Wife has just got the new Giant TCX SLR2 as a warranty replacement for last year’s model and it’s gone from QR to 12mm thru-axle F&R. I want to put a set of Novatec wheels on there – I’ve changed the rear wheel happily but the front doesn’t seem to sit quite right with the forks so the axle can’t go in. Looking at it next to the supplied giant wheel, it seems that the diameter of where the hub contacts the forks is different by about 0.5mm.

Are there a couple of different standards for 12mm thru axles that I should be aware of? Should I be able to get end-caps for my novatecs that work?

Does the axle go into the hub ok?

Yep, axle fits perfectly into the hub.

So you put the axle through one side but it wont screw into the other side?

Oh, it fits into the hub when it’s not in the bike but it won’t go in at all when it’s in the fork.

Looking into the opening the holes don’t seem to line up by about 0.5mm.