Hey guy's, currently running some QR reba sl's, although i have only used the ones on my current bike once i also have some on my old bike which i used for singletrack/xc/light dh with smallish/medium drops, doubles etc along the trail.
A friend uses bolt through and as i'm wanting to upgrade my forks for more travel he thinks i should change to bolt through at the same time as he swears by it.
I do plan on taking my new bike on some light dh runs in wales and general trail/singletrack bashing.
Obviously it will cost me a fair bit to make the switch so is it worth it?
Or will i be fine with QR for what i'm doing?
Thanks
Hugh
Go bolt through, tis way way better.....i did and was amazed.....do it.
maxle mind ..
bolt through. Stiffer, stronger & safer.
Bolt through every time given the option (and I'm an XC Jeyboy).
Another xc jeyboy here - 20mm spindle for safety and strength. How often does the minute or two it takes to get the wheel out matter?
Maxle is quicker than a qr
Guess what Jambo - I have a maxle fork and I dont like it - prefer the marzocchi one that has 3 screws to undo to remove it
Bolt through everytime, even for XC.
Bolt through! Its the future!!
I have a maxle fork and I dont like it -
What don't you like about it?
Maxle 360 on my bike - seems good but can't really compare it to QR as I have always had it on this bike.
my new maxle lite reba 120mm 29ers arrived yesterday
Superb finishing on them and incredibly light for the size.
Cant wait to fit them sometime this evening I think. Used to run QR, then SUB with "leftie" axle. Looking forward to the stiffness.
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you suprise me TJ. foolproof technology and you find a reason not to like it.
as opposed to bolt up, 20 mm axles that can work loose, or be overtightened and crack the lowers and are generally a complete faff.
Bolt through, or at least not open dropouts. Maxle has impressed me more than I was expecting, prefer it to pinch bolt faff now I've actually spent a bit of time with a Maxle equipped fork. Can we get rid of open dropouts on frames now please, and not just on downhill bikes.
Deffo, it's the way forward
The maxle I have works fine. However its not a maxle 360 so the qr lever hangs down at an odd angle which could get flipped open by trailside obstacles. A maxle 360 would of course stop this
I don't like things that rely on flexing to get a fit - the taper wedges into a split tube. relies on friction to hold it all together. Still far superior to a QR of course and very easy to use
Probably because of my background in motorcycles I like the system on the Marzocchi Z1 fork I have - it is like most motorcycles - axle slides thru with a screw on end to take up end float than pinch bolts to hold it all rigid. I am confident in my ability not to overtighten it.
Nowt really wrong with the maxle but I prefer the solidity and lack of sticky out bits on the Z1 fork
Stoner, also got a set of them for my ti29er 😉
Just got back from first ride, very impressed...
But what about the forks with QR? Can you make them more secure somehow?
TJ, not sure what you mean about the angle of your maxle lever, mine always points backwards. Is that wrong?
To the OP, 20mm all the way, its unnerving when riding a bike with regular drop-outs after spedning time with bolt throughs.
RS - it depends on the thickness of the dropout. Usually they end pointing up and back or straight back - but due to the minutely thicker dropout on my fork it ends up pointing straight down - a maxle 360 of course would sort that. Its just what angle the lever ends up at once it bottoms on its thread
nice one triple.
Have you got them set at 120mm? Im cautious of the A-C length for the Ti29...
Just fitted mine, but cant ride until Ive got a +20mm post caliper adaptor 🙁
WHeel is a Gordo with a 2.55 WTB on it. Mahhoosive is the word! 🙂
stick with the q/r
only joking bolt thru all the way, safer and stiffer, I use it on both bikes
Tj. Loosen it up a bit and you should be able to spin the lever 180 degree. Hey presto it'll do up, facing up. Even if it did get flipped open it would take nearly three full turns before it would start to fall out. Just as unlikley as the bolts on your mazzas loosening...
as jambo said, even if said lever flips open, it would have to flip right back into the slot on the axle, and get twisted a few times to come out...
Jambo / olly - I understand that perfectly safe just not as "elegant" IMO - it will not tighten any other direction - I don't get the flip 180 degree thing - it bottoms on the thread then you flip the lever to expand the wedges and pull in the end float. Its not a maxle 360. Perfectly safe and strong - just I prefer a proper bolt up.
Stoner, nice set up, those Gordo rims look ace. When I get a new wide 29er wheelset I was looking at Gordos, but will probably get the Stans Flow rims for ease of tubeless setup. Salsa seem to make a really big deal of not running their rims with tubeless tyres.
TJ
Mine was the same, you need to flip the lever round in the slotted groove at the end, then it'll point the right way.
Not a 360 either.
I set them to 100mm, sure I read somewhere Brant recommended 80 or 100mm, it's quite easy you don't need to remove the lowers follow this procedure:
http://forums.mtbr.com/blog.php?do=showentry&e=1655 but with oil weight/qty as the tech manual
What paulsoxo said, if I remember correctly the Rock Shox manual states what he said!
TandemJeremy - Member
I don't like things that rely on flexing to get a fit - the taper wedges into a split tube. relies on friction to hold it all together. Still far superior to a QR of course and very easy to use
Hmmm, I was going to point out the many things on a bike that rely on 'flexing to get a fit', but I'll let it lie...
Surely doing up the pinch bolts is causing the drop-outs to flex?
of course you are correct about the flexing of the dropouts and so on. Muddy thinking / language from me. I hope you can see what I was driving at. the spindle needs to be rigid but in the case of the maxle it also has to be expanded by the wedges - very ingenious system the maxle for sure - I jusdt prefer the plain axle with 3 differnt bolts to clamp in in three differnt places.
I'll have another look at the maxle but I don't see how the QR lever can be re orientated.
TJ, when you open the maxle, into the cut out, and unwind it, that's the cut out, that it needs to close into. The cut out it closes into now, will be the one you unwind it with. If that makes sense. Just need to wind the end off a bit to get enough play to pop the qr bit out far enough
Well I never - orientation of the QR is flipped thru 180 degrees and now sits at a much better angle ( if not 100% perfect)
I didn't realise that the above posters meant to strip the qr out completely and then reassemble with the orientation the other way round.
Ta muchly folks - you learn something new every day!
TJ in "not knowing something" shocker!!! 😉
You're welcome. Been there, done that. Just last week infact, my first encounter with bolt through forks.