Simple, inexpensive Fox thru-axle replacement.
What happens when you lose your fancy new fork’s thru axle? Most of us sulk off home, upset at a missed ride- only to have the sadness turn to even more sadness over the cost of (and occasionally long wait for) a factory replacement.
That is, unless you’re Trever Skilnick from New Mexico. Rather than waiting six weeks and shelling out $75 for an axle to replace one lost from the back of a friend’s truck rides, he decided to make his own. And the name?
It has been said that replacement Fox 15QR axles are so rare only unicorns can order them. On a moonless night. While a trio of virgin flutists toot the melody of Gangnam Style in three-part harmony. And even then the thing costs seventy-five American dollars.
There you have it.
(Just see a doc if that’s the yellow or red)
Rather than going with a quick-release design, Unicorn Axles’ 15QRRs use a positionable L-handle design. Made of reinforced polymer, early models’ handles are 40mm don’t ratchet per se- but can be ‘parked’ in any position à la DT’s RWS skewers. As with DT’s and X-Fusion’s thru-axles, the lever should provide plenty of force to keep the wheel in place.
The company is still ramping up their website, but are aiming for $59 pricing. Early production skewers (shown above) are in stock for anyone in a pinch. At 78g, the prototype Unicorn comes in right on top of Fox’s 75g original. There are also alloy-handled (97g) and weight weenie (40g) models in the works. More at unicornaxles.com.
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Looks good, hope the do a RS version
He was that outraged at paying $75, he has released a plastic one for….$59. No thanks.
“Simple, inexpensive thru-axle replacement”. Perhaps i’m being unreasonable, but £40 for a thru axle? MArzocchi’s 20mm one is £24 at CRC and I wouldn’t even call that inexpensive.
If someone wanted to make a genuinely inexpensive replacement they could knock up a hollow steel or ally one with an allen bolt fixing for a tenner, surely.
Combine an Allen bolt, a sleeve and washer! it can be as simple as that. Yep you need a tool to undo and do it up, but then you are just like me “a tool” for loosing your through axle in the first place.