Thru axle vs QR (titanium disc frame)
- Thread starter vickster
- Start date
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fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Through axels aren't needed on a road bike. It was down to extra stiffness on a suspension fork, and of course suspension rear - given the movement on the parts, ant the through axel adds stiffness. There is no need on a road bike as the fork and rear triangle aren't suspension and don't move. Pointless.
They are more of a pain to remove a wheel, and the ham fisted lot manage to strip threads, that gets expensive fast. A through axle Rock shox costs £40.
They are more of a pain to remove a wheel, and the ham fisted lot manage to strip threads, that gets expensive fast. A through axle Rock shox costs £40.
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
There are standards. 12x142 for the back, 12mm for the front. 15mm is also quite common for the front on road bikes- my Litespeed has that, though they've now switched to 12mm... but pretty much every disc wheel set available now can switch between the various options anyway.
I thought there were more. I have seen:
The original 15mm fronts
12X135
12X142
12X100
Specialized SCS
I am not sure if Boost 148 has made it to a gravel bike yet. It seems that 12X100 front is now the defacto standard, but I worry that 12X142 will force too long a chainstay on some bikes whilst not being wide enough for really wise wheels.
I like that wheels are often convertible, but this adds costs and can be a bit of a pain to deal with.
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
12x142 & 135 are the same...142 is the measurement including the axle hardware. SCS is dead in the water- only Spesh ever did compatible frames & newer models have dropped it. Boost...not on road bikes, probably too wide for the chainline.
New Horizon
Guru
My Mason x Hunt wheels come with QR adapters and QR's. The adapters simply slot into the hub (held in by rubber seals) to give a QR setup. Remove them to give 12mm TA. They can also supply 15mm adapters as an accessory. They take centre lock discs and also come with 6 bolt adapters. Other Hunt wheels are similar. Future proofed and best of all worlds.
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Tenacious Sloth
Guru
- Location
- Huntingdon, UK
The thing that appeals to me most about through-axle is that the wheel goes back into exactly the same position each time, whereas with QR it seems necessary to re-seat the calipers occasionally to prevent rubbing.
Graham
Graham
Crankarm
Guru
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
Rubbish, you don't need to reseat callipers. Twice a day my front QR disc brake wheel comes off and goes back on and never once have the discs and pads rubbed or have I needed to reseat the calliper. Just slip the wheel back into the forks, do up the QR and ride. The brakes work 100% every time as they did before taking the wheel out without any adjustment needed and NO rubbing noises between disc and pads.
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
QR is fine. Yes, occasionally when putting a wheel back, there might be a bit of rubbing. No problem to undo & re-seat the wheel.
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Tenacious Sloth
Guru
- Location
- Huntingdon, UK
I'm very happy for you.
My experience is different to yours, particularly with the rear wheel.
Perhaps I prefer my pads closer to the discs, or maybe I'm not as expert at reseating the rear wheel.
It seems to me that a through-axle guarantees getting the wheel in exactly the same location every time, no matter how poor your technique.
Maybe I should practice removing and refitting my wheels twice a day to become an expert like you, so that I no longer need to talk rubbish.
Graham
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
lost count of the number of times I have swapped wheels out on disc brakes qr equipped mtbs and can never remember the brakes binding afterwards.
jiberjaber
Veteran
- Location
- Essex
I think I recognise this from a couple of years ago... might be worth looking at:
My bike was in the work stand and I re-fitted my front wheel, I then got distracted and forgot to take the bike off the stand and check the wheel was re-seated correctly... I came back to the bike and for some reason I then proceeded to realign the front caliper and after that didn't make the connection that I had to fettle with my QR to remove brake rub... the issue only dawned on me a couple of months later, after a few days on tour, with hardly any front brake pad left on one edge where I had been adjusting for the alignment by trying to tighten the wheel in a particular position.... this was a few years ago...
Might be worth checking the wheel is seated and then re-aligning the caliper with a business card or similar thickness paper to ensure the pads are equidistant from the disc.... while you are at it, pop the pads out and check that you don't have a sticky piston which might also cause similar alignment issues... easy to clean, with pads out slightly exercise the brake to push the piston out (carefully not to let it come all the way out!) and then use a cotton bud (q-tip) with some brake hydraulic fluid to clean round the piston till it's shiny again...
I need to clean my pistons like above probably twice a year - they are not as maintenance free as one might expect...
