Hello,

As the title suggests I don't quite know what to call this thing. It is to make a bike carrier by mounting the front fork (less wheel) to a wood or metal mount. See photo below for the QR version.

It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive. It also doesn't have to be weather/corrosion proof or have to lock since the bike will reside inside the vehicle. It should be relatively low, like the one in the photo, to provide as much room for the handlebars.

I think that I searched Thule and Yakima a while ago but all I found was a relatively expensive QR to through axle adapter. Are the new through-axle setups complicated enough to discourage folks from removing the front wheel to carry their bike on a rack?

Any thoughts on where I could find what I am looking for?

Thanks,
Steve

rockymount makes a really nice one but it is not cheap.

I use the Thule adapter

was not cheap - found it on eBay for $36

did find some other less expensive options *** but went with the Thule

*** BIKEHAND, Truax

This is a Sunlite Big Block Fork Mount. They offer at least two versions, a 12 and a 15mm through shaft. Any LBS with a JBI account might be able to get them for you. There are other brands out there too but you need to know the through axle's specs before going too far. Andy

also use Thule adapter for transporting bike with lefty fork

transporting bike with a thru axle and lefty in this manner not as simple as with a skewer - but not really too much of a hassle … just keep a hex in the back near the mount

^^^ What is the "faux" crossbar that the adapter is connected too?

Thanks, My bike is the "standard" 12x100mm.

A board that helps to secure the fork blocks and stabilize the bike(s) from falling over. This type of bike rack has been around for quite a while from a few different companies. Not very popular but works well in the right situation. Andy

Amazon is full of them - Search for "Bike fork mount"

Thanks for everyone's input. I seem to have found more adapters than actual mounts. However, I need to revisit whether or not an adapter might work as even the straight mounts are rather spendy. Due to the tight fit in the back of my Rav4 I was assuming that I would have to relocate the existing mount anyway. I need to actually put the bike in the Rav and check.

Here is what I have found so far for 12x100 through axle:

Stand-Alone Mounts

Delta Cycle - Mount comes with the adapter (BH6002-PRO)
Sunlite - Big block fork mount (Inconsistent prices and part numbers)
Saris - Thru Axle Traps (TR4BLK)

QR To Through-Axle Adapters

Yakima - (#8002116) $65
Thule - (#53012) $60
Hurricane Components Fork-Up - Enve Road $58
Delta Cycle - 2-piece mount/adapter (BH6002-PRO)

Thanks,
Steve

I just cut some sections of 2x4 stud and drilled a hole in them to make mounts for transporting 3 bikes. One of them a thru-axle bike. Those blocks were just screwed to other pieces of 2x4 to make the entire thing to hold the bikes. . QR's to hold in the bikes with QR's and the thru axle to hold the bike with thru-axles. I don't transport them often enough in the car to need anything fancier.

I have bought the Kuat Dirtbag and the Treefrog mounts. Treefrog makes mounts for 12x110mm thru-axles but no Kuat. The Dirtbag are easier to mount to a board than the ones from TreeFrog. The TreeFrog needed shims underneath to get the height needed with my Specialized thru-axles with their non-folding handle. Thru-axles without a handle and that require the use of a hex wrench would be quite awkward to manage in my situation where I remove the front wheels before putting them in the back of my truck and again insert them at my riding destination and then reverse the process at the end of the ride and again at my house.

I ended up replacing these mounts with the RockyMount DropTop thru-axle fork mounts. These are more expensive at $90 each but far better than other mounts. Two important advantages with the DropTop mounts. First is that is it far easier to have the thru-axle attached to the fork and then drop the axle into the mount and close it up. Trying to hold the bike fork with one hand and get it into position to pass the thru-axle through the fork and then the mount and then into the other side of the fork is not easy to do. It is especially difficult with a pickup truck where one has to lean over the tailgate while doing this.

The second advantage is that the DropTop mount works with either a 12x110m thru-axle or a 15x110mm thru-axle with no need to modify the mount. Our e-bikes use the 12x110mm thru-axles with their Boost hubs and the mountain bikes use 15x110mm thru-axles. They have a locking mechanism but this could be easily defeated by a thief. If anything it could give the bike owner a false sense of security when parked in public areas. At $90 each they are the most expensive bike mounts but by far the best ones.

I cut out a 36" x 48" piece of OSB board and attached a 2x6 board 1 foot back from end near the tailgate so that the bikes would not cause the 2x6 to pivot which happened when I used only the 2x6 board with my bikes in the two mounts.

These are sold by etrailer.com.

Well, I took another look at mounting the new gravel bike in the back of the Rav. It is surprising how little clearance there is due to all of the trim around the rear window. This bike has slightly flared bars but the bigger issue is the shifters.

Surprisingly, it looks like it will barely fit with one of those adapters pointed back and angled down. This will also solve t he problem of changing out mounts when changing out bikes. The road bike is now old school QR axle. I think I'll look for one to come up used on Ebay.

I am using the fork mounts with my pickup truck but with my Rav4 SUV I added a 2" hitch receiver at the rear so I could use my 1Up Super Duty Double rack. Plenty of ground clearance with bikes mounted on the 1Up bike rack.

Simply do a search for thru axle fork mount and you'll find many options, choose the one which suits you best. I use a couple of Truax I got from an ebay seller, they are excellent and come in a variety of axle sizes plus adapters are available.

I do this any time I ride my Topstone or Slate

and with the Slate two different hex sizes are required (front/lefty axle different size than RAP rear axle ) plus a torx to loosen and reposition the caliper so the front wheel can be removed and installed

it’s a hassle but not too bad actually - especially after doing it a few times

I keep a hex driver in the back of the SUV next to the carrier

less than a minute with the Topstone - barely any more time required compared to a standard quick release that must be loosened and then tightened due to the safety (‘lawyer’) tabs on the fork …

maybe a few minutes with the Slate (primarily due to the caliper reposition - but fortunately that is not too bad because the caliper mounting block on the fork (with adjustment) is not touched … later lefty forks have a quick release for the caliper mount - but mine does not have this feature

There are many thru-axle mounts being sold but most of them are too short to allow for turning the handle of the thru-axle to tighten the fork to the mount. Most are for 15mm thru-bolts and most are for a 100mm fork spacing. Try finding one for a 12x110mm thru-axle and there are only two options, the TreeFrog mount and the RockyMount DropMount.

ONLY the DropMount can be used with both 12mm and 15mm thru-axles with no changes to the mount. I have road bikes with 12mm axles and mountain bikes with 15mm axles and ONLY the RockyMount can be used with all my bikes.

I only care about the front axle as that is what I use to secure the bikes to the mount in my truck. The very big drawback to a pickup truck is having to support the bike with one hand on the fork blade and the other screwing in the thru-axle while bent over the 18" DEEP expanse of the truck's rear tailgate. It would be much easier if I was putting the bikes inside an SUV or van or station wagon, where there is no tailgate involved.

I prefer my pickup truck with its fiberglass cap and blocked windows as no one can see the bikes in the back and decide to steal them. I replaced a great large SUV that allowed for having both bikes in the back, even with the front wheels left attached, but that provided no real security against thieves. I want to be able to leave my bikes in the truck overnight and not have to take them out and put them in again each time we go for a ride.

Having a 1) Pickup Truck with a tailgate, and 2) and BOTH 12mm and 15mm thru-axles, the DropMount is the only solution for transporting ALL our bikes upright.