[pernfilman]

Wanted to hear some feedback from the XC racers and riders that are using thru axle designed forks for XC racing.

I had a sid that i beat to a pulp after two years of racing and loved the hell out of it.

I replaced it with a Reba XX fork and love that fork but want to stiffen the front end up even more so was looking into replacing the reba with a 20mm thru axle design.

I would have went back to a sid but their thru axle XX version is only offered in 120mm travel.

My questions for those that are using this on XC bikes are what are your impressions over the "advantages" that the thru axle offered.

Do you feel this is too much fork for XC racing with the 20mm version?

I race hard and torque the hell out of the front end on sprints enough that I get the rotor rub and not sure if this is related skewers coming loose as well under hard riding( swapped hubs, forks and skewers and still can get em loose).

A 20mm thru axle means for me another CK hub swap up front and a new fork.

I looked into Fox forks that have a 15mm thru axle which means I could use a CK converter fork, but I love the XX hydraulic lockout and the 80-100-120mm travel options.

so ladies and gents tell me what you think after you went to 15 or 20mm thru axle for XC racing and riding.

 

[dontheclysdale]

I only run 20mm TA on my bikes. I'm a little heavier (at 210lbs) than most. I have a 2010 s-works stumpy that came with a Specialized branded XX fork. That thing came off the bike first thing. It flexed and just down right scared the hell out of me. Braking downhill was horrible. I grabbed a 20mm ta RockShox, sent it to Push, had it set for 100mm, and haven't looked back.

Those people who say they can't tell a difference between riding on a QR or 20mm TA must be riding in a nice smooth parking lot or only weigh a buck-20? On the trail, I can tell a day and night difference and I would tell anyone who weighs over 180lbs, rides seriously, and has never felt the difference to try a 20 TA or 15 TA and see for themselves.

Also if you're worried about hubs, Hope Pro2 are interchangeable from QR, 15mm, and 20mm. Very versatile and reliable hubs.

 

[Silentfoe]

I use a 20mm Reba on my 29er FS and a 15mm Fox on my 29er HT. I couldn't live with a standard QR. I am a bigger racer at 6'2" and 185lbs. If my fork flexed enough to rub the rotors while sprinting, I'd move on right away. I have a CK hub that I swap between 20mm and 15mm axles and a DT hub strictly for 15mm. They are both pretty nice, either works.

 

[WR304]

Have you considered a 9mm thru bolt axle such as the DT RWS one? That should stiffen your current fork up noticeably when compared to a normal quick release skewer. There are quite a few hubs that can be converted and used with a 9mm thu bolt axle, not just DT ones. It would be a lot cheaper and let you keep your current fork.

http://www.dtswiss.com/Products/Components/RWS/RWS-thru-bolt.aspx

If you can find one you want to get one of the 24mm Specialized OEM Hi-Lo hubs to go with the 9mm thru bolt axle. They have slightly oversized end caps (increasing stiffness over normal hubs) but will still fit in a normal fork without modification.

The 28mm oversized Specialized end caps need to go with a Specialized fork however. They don't seat properly in standard fork dropouts without either the fork or end cap being modified first. Used with a Specialized Futureshock fork they provide a stiff front end.

Pictured below: Specialized OEM Hi-Lo hub with 28mm oversized end caps and 9mm DT RWS thru bolt axle from my 2009 Epic.

 

[willymcd]

I'll be racing my large air9 this year with a 20mm reba, it's going to be 21# even with pedals. I think it is about a 100g weight penalty when you add in the extra weight of fork, axle and hub, so not too much, and for apparently a much stiffer front end?

Personally if I were in your shoes I would just try the dt swiss RWS, it is costly to change your hub out, you need new spokes. Unless you have an itch to build up a new wheel set I would hold off going 20mm till you want a new bike.

 

[TunicaTrails]

I ran a 20mm TA Reba Team on my first 29er and noticed no dropoff in stiffness from the Lefty I was running before. Then I went back to the Lefty, which a lot of people don't realize is a through-axle fork as well.

 

[DukeNeverwinter]

Got a 15qr on the fornt of my superfly. previuosly on my HiFi. Totally transformed the HiFi, coming from an older REBA. All my 29er stuff, except rigids, will be through axle from now on.

 

[Fakie1999]

so, I'm one of the guys thats a buck 20, and I get rotor rub on my wheelset. stans olympic rims, not sure on the spokes, and american classic hubs. I'm looking at a wheelset right now, same rims, but dt swiss 190 hubs. would this be better? or convertible to the 9mm thru axle?

