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  • Thule trailer axle too short. Will my child die?
  • eddd
    Free Member

    Another will I die question – but about bikes this time!

    The rear axle adaptor i bought for a Thule trailer is about 5mm too short. I can still get 6 turns in, about two-thirds of full entry. It seems ok-ish. Does anyone who knows more than be about frames/engineering/stresses think this might be a bad idea?

    It’s a Syntace rear axle, they don’t seem to be available in different lengths as far as I can tell.

    Thanks!

    peekay
    Full Member

    Have you checked Robert Axle Project for the correct one?

    I ended up with one that was about 12mm too long for my frame, so bodged it with some spacers at the non thread end between the hitch and the frame.

    If you are not able to find the correct length then I’d say that longer is better than shorter, especially given the value of the cargo in the trailer. You don’t want to be relying on the safety lanyard if your axle snaps due to not being fully threaded.

    ctk
    Free Member

    “OK-ish” doesn’t sound safe enough to me. But saying that I used to rag my kids around both on & off road in a 15 year old battered Burley trailer. (Best times ever)

    You could do a test ride without the child or my preferred option buy a bike to fit.

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    Daffy
    Full Member

    Have you removed the 5mm spacer?

    eddd
    Free Member

    Thanks for the responses.

    I don’t think there will be a catastrophic failure, but I’m more concerned about cracking the frame which would be a pain (the female threads are directly in the frame itself, not in an insert like with Cotic).

    I’m happy with the axle size I need, but Thule doesn’t mark the length on Syntace compatible ones, only Shimano and Maxle which is a pain. It seems they only make one, which I assumed would be fine for non-boost – but it seems not! It looks like a 12mm x 135, a standard I didn’t know existed.

    Daffy – thanks! I don’t think the Syntace one has a spacer as far as I can tell but I’ll have another go at dismantling it.

    eddd
    Free Member

    Update: went for a 20km ride. Didn’t die.

    Future reference for forumites with Syntace axles and trailers:

    The Thule standard Syntace 12mm axle is for 135mm hub spacing. If you use it with a standard hub, you might be ok.

    If you have 142mm standard OR boost spacing, you should buy:

    Thule 20110733 – 162-174 mm Syntace Thru-Axle Adapter

    This has spacers to work for boost and non-boost, and is on order for me now! This will therefore work on my Felt gravel bike and Cotic Soul. Thanks for the replies!

    zerocool
    Full Member

    I bought this one for my bike as my existing axle wasn’t long enough. It has all the options to fit pretty much any 12mm frame. Hamax axle

    oikeith
    Full Member

    I had the same issue where I picked up an axle to use on my bike forgetting it was boost and it didnt fit as it was 135mm or 142mm, keep forgetting to list it on eBay when I get the £1 listing fee offers #stealth-ad

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)

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