Any help experience much appreciated…

Old Rockshox Pike Uturn 454. Bought 2 pairs on here a few months back, to play around with some hardtails and my old 5 Spot. But I have never actually used them. Took one pair out the other day and found them a bit saggy… too soft. So I just tried to swap them for the other pair. I’ve never used these 20mm axles before, so I thought I may be doing something wrong. After a few turns, when I would expect the axle to become free and slide out… it pops! Basicall, as far as I can tell, its cross threaded itself. It wont come out. Got a lovely hope wheel and a Shwalbe trye… stuck to a pair of Pikes???? Any ideas?
Ta

Probably the maxel has stuck on the Hope bearings. Not enough grease was the problem when mine stuck. That’s when I bought a big rubber mallet and set about it. A couple of big whacks sorted it.

??? OK then. DOes it have to be rubber, or is that just a fetish? 😀
I’ll give it a go. Ta

You could smack it with a metal one but it may make a bit of a mess. Use mine for other stuff now, before I would have improvised with a piece of wood and a 2lb hammer.

My 15mm maxle did the same the other week after sitting on the towbar rack for a trip to the lakes and back. The bike lives in the house so the front wheel never comes off. When I did try to, the salt and warmth had corroded the axle so it had seized in the fork.

I tried tapping the release lever with a lump hammer, but it just started to round off.

Used a set of 13″ Stilsons in the end which released it with little damage.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/R2giv7]Maxle[/url] by Dave Aspinall, on Flickr

You need to support the fork leg when hitting it or else all you do is flex the fork leg

Just to clarify I hit mine on the opposite side to the clamp. Had a couple of threads still in the leg. Feet against the tyre and my leg against the fork leg to brace it.