Interesting discussion here:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=481960

oops I mean 10mm thru bolt 😉

How dare you evaluate technology options based on performance! You slave! Can’t you tell you’re just being brainwashed by the marketing companies? Free yourself! You must get a lugged brazed steel frame tourer with cantis! Otherwise you are nothing but a slave to fasion.

😉

ooooh – satirical 😉

If you’re talking front wheels, then it’s 9mm thru bolt. Rear axles are 10mm. Only they aren’t really a thru bolt, just a big bolt in normal dropouts.

QR15 is a stupid idea thought up by marketers. Lightweight 20mm thru bolts FTW. At least then all through bolts are compatible.

Well waddya know?, haven’t tried the latest QR fox but my QR15 feels much stiffer than the older QRs, maybe i’m wrong then.On the plus side they’re definitely more secure, and certainly quicker to remove/replace wheels than with 20mm or normal QR, facts’n’figures don’t always tell the whole story, do they?

Not sure it’s marketing. I believe the intention of Fox was to try and replace 9mm QR and come up with a suitable alternative. I love my 15QR forks, way stiffer than 9mm QR and so much quicker to undo/tighten.

Perhaps you could argue its marketing if you then decide you have to have it, resulting in spending money on new forks/whell/hub. I just rebuilt my old Vanillas into new lowers and had Pro 2 hubs so only needed the adaptors. I would say it’s clearly what bike manufacturers wanted, look how many bikes are coming with them now.

Not sure it’s marketing. I believe the intention of Fox was to try and replace 9mm QR and come up with a suitable alternative. I love my 15QR forks, way stiffer than 9mm QR and so much quicker to undo/tighten.

Why didn’t they just use 20mm though, there don’t seem to be any advantages to using 15mm over 20mm.

Rockshox have proven that with maxle QR taking a wheel on and off can be completely hassle free – and we all know that a 20mm bit of pipe is stiffer than a 15mm bit of pipe for a given weight. Plus everyone already has a 20mm wheel (and if they don’t they have a QR wheel, so either way they a new hub/conversion kit.)

Nickegg, how much did 15mm lowers cost you?

Why didn’t they just use 20mm though, there don’t seem to be any advantages to using 15mm over 20mm.

Rockshox have proven that with maxle QR taking a wheel on and off can be completely hassle free – and we all know that a 20mm bit of pipe is stiffer than a 15mm bit of pipe for a given weight. Plus everyone already has a 20mm wheel (and if they don’t they have a QR wheel, so either way they a new hub/conversion kit.)

This is why the need for QR15 is all marketing and is a solution to a problem that didn’t and doesn’t exist. This way Fox can declare that forks with QR15 are for one sort of use, those with 20mm for another and steer clear(er) of people using forks for things they aren’t designed for. Rock Shox’ Maxle Lite shows just why QR15 was not needed. If you have a QR15 wheel, what happens when you need to replace your forks and the model you want only comes with 20mm?

All this indicates to me that there is little point in buying a front wheel that cannot be swapped from one axle type to another, given how long front hubs last. Hope ProII for everything!

Just ridden in the rocky Sierra Nevada on a QR15 for the first time, I can Honestly say I have never felt so relaxed about riding super rocky trails, I’m damn sure the fact the forks tracked accurately played its part.

Better operation than having to unbolt my DT 20mm forks just to get the wheel out too.

I’ve just moved to qr15 fitted Floats, and while they don’t feel as stiff as Pikes, they’re a world apart from my previous qr revelations which I felt had brake flutter issues and tracked pretty poorly at full travel (130mm). As to whether a new system is necessary or not, it’s difficult to call- if Fox/Shimano think it’s needed they’re entitled to try something new. As are we to try it/ignore it/ take it up.

IA, I enquired at mojo about this a while ago thinking it might be cheaper than buying a new pair- it’s £130 for the lowers, plus about £10 to fit if you can’t do it yourself.

That £130 include the axle too? (sounds a silly question, but I could seem them charging extra).

Tempted for my 08 F100s. Gone from pikes to the QR, and noticing the flex. Though I may just get used to it.

I quess we’ll never know why Fox/Shimano chose 15mm over 20mm. Besides the point now though surely? It’s not as though they’ll change their mind!

There will be many people wanting either 20mm or 15mm and will have to get a new hub as many out there are not adaptable anyway.

I suppose it comes down to if you want Fox or Rock Shox/Others. Converting my Fox Vanilla’s was way cheaper then buying Rock Shox or any other bolt-thru fork. I could have gone with 20mm forks as i had the adaptors for the hubs anyway. BUT there was nothing wrong with my Fox internals so i stayed with them.

I can see both sides of the argument regarding QR15 and the 20mm standard. But if you look at the design of QR15 it is a development step on from Maxle, for a start the axle threads into a replaceable nut.

While only having one standard makes a lot of sense to us as consumers, so long as RS hold the license for Maxle and charge for its use, companies like Fox are not going to adopt it willingly….especially if they and Shimano think they can do better.

I do like the Maxle design and the stiffness, but I also like choice. It makes a lot of sense to me that QR15 will replace QR 9mm and that 20mm will become a heavy rider/DH design.