What are Torque Caps?

What are Torque caps and why do you need them?

Torque caps first hit the industry in 2016 when SRAM launched an innovative wheelset designed exclusively for use with RockShox suspension forks, with notably larger end caps that instantly piqued interest. This design tweak served to ramp up the stiffness of the fork and entire front-end through an increase in hub end cap diameter. Other hub manufacturers quickly followed suit, producing adapter and conversion kits for their hubs to keep up with this innovation on the market. This design stuck around, as torque caps have now become a ubiquitous option for hubs across the industry to offer wheelsets that perform best with RockShox forks.

Let’s break things down a little more. The simple but effective difference torque caps offer is all in the end cap width. Standard hub end caps are 21mm in diameter, while torque caps convert the hub cap ends to 31mm. The added surface area of the converted axle provides a stiffer interface between the axle and the fork legs, as well rendering installation and removal of your front wheel super smooth and easy. This added end cap width is accommodated by uniquely-compatible dropouts in the fork legs of most RockShox forks produced since 2016, with all other suspension forks still only accommodating the standard 21mm caps.

This end cap redesign was introduced with the aim of an increasing steering precision and decreasing torsional flex at the hub which keeps your front end stable and under control no matter how rowdy the trail gets. This is a most notable asset for heavier riders and hard-chargers that push their bikes to the limit when cornering. Though standard end caps work just fine with Rockshox forks, the intentional compatibility that torque caps offer for these forks will certainly appeal to some riders.

We offer torque caps for all of the hubs we build our wheelsets with, as well as kits for converting from standard end caps to torque caps for riders who want to transition their NOBL wheels to a RockShox fork down the line. You’ll see 110x15mm boost Torque front axle options in all the mountain wheelset builders on our website.