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Death to the Mountain Bike Quick Release – The Birth of Widespread Thru Axles
There is change on the horizon and it is going to be a great advancement for mountain bikers across the world. The death of the mountain bike quick release is coming…and quickly. With lighter, cross country oriented forks getting spec’ed with 15mm and 20mm thru axles, mountain bikers of all orientations are starting to see what used to be a DH/FR exclusive. In all reality, the quick release axle for front mountain bike forks should go away. The thru axle is close to the same weight, safer, stiffer and just as easy to use thanks to QR styled release systems. You never have to worry about your wheel being aligned, the QR coming undone, if you have the correct tension or not…and better yet…most of the new thru axle designs are actually easier and quicker to use then the conventional quick release. I don’t know about you, but all of that sounds like more positives than negatives as we head farther into thru axles and away from quick releases!
With the increase in thru axles for mountain bikes on the rise, what can you do to be ready for the change?
Getting Ready for Mountain Bike Thru Axles
New Front Wheels – If you are in the market for a new wheelset for your mountain bike but you are not ready to buy a new fork, choose a front hub with convertible end caps. This will allow you to change the front hub to the new thru axle when you are ready to upgrade. ex. Hadley Racing, Hope Tech, Industry Nine
Purchasing a New Bike – If you are in the market for a new mountain bike (especially if you are purchasing a fully build ride), go ahead and make the switch! You are going to enjoy a front end that is stiffer and tracks better than previous quick release mountain bike forks. Luckily for you as the new mountain bike consumer, many of the rides that are hitting the market today are already seeing thru axles on their suspension forks.
Making Sense of Mountain Bike Thru Axles
With the introduction of the 15mm QR TA from Fox and Shimano, there are more options when it comes to thru axles for mountain bike forks. Here is what you can expect as you try to navigate all of the options during your purchase decisions.
15mm QR Thru Axle – The 15mm QR TA was released last year as part of a collaboration between Fox and Shimano.
- Fox Racing Shox 140mm travel and under forks
- Marzocchi Suspension 140mm travel and under forks
- DT Swiss suspension forks
20mm Thru Axle – The most common of the thru axles for mountain bikes.
- All RockShox thru axle forks – Maxle
- Fox Racing Shox 160mm travel and up forks
- Marzocchi Suspension 160mm and up forks
- Manitou thru axle suspension forks
- Magura Suspension thru axle suspension forks
- White Brothers thru axle suspension forks
24mm Thru Axle – Maverick
- Maverick Suspension Forks
25mm Thru Axle – Specialized
- Specialized thru axle suspension forks
Typically, you are going to run into the 15mm and 20mm thru axle option as you shop for your new mountain bike suspension fork or new mountain bike. After your first ride, you are going to wonder how you ever lived without the thru axle…it is the future!
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11:05 am
Thru axles will most likely become the norm for the reasons you stated, but unfortunately it will take time. It requires both a new front wheel and fork, which most people are not too anxious to purchase. We can plan ahead, like you wrote, but it would help if there would be a dang universal size. I suspect I will someday have 15 mm QR thru axles on all my front wheels, but it will take a few years.
12:01 pm
Just like anything else it is going to take time. Great change though!
2:54 pm
Yes, hopefully the end is near. I have been on thru axle forks since around 2004. The biggest hurdles used to be weight and too long of travel for trail bikes. Lots of options nowadays.
You mention the Hadley hub for conversion options. Is that hub convertible across the board? I thought they had a 20mm or a 9mm qr/thru and they didn’t share the same hub body or bearings.
I am a fan of the Dimension brand front hub. It is cheap and doesn’t seem to suffer some of the issues of other budget hubs, or even Hope hubs for that matter. They also come with QR and 20mm hardware, so no additional expenses. AEbike and universal both sell it. I have been running them for about 4 years off and on without any issue.
3:16 pm
The new Hadley front hub does.
11:14 am
Gotcha, last time I bought a Hadley was about 2004.
I should mention that the dimension hub is QR/20mm or they have a separate 15mm, so it is not fully convertible. Personally I am avoiding 15mm forks like the plague, so it is a non-issue. I am not a fan of additional standards for the sake of avoiding patents or whatever the other reasons were. I don’t buy that it was strictly a weight saving measure. That is another debate though.
11:19 am
The hub does all three. Push in end caps for the 20mm and solid screw together axles for the 15mm and qr.
3:07 pm
the other issue is bike racks. I’ve got 5 trays that won’t work with a TA setup. Anyone with a std roof rack will have the issue. Keeping a T2 on the back of a 19′ truck is a PITA. I don’t foresee me going TA on my XC bike in the near future.
3:15 pm
Fork Ups work perfectly.
1:57 pm
Yakima and Thule need to step up to the plate with convertible upright bike carriers for 15 and 20 mm thru’s. Fork Up’s are decent, but still a pain in the butt IMO.
That said, I hate removing my front wheel with disc brakes for fear of accidentally grabbing a fistful of front brake with the wheel removed and thus ruining my ride.
I just use upright bike carriers on my roof to eliminate the axle worry altogether.
1:34 pm
I completely agree. I can’t figure out why they have come up with an interchangeable and lockable option for their racks.
2:52 pm
I just made the switch to a thru axle on a Fox F29. I would agree with the article and all of the comments posted. From a ride stanpoint, it feels very solid and tracks well. For downhillers, it seems like more of a need to have. For XC, it is more fixing a problem that did not really exist. It does ride better, but I never found there was much of an issue to begin with. Obviously extra safe. The downsides are clunky wheel removal if you are someone who ports the bike a lot. The rack manufacutrers are way behind on this, but perhaps there is not enough of a market for them to get excited about tooling for this just yet. The Fork-Up option is a good interim fix, but they run about $50. IMO, this a little nuts — but they seem to be the only option right now so they can charge that for a $3 piece of fabricated metal.
11:34 pm
I think it is a good change but I don’t thank the industry is handling it well at all.
It really sucks for people who are in the market for say a new wheel set and want to get something really nice that will last for a number years, unfortunately most of the hub manufactures are not making convertible hubs. So when this does become the standard you are just going to have to buy new everything.
At least that will be good for the manufactures, but sucks when you are someone struggling to finance this sport.
11:37 pm
oops, missed the part in the article about convertible hubs. I talked to king at a trade so in Indy IN back in the winter and he said there was not convertible option for his hub, so I just figured it was like that for everyone.
9:12 pm
I don't know if this is a good idea from the user end. It kind of opens up the door for fork and hub makers to limit support for older products. I recently tried to find parts for a 3 year old Manitou fork, can't get them, answer-manitou's response “we don't stock them anymore!” Yes it is a good idea but is it needed? everytime a new “standard” comes into the picture it is costly for the consumer. I don't want mtn. biking to become like down hill skiing.
2:12 am
I don't know if this is a good idea from the user end. It kind of opens up the door for fork and hub makers to limit support for older products. I recently tried to find parts for a 3 year old Manitou fork, can't get them, answer-manitou's response “we don't stock them anymore!” Yes it is a good idea but is it needed? everytime a new “standard” comes into the picture it is costly for the consumer. I don't want mtn. biking to become like down hill skiing.