[Closed] Just about to upgrade to discs on the road - are thru-axles worth it?

Axle stiffness on a road bike?

Horseshit.

I've got 15mm thru axle on the front of my GT Grade. I don't see how it makes any difference. QR all round on two mountain bikes (for years) and I've never felt the need for anything else.

You can always use 10mm and 9mm RWS sqewers which do up noticably tighter than standard QR, and therefore provide stiffness.

I have replaced the QRs on my commuter with some that use a hex wrench; on the others I'm using DT RWS axles instead of the QRs. Granted, they take _slightly_ longer to undo, but it is assumed that you've also gone tubeless by now, so flats should not be an issue anymore.

QRs are a leftover from the tubed era, they should take their rightful place in cycling history.

Axle stiffness on a road bike?

Horseshit.

I guess the engineering analysis will differ. Not entirely from the perspective of the overall fork stiffness but on the torsional forces created by the brake caliper, its load path into the fork and the opposing forces generated at the point the axle attaches.

If it helps, i have QRs on my Planet X London Road winter bike. It has discs, and i have had exactly zero instances of the rotors/pads catching, touching or whatever when honking out the saddle or climbing - this seems to be the main justification for thru axles in the press. Bear in mind im close to 90kgs, so if i cant make the whole thing bend into a noodly mess that can only cured by thru axles, then i suspect most wont be able to either. More media induced bo$$ocks IMHO.

Stiffness may be an overall thing for the frame and may lead to an overall weight reduction. Consider it as a complete object not just a frame with or without thru axles. I'm skeptical though.

My biggest thought would be future proofing. But again, provided the through axle is not a weird size you won't struggle to find bits. With the likes of hope making all sorts of adaptors you won't be left with an obsolete bike, although your wheel choice may end up limited. But in the typical lifetime of a bike for you is that likely to be a concern?

Summary - pick the bike you like, don't worry about the axles.

What about axle loosening and wheel ejection?

I'm hearing a lot about the stiffness of thru-axles.

😀 Really? Who from?

I'd be more interested in how they moderate fork twist when braking tbh. Having a decent structural connection to tie the bottom of the legs together can only help with this.

I wouldn't worry about it. I'd be more inclined to make sure a good wheelset had axle options for possible future frames (unless this is a bike for life purchase)

To echo the comments by smogmonster, I've not had any problems with the QRs on my Croix de Fer or Orbea Avant Disc and I'm 95kg and not adverse to smashing it out of the saddle on climbs and sprints etc.

I'm not arguing against thru-axles, just saying that (based on my experience) there's no disadvantage with QR for road disc bikes.

Through-axles developed by litigous-conscious bike companies to protect themselves from mechanically incompetent users and flexy suspension forks / rear-ends - the mechanical benefits on rigid frames are somewhat marginal if the wheel is clamped securely. A QR wheel with RWS skewer is just as secure IMO - on my fatbike I have both a carbon QR fork and a through-axle ti fork taking 5" tyres and can exert massively more side-loads than any road wheel and never noticed any brake disc rub. Through-axle is a lot more faff to fit.
Remember bike journos have to write something and usually just copy the unsubstantiated PR puff from a press-release...

edit - duplicate post

To echo the comments by smogmonster, I've not had any problems with the QRs on my Croix de Fer or Orbea Avant Disc and I'm 95kg and not adverse to smashing it out of the saddle on climbs and sprints etc.

I'm not arguing against thru-axles, just saying that (based on my experience) there's no disadvantage with QR for road disc bikes.

This is exactly my experience. I would consider buying a bike with through axles if it was right elsewhere but all the "improved stiffness" and "torsional this and that" is cobblers in the context of normal road biking.

I'd recommend it based on my experience of my qr equipped croix de fer. When I brake hard on the front, the wheels flexes rightwards 2-3mm, causing the tyre to rub on the mudguard (now adjusted to cater for it).
For reference this is on carbon CDF forks, 160mm rotor with a 36 spoke wheel (hand built very tight) on Archetype rims, and I weigh 56kg.
Never had an issue with it from sprinting/pedaling hard. Can't get the back to flex anywhere near as much simply because my weight doesn't go onto it when I brake.

Discs with QR's on one road bike since 2010 and another for 3 years. Neither show any problems. I suspect that from an engineering point of view there may be benefits of through axles but practically we haven't yet found a desperate need. I for one would contemplate swapping when there is an industry standard, if only to have the latest "thing" :D. At the moment there isn't. I also don't like the idea of removing a apart when there maybe an option to keep it in situ.

So some experience fork twist with qrs. Have any of them tried thru axles and found it stopped?