 

[jd1072]

Wow, I didn't know about the below option. Should this work with the standard QR DT240 front and rear hubs, and also be compatible with a Fox F29 fork??? That would be a great upgrade for the money it seems.

I've had thru axels on a lot of bikes, but never my XC bikes. I really want it though - on my longer travel bikes, it's made a huge difference in stiffening up the front end. My QR Fox F29 feels like a wet noodle in the off camber stuff compared to the thru-axel forks I've used in the past.

Have you considered a 9mm thru bolt axle such as the DT RWS one? That should stiffen your current fork up noticeably when compared to a normal quick release skewer. There are quite a few hubs that can be converted and used with a 9mm thu bolt axle, not just DT ones. It would be a lot cheaper and let you keep your current fork.

http://www.dtswiss.com/Products/Components/RWS/RWS-thru-bolt.aspx

If you can find one you want to get one of the 24mm Specialized OEM Hi-Lo hubs to go with the 9mm thru bolt axle. They have slightly oversized end caps (increasing stiffness over normal hubs) but will still fit in a normal fork without modification.

The 28mm oversized Specialized end caps need to go with a Specialized fork however. They don't seat properly in standard fork dropouts without either the fork or end cap being modified first. Used with a Specialized Futureshock fork they provide a stiff front end.

Pictured below: Specialized OEM Hi-Lo hub with 28mm oversized end caps and 9mm DT RWS thru bolt axle from my 2009 Epic.

 

[WR304]

Wow, I didn't know about the below option. Should this work with the standard QR DT240 front and rear hubs, and also be compatible with a Fox F29 fork??? That would be a great upgrade for the money it seems.

I've had thru axels on a lot of bikes, but never my XC bikes. I really want it though - on my longer travel bikes, it's made a huge difference in stiffening up the front end. My QR Fox F29 feels like a wet noodle in the off camber stuff compared to the thru-axel forks I've used in the past.

The 9mm and 10mm thru bolt axles should work with any standard frame and fork.

If you've already got DT 240s hubs then you can convert them easily. All you need are some new end caps for your existing wheels and new DT RWS thru bolt skewers (9mm for the front wheel and 10mm for the rear wheel.)

DT 240s 9mm hub conversion kit:
http://www.dtswiss.com/Products/Acc.../Conversion-Kit-240s-disc-brake-TB-front.aspx

DT 240s 10mm rear hub conversion kit
http://www.dtswiss.com/Products/Acc...-Kits/Conversion-Kit-240s-thru-bolt-rear.aspx

DT RWS 9mm and 10mm thru bolt skewers
http://www.dtswiss.com/Products/Components/RWS/RWS-thru-bolt.aspx

.

 

[Le Duke]

I would have went back to a sid but their thru axle XX version is only offered in 120mm travel.

And it can be spaced down to 100mm with ease...

 

[pernfilman]

And it can be spaced down to 100mm with ease...

Oddly they list the reba as having travel options but not the SID

I disassembled the Reba and converted it from 120 to 100mm with ease

Do you know anyone who has converted the 120 sid version, just not sure why Rock Shox does not list it as serviceable in terms of their height.

 

[pernfilman]

Can anyone confirm if there any differences in hub widths for different forks I am showing chris king to have a 110mm width 20mm hub and the reba lists its hub spacing as 100mm

is there an extra 5mm that is supposed to be there on each side ? or are these two piece incompatible ?

 

[edubfromktown]

Can anyone confirm if there any differences in hub widths for different forks I am showing chris king to have a 110mm width 20mm hub and the reba lists its hub spacing as 100mm

is there an extra 5mm that is supposed to be there on each side ? or are these two piece incompatible ?

Reba Team 20mm TA is spot on with the CK hub...

 

[dontheclysdale]

Can anyone confirm if there any differences in hub widths for different forks I am showing chris king to have a 110mm width 20mm hub and the reba lists its hub spacing as 100mm

is there an extra 5mm that is supposed to be there on each side ? or are these two piece incompatible ?

I never knew there was a difference. I've run Hadley, CK, DT, and Hope 20mm TA hubs on a White Brothers fork as well as 2 different Rockshox's.

 

[willymcd]

all quick release forks have 100mm spacing all 20mm TA forks have 110. if you are using a hub like hope that is swappable between QR and 20mm the QR adapters will be a total of 10mm shorter then the 20mm adapters.

Can anyone confirm if there any differences in hub widths for different forks I am showing chris king to have a 110mm width 20mm hub and the reba lists its hub spacing as 100mm

is there an extra 5mm that is supposed to be there on each side ? or are these two piece incompatible ?