) was causing lines to snap, but they changed the system...

Safety release is a bit on the twitchy side, though I've never had an issue. Could see that some people might be nervous with it.

Love the bar, my only beef with it is that the trim lines seem to get chewed up fast. I just replaced the trim line this summer and they're looking a bit frayed.

[runner1]

None of you had issues with the knots and stopper ball of this bar? To me the knots often pass through the hole in the stopper ball

There is a known problem with the stopper ball, older versions can crack (you will need to look very closely) which allows the knot to pass through. Naish now makes a stronger replacement, my local store gave me the replacement parts for free.

[jbrodin]

Does anyone know the actual bar widths you can set wit the Naish Torque ATB 55. I find various numbers, depending on the site, and at the Naish site it only says 55cm and adjustable.

[Dirk]

From my experience the Torque is a solid bar. I am still using my 2017 model, apparently the flying lines, depower lines, safety line have been replaced (a couple of times) plus that old line organizer. I am using it with 22m plus 2m custom lines. For the depower line you need to watch the plastic insert in the bar if you use it for a long time and replace it, as this wears off. It is a cheap spare part and easily replaced.
I like the small bar diameter, the swivel above the QR is the best and easiest to rotate I have experienced so far, sometimes even auto rotating although it has not been set up for this.
The current Torque is pretty much the same but with PU covered depower ropes. There is a Torque model which was sold in between with a single PU covered depower line and a different QR, which was produced by Ocean Rodeo. You can get that one right now pretty cheap on sale (around 300 €). I have one, again solid bar, never had issues with the QR, the only downside for me is that the swivel needs quite some force to untwist the front lines. However that was not different on the North Navigator or an Eleveight bar when I tried some friends´ kites.

From what I saw in a Naish team rider´s post on Instagram, there seems to be a new bar coming with a single PU covered depower line, auto-rotation (similar to Reedin Dreamstick X or the new Eleveight bar) and a new QR.

[Dirk]

Does anyone know the actual bar widths you can set wit the Naish Torque ATB 55. I find various numbers, depending on the site, and at the Naish site it only says 55cm and adjustable.

The total width of the bar is 55cm. In the outer setting the back lines are 49 cm apart, in the inner setting 45 cm. Those additional 3cm on each end are from the rubber bar ends/winders.