It's just a new thing to sell us.

(Road disc user for 10 years)

@cynic-al
I'm going to try those RWS skewers to see if it reduces fork twist, I'll report back in a week or two. I think as I'm running 30c road tires at 50psi up front on hydraulic discs, I've got enough power to create much more flex before my tire breaks grip. Without mudguards fitted I'd probably never have noticed.

another user of DT Swiss RWS to replace standard QR's here on my drop bar hybrid/gravel racer/cx stylee

not an aggressive rider or a heavy weight but def' had a couple of times when been unhappy with a ting ting noise indicating front wheel had shifted in fork I found I had to do up QR's much much tighter than ever had done with rim brakes

my next frame will be a thru axle, its just straight physics on safety, if a bike was more rigid I wouldn't notice

I'd recommend it based on my experience of my qr equipped croix de fer. When I brake hard on the front, the wheels flexes rightwards 2-3mm, causing the tyre to rub on the mudguard (now adjusted to cater for it).

What QR skewers do you use?

Will those DT RWS skewers fit only DT hubs?

Noob to these skewers.

What about axle loosening and wheel ejection?

I've had loads of problems on the front of my bike with heavy breaking causing the QR to loosen. (My commute involved a near 40 mph descent to a dead stop at a T-junction.) Initially I solved it by moving to allen key type skewers, but now running Mavic QR's. My feel is the problem was 2 fold, one heavy braking at speed on tarmac produces forces far in excess of what a typical mtb would see, and also the forks weren't manufactured with a proper rough surface for the the knurled bit of the QR to grip on.

TBH for my next bike I'd probably look at a thru-axle for the front just for piece of mind. On the rear a QR is absolutely fine IME.

Decent skewers are a must

http://www.huntbikewheels.com/collections/accessories/products/hunt-4-season-disc-skewers-29-99

My commute involved a near 40 mph descent to a dead stop at a T-junction.

You'd of thought after the first time you might have been able to anticipate it. 🙂

"Frankenstein - Member
Will those DT RWS skewers fit only DT hubs?

Noob to these skewers."

no, the big plus is they are a direct replacement for a standard QR albeit a bit more fiddly - if buying take care as DT also use RWS as a name associated with thru axle products as well it's an abbreviation for ratchet w#nk? something?

My brother has thru axles front and rear on his Rose, I have QRs on my Defy. Both running shimano hydros. Can't say I've noticed a difference in feel between them. Given the option I'd have thru axles as they are a better system in engineering terms but I wouldn't worry about it

@davidtaylforth I'm using Shimano skewers on XT hubs. RWS ordered (£17 from Acycles) so I'll feedback once tested.

I never had any problems with QR except that they look rubbish, but I'd certainly not choose it over better options... 'it was always good enough' isn't a good reason choose QR over TA.

Cheers folks, question answered! QR it is!

Thanks

Will those DT RWS skewers fit only DT hubs?

no - just as long as your hubs can have 9mm or 10mm throu axles fitted - like Hopes for example.

You can get 5mm diameter DT RWS skewers, so they'll fit any qr hub.

@TurnerGuy: RWS does not imply axle, there are direct replacements for 5mm QRs that are branded RWS as well:

https://www.dtswiss.com/Components/RWS/RWS-MTB-steel
https://www.dtswiss.com/Components/RWS/RWS-Road-steel

My Domane 6 came with DT axles as standard, but also included was all the hardware required to change to the forks and rear dropouts to traditional QR if required. Could be worth a look.

I had problems with my De Rosa Idol disc with the front pads rubbing when out of the saddle going up hill, i swapped the standard shimano qr with a DT RWS and its been fine ever since.

I had the same problem with my Tripster ATR, it had cheap qr, i swapped to a hope skewer and its been fine for over a year now.

The quality of the qr skewer does make a difference.

I had issues with the front brake on my defy advanced pro disc when sprinting or climbing fast; disc brake swishing and tinkling.

On the rear, the wheel axle had a tendency to move under heavy braking and cause creaking until skewer was loosened, wheel shimmied and retightented, this was with DT rws skewers front and rear.

I also had same issues with stock qr skewers and steel shimano skewers, tried experimenting with different skewer but no change.

The front brake noise is something noticed in bike mag reviews of same bike. Would like to see thru-axles front and rear.

What surprised me with road discs is the amount of torque because of the smoother riding surface compared to MTB. On the road bike with big 28c gp4000 tires you can really crank hard on the brakes, I never broke tire grip with tires at 80psi.

Thanks for the info on the skewers.

My watts are at an all-time low but I can still make the disk rub honking uphill in the wrong gear. Gt grade, through axle.