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A friend kindly dropped around his P-X Free Ranger a few weeks ago for me to deal with a flat front tyre/seized thru axle - he’d borked the hex on the thru axle. No problem, inserted a thread extractor into the borked hex, heaved on the big adjustable spanner and the thread extractor promptly snapped 🥴.
OK, start drilling out the thru axle from the threaded end, concerned not to damage the thread - the end result is above - quite pleased with myself. The thru axle remains fast.
I’ve been reining blows on the remainder of the thru axle - in the hope it either comes free or the broken extractor pops out and I can get the drill out again.
Looks like my final option is to put a saw through the hub spindle, between fork blade and hub body - trashing the hub as it’s a relatively cheap Fulcrum Racing 900 wheel and I can’t find a spares listing anywhere ‘/ distributor has ignored my emails for spares info. I do have another spare hub and wheel if all else fails
Anyone share any other successful methods or know why P-X don’t grease thru axles on new bikes?
Impact driver?
Got a picture of what's still left in the bike? Guessing if that's the thread gone, then it'll be siezed in the insert in the fork on the other end, in which case I'd try freeze spray, brute force if you can get purchase might end up spinning the insert in the carbon and a trashed fork.
Can you find out what size bearings that hub has - is the bearing bore the same as the axle? If that is the case it is likely to be the aluminium axle stuck to the steel bearing inner races (same as a stuck seatpost in a steel frame). Quite how to unstick is another issue.....
I've used expanding reamers to slowly and tediously remove very stuck seatposts, but they already have a hole down the middle. A thru axle could be drilled out, but very easy to go off-centre and damage the fork.
Building wheels is quite relaxing and therapeutic, just saying.
Interesting one that!
Just had a look at my PX road bike, with a 12mm thru axle. Once the axle is released from the threads on the threaded side then it's only interference / corrosion that can be stopping it coming out, but the fact between you, you've managed to round the head and knacker an extractor makes it sound like it's well stuck.
It could also be stuck laterally on the bearings or the bearing adaptors but you don't know that if the bearings still rotate.
It looks to me like the way to get it out is to support the non-threaded side and then put a drift through the other (threaded) fork leg and try to drive it out, probably with a decent soak before hand in penetrant / releaser. Although what that does to (assume) CF IDK. And what the whacking does to CF prob isn't great even if well supported.
You could if it's like mine saw down through either side, through axle and adaptors. There's no axle spindle itself, the thru-axle is the spindle and that's knackered anyway, but you'd ruin two adaptors. But these are replaceable on most hubs. Then the hub and axle would come out and at least allow more access to the bit you need, which you could then work on from the inside. And the hub wouldn't be ruined as a result.
Could you cut the axle head to create a squared off head that you could clamp into jaws of a vice and then see if the leverage of the fork (which you could remove from the bike) could free it?
addition
I’ve used expanding reamers to slowly and tediously remove very stuck seatposts, but they already have a hole down the middle. A thru axle could be drilled out, but very easy to go off-centre and damage the fork.
if it's the same as mine the thru-axle is hollow. And the head is about 5mm deep so if you could square it off there is something to grip, particularly if you're then turning rather that going to try and pull.
I think I'd be going for the trashed hub, save the fork option.
If you can't get the end caps, I replaced a front hub for a friend 2 months ago (Chris King with broken flanges) and there were a lot of cheap front hubs to choose from at Superstar if you are willing to wade through the variations.
I've also got a heap of spare Novatec end caps and access to my dad's lathe - if you post up what you need one might be close / adaptable.
The bike owner’s brother has the same bike and I had a look at the front hub a Fulcrum R900 - the hub spindle is effectively a hollow sleeve of unanodised aluminium alloy, so the corrosion will probably be all the way along. I’ve just bumped into the owner whilst out walking the dog - going to be taking a saw to it. I’ve got another spare wheel as it happens - it’s just my instinct to try and preserve the parts, at least the fork is still undamaged.
As a final step, get some different 'friends'.
A friend in need is a pain in the arse and all that... 🙃