Hi,

Looking at moving from 100mm to 120mm fork, probably a reba, now, I know some have a through axle, but do I really need this, is it worth having? I would have to upgrade my hubs I think to fit one.

Anyones experience would be really valued

Do you need it? No. Is it worth it? Yes, in my opinion. Improves tracking. Makes it much harder for your front wheel to drop out.

I noticed going from 130 9mm qr to 150 20mm maxle.
Not all the time but when dropping into rutted corners I noticed.
And that was coming from a
set of Pace Rc40s which were supposed to be very stiff anyway.

Not really ‘necessary’ as such but I wouldn’t buy a NEW fork without it any more.
It’s faster and easier to use, more secure and stiffer. No brainer really 🙂

Not really ‘necessary’ as such but I wouldn’t buy a NEW fork without it any more.

+1

And just buy a Hope front wheel, so you’ve got the ability to cover any standard.

do you really need suspension? gears? disk brakes? i could go on…

no you don’t really need it, but your bike will feel improved because of it 8)

so… do you want it? that’s the real question here

My mate has a new 150mm stumpjumper carbon thingy & that came with a 9mm qr front fork, which he was a bit dis-chuffed about. But after seeing him ride it, he’s just as slow as he was on his 20mm fox 36’s. He does notice the flex, but manages to cope with it.

If your hubs can go to a 9mm through bolt, like Hope can, then the RWS skewers usefully apply more torque than a normal QR (or the Superstar 9mm thru both QR), and it is the torque than determines the stiffness.

Even if your current hubs cannot be converted you could look at the Magura forks which have a double crown, and are very stiff because of it.

2012 Magura Durin Marathon Review

That’s a double brace, not a double crown on the magura fork.

In general I’d say QR will be absolutely fine. I am not sure I ever noticed a difference between the two, although both my bikes now do have 20mm but that’s only because I run beefy forks that only come in that guise!

That’s a double brace, not a double crown on the magura fork.

doh! too early, brain still in bed. It’s my scalp that has a double crown…

Can’t say I’ve noticed a difference in stiffness going from a 9mm QR to a 15mm thu axle. Not saying it isn’t stiffer, but how would you notice it on the front end of a bike with squishy forks and a squirmy tyre?

I’m afraid that one’s up there with the guys who rave about their new cranks being so much stiffer 🙄

But… I would go for the bolt thru anyway just because it means the wheel goes back on in exactly the same position – saves all that fiddling to get rotor lined up perfectly in the caliper each time.

It’s not the simplest tbh. I always felt the difference going between my Lyriks and my old QR Revelations, but after a couple of minutes it didn’t really matter, I knew it was going to flex so I just rode to take that into account. It never bothered me really. If I had to change a perfectly good wheel, I don’t think I’d swap. But some people hate it.

Even if you do, it’s still not as simple as maxle = stiff. A quick release Revelation is still much stiffer than a QR15 Fox 32 under braking forces, frinstance.

Go for the maxle. I went from 130mm qr to some Pikes and the difference was really noticeable. Supertsar Switch hub would be a good alternative to Hope, if funds were low.

If you don’t have it, then if you come on an Alps trip with Pete Poddy and I, we will forever plant the seed of doubt in your mind that on the chair lifts, your pride and joy is only being held from plummeting to certain doom by a tiny metal spindle being ‘pulled’ in the ‘wrong’ direction….. 😉 (Wriggles…..!)

DrP

I’ve only ever ridden with QR type forks (though I use a 9mm diameter QR), so am blissfully ignorant of any benefits (perceived or actual) regarding 15mm or 20mm axle types.

Am I missing out? Possibly. Do I enjoy riding what I’ve got? Definitely.

If I were spending a fortune on a new fork I’d probably go with a through axle, and a tapered steerer. But my last fork purchase was an old-stock oem Fox Talas, which had QR drop outs and a straight steerer. At less than £200 delivered I wasn’t about to worry about drop out style. (Beggars / choosers etc.)

I use qr magura durins and they are nicely stiff twisty wise, from what I can see there is more movement front to back and I don’t know what impact 15/20mm axles have on that but I’m sure 36mm legs would. So IMHO I’m sticking with QR for now as I like my forks and can’t be arsed to spend 500+ on new 36mm ones.

Depends a lot on your weight, riding style and the terrain you ride.

The heavier you are, the more your QR forks will twist/bend.

The faster you ride, the more twist forces will be applied to the forks.

The more rooty/off-camber the terrain you ride is, the more you’d benefit from bolt-thru forks.

The question(s) you maybe need to ask is “Do my forks currently flex/twist too much? Would I prefer them to be stiffer?”

TBH you should be able to find a 120mm fork in QR, 15mm or 20mm shouldn’t you?

But then I’d question the logic of choosing a fork to suit your front hub rather than the other way round, if you are looking for a Rufty Tufty 5″ forks and the one you really want come with a chunkier axle, then just factor a new front Hub into your purchase…

I’m still quite happy on QR forks for most of my riding TBH, but a 20mm fork makes a bit of a difference, is it needed? No, is it a benefit? Yeah a bit, but a QR fork is hardly “Un-rideable” though…

I always felt the difference going between my Lyriks and my old QR Revelations,

Well, that’s more to do with the fact the Lyrik has about 2lbs more metal in it and bigger diameter stanchions than the Revelation than anything else!

