Can anyone tell me more about converting a (probably 2003ish) vintage Shimano XT hub from QR to bolt up? I'm planning to run it single speed in a horizontal dropout and doubt that the QR will hold it in place. I've had a look around for QR chain tugs and can't find any.
I'm guessing once I undo these nuts many individual ball bearings will fall out, and once I've found them again I'll be able to remove the axle and replace it with something similar but longer. Does that sound about right?
The hub spacing is 135mm and the axle is 10mm so I think that's all very standard, but where do I find an axle?
You can’t. None of Shimano’s early QR hubs were convertible. A good QR with a good cam lever will be as strong as a 5mm Hex axle too.
Surly Tuggnut is what you want here.
Ah well that answers that question then, thanks.
Maybe a followup question would be does anyone know of a QR compatible chain tug that's still available to buy? Alternatively, will I die too much if I just use a 10mm chain tug with a QR?
It's not a standard Shimano thing but you should be able to fit a 10mm bolt up axle. Widely available, even Halfords sell them, but I suspect you'll get a better one elsewhere:
There is another method, slightly neater, and that is to tap your existing axle. I think it's m6. Then you can fit some bolts into it.
Surly Tuggnut is what you want here.
Beat me to it. That's the only one I've found from googling and I'm balking at the price and also the looks 😂 I'll go for that unless anyone else can recommend an alternative.
There is another method, slightly neater, and that is to tap your existing axle. I think it’s m6. Then you can fit some bolts into it.
Oh that's not a bad idea at all. I'll have more of a think but I reckon that could be the answer.
It’s not a standard Shimano thing but you should be able to fit a 10mm bolt up axle. Widely available, even Halfords sell them, but I suspect you’ll get a better one elsewhere:
I've been googling for 10x135 which was giving me zero results. It makes sense now that there's tonnes of options if I search for 10x175.
Would a DT Swiss RWS skewer do a sufficiently similar job? I'd probably just try with a genuine Shimano XT QR to being with - they're very effective.
TREDZ.CO.UK RWS are worse than QR. They actually give less clamping force due to the tiny level and lack of a cam.
Thanks for the help everyone, I've gone with a cheap chromo axle and some even cheaper tug nuts to confirm that everything works together. If it's all good then I'll run them until something breaks and replace with something better.
It makes sense now that there’s tonnes of options if I search for 10×175.
Yeah, it needs to be longer to fit the nuts (and the tugnut)
Ask @NickJb says, you can get solid 10mm bolt up axle eg. you'll need 185mm for a 135m OLN MTB hub by the time you've taken into account drop out thickness, washers and nuts.
Shimano FH-TY500 Complete Hub Axle (sjscycles.co.uk)
I wouldn't want to try tapping a Shimano QR axle with an M6 tap, the axles are made of hardened Cromo steel.
Ask @NickJb says, you can get solid 10mm bolt up axle eg. you’ll need 185mm for a 135m OLN MTB hub by the time you’ve taken into account drop out thickness, washers and nuts.
The axle I've ordered is 175mm, not 185. Do you think that's going to be a problem? Maybe I should get this Shimano one as well just in case and return one or the other.
Edit: I've just measured the dropout thickness at 8mm, which I think gives me another 12mm to fit the washers, nut etc. Hopefully that'll be enough.
I'm not convinced the DT rws skewers are worse than a cam version, I have an rws on the back of my singlespeed and it's been more secure than the cam qr it replaced
Fix with a bolt up skewer instead of a QR one. You'll need an allen key for removal, but grip will be harder than a QR. You won't shift the wheel.
Daffy has the easy answer.| How do people think we managed for decades. An internal cam QR won't move in a horizontal drop out or a track end let alone a vertical dropout.
If one is really worried just sling a nutted solid axle in.
why make things complicated?
A Shimano QR is just about as immoveable as anything else you can get. No tug nut necessary!