Pros & Cons of a bigger Axle
 

Why 15mm axle and 20mm axle are more popular?

Are they better than 9mm axle in terms of stability and stiffness?

Do I need to replace the whole wheel set to use a 15mm or 20mm axle fork (switch from 9mm)?

Would it be a good idea if a bike has 15mm axle front and 9mm axle in the back?


Thanks

Because they just are. Like dinosaurs and muscle cars, they just are timelessly cool.

Yes, no, maybe. Depends on what you have for your hubs at the moment.

No issue running QR rear/thru-axle front. If you've got the scratch and are doing a new fork, pick up a thru-axle model, and a front wheel to match.

They bare a huge increase in stiffness - 15mm only so-so, but a full 20mm axle feels worlds better than a QR fork.

I have three bikes with 10x135mm bolted rears, and one 12x135mm thru-axle rear. All four run 20mm axle forks. I'd not go back to QR on anything other than a road bike or my townie.

15QR still uses the 15mm axle, and you can remove your front wheel easier. Not sure why you need to remove it easily, but there it is. :)

There are no cons to a 15 or 20mm axle except fork and wheel compatibility. The increase in stiffness is worth way, way more than the small weight gain.

I have the JBC Pro hubs and it is currently 9mm QR. Can I replace the axle with 15 or 20mm? Or Do I need to replace the hub entirely?

I'm not familiar with that hub but it might be convertible, you'll have to check with the manufacturer. You would press out the 9mm axle carrier and press in a new one. Some hubs had that for a short while, and most now have gone to 20mm front and 12mm rear, and they use endcaps with reducers for 15 or 9 mm axles.

I couldn't find any JBC Pro Component Hubs either. It seems parts made by some company in TaiWan.
Is there hub that is compatible to 15mm and 20mm? What top brand of wheel hubs?
What tools do I need to replace the axle.

My bike is 10 yrs old and I haven't been doing any upgrades on the bike. I'm not sure how thru-axle works.

Hope Pro2 Evo is a great hub for the money. It comes with 15mm axle and it's easily converted.

I am going to guess that you will want 15mm because an older bike probably will use a relatively short travel fork, which will probably lead you to forks that are 9QR or 15mm.

I've got the Gen1 Hope Pro 2 (not Evo) front and rear hub. Very slick setup. Takes 1min or less to change it from 9mm QR to 15 or 20mm TA. Both front and rear are pretty simple to service. My bearings lasted 3-4 years. I ordered new bearings from a bearing shop and installed them myself.

Best hubs I've ever had. I won't go cup and cone on my primary ride again if I can help it.

They're very affordable, too, compared to hubs with similar quality and specs.

I see there are different colors available for Top Pro 2 evo hubs, nice! Why the rear hub is so much more expensive than the front one? I guess I can just get the front one.

I have the Mavic D521 ceramic rim which they dont' make anymore. Is it compatible with the Evo hub?

Are all Top Pro 2 Evo 15mm and 20mm thru-Axle compatible?

My current fork is Rockshox SID with 80mm travel. I want to upgrade it to something like 100 or 120mm travel.

You can get a new sid really cheap on ebay. They can be shimmed for 40mm less travel than stock, so you could use anywhere from 80 to 120mm.

Make really, really sure you get the right options. You need a 1 1/8" straight (NOT tapered) with the travel I mentioned and 15mm axle. (I dont think you can get a sid with 20mm, and I wouldnt use a Revelation on a short travel bike.) I believe the current World Cup forks are all tapered, but the XX is no slouch. Under $700, easy.

On your hub, it needs the same spoke count as your rim. I would use new spokes and nipples.

Something like this one? It seems like this one has a 9mm QR? You consider $700 cheap? LOL...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rock-Shox-SI...item3cc92887ae

well, that's an XX World Cup. you have to bear in mind MSRP on that fork. :lol:<br><br>there are some good forks in the $400 range. some folks spend way, way more-- not me. no, I don't consider $700 cheap. :)

I want to try a Fox fork. What would you recommend for Fox fork? Am I looking for a fork that has a 15mm thru-Axle or 15mm QR? I'm assuming these two are different thing. Sorry, I am a noob and I have so many questions.

Would I be better off get a new front wheel if I chose to go 15mm thru-axle? I have never riden a bike with front thru-Axle, not sure what's so good about these thru-Axle wheels/fork. I've heard people saying it's a stiffer ride and better handling.

What's the difference between tapered and straight 1-1/8" steerer? How do you know my bike is not tapered?

On my phone, sorry for the brief answers.

You might consider a new front wheel, or hub if you know someone who can rebuild the wheel cheap (but competently). You can search around but yes 15 and 20mm axles make a huge difference in fork stability during hard cornering. However as I mentioned before, your fork is old enough that a new fork alone, even with normal 9mm QR, will be a nice upgrade.. provided you get a high quality fork.

I assume your bike is a straight headtube because of the age.

Stans NoTubes ZTR Crest is a 1400g wheelset that has a stable, 21mm wide rim track and fully convertible hubs, for about $20/wheel. I got mine for $425/shipped.

Is that the normal Stans prebuilt set on their site? I saw a lot of disfavorable reviews of the rear hub Stans uses, it was enough to make me consider handbuilts with alternative hubs.

This is for 29er and I have a 26" bike. The Stans Flow 26" maybe is the one for me. But do I get to pick the color of the Hope Pro 2 hub? Are they thru-axle or quick release?