If you don’t have it, then if you come on an Alps trip with Pete Poddy and I, we will forever plant the seed of doubt in your mind that on the chair lifts, your pride and joy is only being held from plummeting to certain doom by a tiny metal spindle being ‘pulled’ in the ‘wrong’ direction….. (Wriggles…..!)

DrP

😈
😆

All this talk of stiffness is really starting to get my BS antenna twitching!

What’s wrong with a bit of flex in the front end anyway – its a mountain bike FFS! It’s got 140mm of flex built into the forks, two and a half inches of flex in the tyre, not to mention the inherent flex in a spoked wheel, and all the other components between the dirt and your hands!

With all that going on, and bouncing all over the place on your average technical trail, would anyone really notice the difference in stiffness between a 9mm and 15mm bolt – I mean if we did a proper blind test of the Pepsi challenge variety – would they really be able to tell which was stiffer?

PeterPoddy – Member

Well, that’s more to do with the fact the Lyrik has about 2lbs more metal in it and bigger diameter stanchions than the Revelation than anything else!

It is- but the point I was making is that despite all the differences, it really wasn’t a big deal.

I’ve got Revelations 130 QR on one bike and 150 15mm on the other. When I think about it the 15mm does seem a little bit more solid but might be the wheels. However, when I’m riding my mind is usually on other things.

I went with a QR fork and wheels that were QR only because they are out of fashion and therefore were bargaintastic. No regrets.

This blind fork test – can I watch??

I’m with Perthmtb on this… My fork, Revs 140mm, have 20mm bolt through and I can’t say I’ve honestly noticed an increase in stiffness (same applies to the various cranks I’ve used).

I would however NOT buy QR because I like the increased safety of a bolt through, and nowadays they’re a piece of p**s to use.

Back in the days of MkII Spesh Enduros I went out to the Peaks with the original spaghetti like Manitou Black forks, next week I did the same route with the new forks in (Pike).

The difference was very noticeable on rocky descents, all of a sudden the bike went where I wanted it to rather than pinging off all over the place.

Not scientific proof but no worse than many tests, and I’ve stuck to Maxle forks ever since.

I must admit, I have only really ridden 9mm QR, I am looking to get a new fork and frame and take everything over. I really am trying to get a new build on the cheap. I only ride singletrack, no big drop offs or anything. I have maxic crossride wheels and accompanying hubs and my understanding was that these did not convert, if they do, I would be up for the change? I also thought people didn’t do many hubs in 24 spoke

I have one bike with c 2005 fox 32’s and another with fox 36’s which are bolt through.

The 32’s are twitchy on rough corners and I have to make small corrections to make up for it, not really a problem but I tend to look for a smoother line.

The 36’s are rock solid on bends and hold the line with minimal corrections, line choice is not such a problem. They weigh about a pound extra of course !

Given the choice I would buy a new fork with bolt through axle

The 32’s are twitchy on rough corners and I have to make small corrections to make up for it, not really a problem but I tend to look for a smoother line.

The 36’s are rock solid on bends and hold the line with minimal corrections, line choice is not such a problem. They weigh about a pound extra of course !

A fair comparison…

What percentage of the improvement is down the the bolt thru then?

I went from 120mm 9mmQR Reba, to a 140mm twin arch 20mm bolt through and could immediately tell the difference.

Having said that, the main reason I changed was lack of confidence in QR not a search for stiffness.

I changed due to a front wheel qr coming loose on a descent!!!

My current 150 Rev definately tracks straighter than my old Fox 120 qr fork. I don’t really notice stiffness in bikes, but with this one, tracking through rough stuff was like night and day.

I went from 120mm 9mmQR Reba, to a 140mm twin arch 20mm bolt through and could immediately tell the difference.

and another one – these statements are only valid if you went to an exact same fork with a bolt through instead of a QR, otherwise you are changing too many factors to know if the both through has made any difference.

It is like changing your hifi amp and your speaker cable in one go, and then saying the new speaker cable is much better, when it may well have made no difference at all.

I changed due to a front wheel qr coming loose on a descent!!!

bet it wasn’t an XT skewer. I used a Hope and came undone so I went RWS 9mm bolt just to stop it – but the RWS has more torque when it tightens, so therefore will make the fork stiffer.

If buying an expensive new fork I would go for one of the fat axle / bolt through standards.

I have never noticed a stiffness deficiency (even at 140mm) but i am quite xc but I like the idea of the extra wheel security and I suspect over time the mountain bike qr wh.eel and fork will become something of a rarity

I’ve never noticed mine be any stiffer. I got it because it was cheaper than the 9mm even after a factored in the hope conversion.

As above, fork setup, tyre and wheel choice is a likely to be noticeable.

TG – it was a basic shimano one, so effectively the same design as an XT.

Having read Sheldon browns analysis of QR skewers, I wouldn’t use Hope/CB type ones ever.

I wish my bikes had bolt through back ends, but not many do. I agree on the RWS ones, I have them on both my rears.