Is it worth paying extra for the through axle and are there any downsides? Can’t say I’ve ever really noticed rear flex on all mountain style hardtails but that may just be because I haven’t yet used one with a through axle.

The 135×10 bolt in King SS hub back end on my HQ is maybe a tad stiffer than the 142×12 King hub back end on my Tallboy LTc.

That pretty much answers my question then: not worth it. Ta

had on my QH at first QR and changed to 142X12…
couldn`t notice any difference..

cy wrote an interesting article in his “news” about
“why no thru axles on our hardtails”

The main reason to have a “bigger” rear axle is just to maintain compatibility with your other bikes. I got fed up swapping wheel adaptors about as i moved wheels between my bikes, so i “getto’d” some 12×142 dropouts into my c456…….

(now 1by, with OneUp expander, and Shimano “E-thru” 12mm axle)

😉