just curious
....do you put something over the axle ends to protect it?

my folding bike has plastic end caps.
but i cannot find replacement.

i never seen it on full size bikes.


for example...

What an elegant solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

I don't think it's there to protect the axle, but rather to protect you from getting gouged in the leg if you are careless when mounting the bike. Notice how there is also a "protector" on the end of the axle adjuster. In any case, I've never seen something like that, and certainly wouldn't worry about finding replacements.

It's a nice detail, but I think that more about protecting your shins than protecting the end of the axle.

I've been riding fix gears with axles sticking out on the road forever and never seen a need. Any minor damage to threads is quickly straightened out backing off the nut and I have never managed to scrape my leg on it. It looks like just one more thing to have to deal with every flat tire. That axle adjust too!

Trick to getting chain slack very close first try - slide the wheel back firmly against the chain with your left hand at the chainstay, pulling the tire against the chainstay, While holding that firmly, semi-tighten the right (DS) hub nut just tight enough to not slip. Center the tire between the chainstays. Tighten the left (NDS) hub nut. Check chain slack. (I use the wrench and just look for about 1/2" of slack. Spin the pedals and see if the chain goes too tight or loose.) If the chain passes that test, I tighten the DS nut. Done. And next flat, no axle adjust to deal with!

Very strong track riders were using just hub nuts to secure the rear wheel for a century before this fad of adjusters. (They are useful it you want a really tight chain but we old-timers know our drive trains run better and last longer with proper chain slack. If you go to a velodrome, you will see that slack on the vast majority of the bikes and on all ridden by the hotshots. Good mechanics know.)

I realize taking my advice means removing stuff that looks elegant and that you paid for. Reducing the image of the bike from shiny new to a useful working tool.

I've been fooling with fixed-gear bikes since before forever. The one part I have left from the Helyett Speciale track bike my parents gave me in 1964, when I was 13, is a rear axle adjuster. It's currently installed on the rear axle of my 2005 (I think; first year, anyway) Specialized Langster. When I realized that the axle lock nut on the rear hub was a bad match for the Langster's all-aluminum fork end (supplemented by steel plates in later model years), it was a miracle that I was able to find the axle adjuster, which had survived a half-dozen moves over 25 years.

Yes, I know how to position the real wheel properly without the adjuster, but ease of adjustment and sentimentality won.

No I haven't seen them, though the one on your bike is a nice touch.

My guess is
1: there's not really a functional need as people don't come in contact with them.
2: The market is too small for someone to produce / advertise it.

I remember when new bikes had plastic caps on the ends of the axles. I think they were to keep the axles from poking through the shipping boxes. But they got left on the bike when it was sold at the shop.

Of course we debated endlessly about whether they made the bike faster or slower, and whether they were "cool" or not.

Yes, but those end caps looked like hats with big brims, whereas the small covers shown above would do little to prevent the axle from punching through the shipping box. It also doesn’t explain the covers on the axle adjusters. I still subscribe to the theory that they are some sort of safety feature. Of course, it is also possible that they were placed there by extraterrestrials.

You mean like this . . . ?


I replaced my front wheel bolts with Hexlox Hexbolts because I prefer to carry one lock. They just so happen to cover the ends of the axles. Across three SS bikes, I've never had an axle stick out more than half an inch on either side, usually the rear axle. If your axles are sticking out far enough to cause concern, you might want to look at getting a shorter axle.

A plastic cover to protect a steel axle...idk but I don't really see the point of it.

Maybe it's really good quality German plastic and really poor quality Chinese steel.

'cos folder...

Bingo !

Cool would depend on the color. Day-Glo Orange would be cool.