Been looking for forks recently and weighing up options, at the reba price point finding a fork with 1 1/8" steerer and a thru axle is rare, now this is the combination I was looking for, but is it really necessary?
15st rider
100mm - 120mm travel
26" aluminium hardtail
29" steel hardtail
No.
Next?
Necessary nope, we rode for years without them, but 'better/progress', so yes I think so and worthwhile (to me) if buying new
managed about 17 years without them so far i have and ive not died in a firey ball of death yet.
[i]but 'better/progress'[/i]
Hmm, for me they sit on the "solution to a problem that doesn't exist for the 95% of riders who just ride their bikes around and are nowhere near the limits of anything" category.
See also external BB's, ever increasingly 'stiff' cranks/stems/bars etc etc
...are pneumatic tyres on your list? 😉
No. There will always be parts that are x% stiffer, stonger etc but what they don't tell you is that your exisiting bits are stiff/strong enough and completely fit for purpose.
no.
i used to have forks with a 20 maxle on my xc bike - my new QR forks are a little more flexy, but i'm not dead, or having any less fun.
[i]...are pneumatic tyres on your list?[/i]
Well, that is when it all started to go wrong 🙂
No, I was recently caught up in the trend (tempted by cheap prices) & not really noticed any improvement, downside is it's quite easy to put the axle down & loose it when you take the wheel off - never likely to do that with a qr wheel.
you don't [i]need[/i] them, but they improve things.
It's not do much a stiffness issues for me, more a front QR isn't the 'best' way of keeping your front wheel on and secure, now I fully admit and accept that the likelihood of the thing dropping out is rare, yep agree 100%, but thru axles are out there, they cost no more, and they totally eliminate the issue, and add a bit a stiffness in for free.
What's not to like?
no but may have a pair for sale if you are interested rebuilt last year with new 2 step internals by loco email in profile
as with most things...
the word 'need' should generally should be replaced with 'like'
Personally I think thru-axles on short travel lightweight forks are one of the greatest tech advances of recent years. They help your bike go where you point it. They allow you to harder/rougher stuff without getting deflected like QR forks do.
4-5 years ago a bolt-thru, light, short travel fork was on my "moon on stick" list. Now they're available and I think they make a big difference to riding.
YMMV of course 😉
have to agree with Jonathon, for more lightweight noodle like forks you would def see an improvement *
I am now tempted to upgrade my old rebas with some of those bargain sids at one one, which will entail yet another new set of wheels bugger...
You don't NEED disc brakes but they make riding a bike off road easier, bolt through axles are the same but perhaps of less obvious benefit
There aren't really any downsides to having them and they are definitely of benefit to some people so why not
I went from QR rigid forks to 20mm axle 100mm suspension on my 29er and the increase in steering precision was very noticable.
You can live perfectly well without a through axle but once you've used on you're unlikely to want to go back to QR.
On back to back trail centre testing over consecutive days, I’ve found bolt–through axles result in a 1.73% increase in tracking compared with QR axles. This is unfortunately offset by a 1.68% increase in weight, so it’s horses for courses.
I used the same bike, and the same front wheel with an axle convertor, and the forks were the same pair; I just swapped the lowers.
Having done the testing I’ve found both choices are compromised in some way, so I’ve taken to carrying both pairs of lowers and the axle kit on every ride, and I just swap them out depending on the grade of trail. I can do this while my riding mates are adjusting their saddle heights because I have a Reverb. I’ve found it best to attach the unused pair of Fox lowers to the outside of my Camelbak Lobo for quick access at the trailhead.
For Blue trails I’ve found QR to be more than fine. For Red trails I like the extra tracking performance and steering feedback of bolt-through. I don’t ride Black trails because my bike only has 140mm of rear suspension and I can’t really carry the spare frame I’d need to provide the required 160mm.
This said, to be honest even this current setup is a compromise. One of my favourite trail centre trails at my local trail centre has more left hand berms than right hand berms, so I’m hoping Fox are going to release a tapered axle fork with QR on one side and bolt-through on the other so it’s light where I need it and strong where I need it.
Depending upon which bike I use and depending upon how I have the configuration of those bikes (rigid or HT etc) I go from QR to 15mm fairly regularly and notice no different what so ever.
I'm 160lbs though and I've always imagined that the heavier riders amongst us might notice more?
Ditto re 160lbs, and I notice it plenty. But suspect you're right that heavier riders may see more benefits.
Whether it feels significantly different will depend a lot on the terrain and how you're riding it. I notice it most cornering hard on rough/rutted corners (think well-worn blown-out trail centre). Bike geom and riding position will also have an influence on how much fork deflection you notice. If you're going in a "long-travel hardtail ride the fork" style - aggressive and forward weighted - you're likely to notice flex at the fork more then if you're in a more "full-suss middle weighted" style position.
I *heart* jackthedog 🙂
No. I have unfashionable QR 1 1/8 steered Sektors on my bike. 150mm travel, but seem to be fine.
Went round The Wall earlier this week and whilst I appreciate is is hardly the toughest trail around, longer noodle type forks with machined soft cheese crown race still did fine.
jack, this what you need [url= http://item.ebay.com/Lefty-HUB-Quick-Release-6-BOLT-32H-Cannondale-BMX-FIXIE-SOLO-BADBOY-/261053384993 ]here[/url] (you just need the version of the fork with the fox internals)
I always found my Fox Van 32's to be pretty good, despite these days them being considered a noodle of a fork that will result in me getting pinged of line and to certain death.
I can see why people have moved away from them because they don't seem like the best way to keep the front wheel in place, although I never had any issues.
My two MTB's have 20mm axles because that what the forks had. I personally don't see the point in the 15mm jobbies.
Not sure if i've missed something here (unless thru axle is used to refer to 20mm/not 15mm qr), but surely if you're looking for a reba price point 1 1/8th steerer 15mm fork with 100-120mm travel then you just want a reba?
Wouldn't say it was rare, every manufacturer puts out a short travel 15mm fork, and i'd have thought most would do them in a 1 1/8th steerer - Merlin have that on 2013 forks too. Don't see many on 29'ers though.
It was really for the 29er I was thinking, hardly any stock anywhere in the configuration I want. Also thinking of upgrading forks on 26" - there seem to be plenty available but not sure whether to get 9mm qr or 15mm bolt thru, and then have to change wheel/hub?
No, not needed. And maybe worth mentioning that a 120mm Reba with a QR is stiffer than a 120mm Fox 32 with a 15mm axle- lots more to it than the axles.
Don't know if this has been asked before, but whre does the added stifness come from? The hub or the fork? I have a hard time believing a different size hole in the fork lowers is going to make a difference. So to me, it's all about the hub/axle size.
I got myself one of those 9mm solid QRs from Superstar (£8); was finding the standard QR unable to keep the hub tight on a Hope ProII when doing more aggressive trails (easy to adapt Hope hubs). Made quite a lot of difference.
I dont think riding a trail centre you will notice that much difference if any ? if a suspension fork is needed at all at these places ?
If you rode somewhere more natural Like the Peak District, Wharncliffe, North of Scotland and probably some other places that i've failed to mention and others i've never heard of then threading your way across a "Rock Section" is more beneficial on a bike with a 20mm Thro axle, you would definately notice riding back to back comparisons,
As said, Disk brakes work and so did Canti's so why folks had to jump on the V brake wagon is anybodys guess ?
Same with STI gears, why go for indexing when the old thumbies did the same job ?
SPD's, The Devils work,
Solvent based lube............ its progress, rightly or wrongly it drives the wheels and if it gives the end user a benefit then embrace it,
...if it gives the end user a benefit then embrace it,
i'm not sure if this is a luddite thread, eg, "thru axles?! - sod off i say!"
i think this is a pragmatic thread, eg "gosh, thru axle forks are expensive, and thru-axle forks with a straight steerer are like hens teeth, and expensive"
nickc - MemberIt's not do much a stiffness issues for me, more a front QR isn't the 'best' way of keeping your front wheel on and secure, now I fully admit and accept that the likelihood of the thing dropping out is rare, yep agree 100%, but thru axles are out there, [u]they cost no more[/u], and they totally eliminate the issue, and add a bit a stiffness in for free.
sure about that?
[i]sure about that? [/i]
no, not specifically, but this is STW. Last time I looked at forks, I wasn't really noticing the massively reduced QR versions.
Same weight as Op and yes get thru axel especially on the 29er
Need? You don't need anything really....
However finding anything in 1 1/8th is getting harder, however RS list then as an option so you should just be able to get some ordered in for you.
Sorry for my Luddite none pragmatic response !
I thought it was a direct question ?
I.e. do you really need a thro axle for trail XC ?
As I said, I don't think you do for trail or XC riding
I think you need a frame, forks, wheels, brakes a chain and some pedals, the rest is down to personal / rider preference
Bling and how much you want to look good.
Right I'm off out on my 160mm Santa Cruz, Kashima coated fox tapered wide barred 4 pot single ringed 10 speed SPD'd dropped posted mincing machine, none of which I need but all of which I wanted,
Ironic really cos I'm faster on my orange Hard Tail !
Thanks for the replies, I take the point, am going to replace the cheapy coil forks on my Genesis core with Reba's - go 15mm axle and get a set of hope hoops at the same time (as the current rims aren't great) so at least I'll have adaptable hubs and be a bit future proof for a frame upgrade, and have a fair few parts left over for something else maybe.....