reducing 15mm thru axle fork to 12mm

[calleking]

Fantastic.

[99donuts]

3 grams? Nice!

I have 3 bikes with 15x100 up front - a Salsa Warbird, Raleigh CX bike, and a Fox 15x100 on my hardtail, and a bunch of wheelsets between them... would love one of these so I can just buy 12mm thru axle wheelsets going ahead. Are you still looking for testers?

[joejack951]

Are you still looking for testers?

Given that you have three bikes on which you can assess the fit I’ll definitely take you up on the offer to send a test set. Email/PM me your Paypal address and state/country.

[AZR3]

Guess i forgot that the original Exploro fork has a different style insert in the fork leg for the thru axle, so your prototype wouldnt work

[joejack951]

Guess i forgot that the original Exploro fork has a different style insert in the fork leg for the thru axle, so your prototype wouldnt work

While not ideal, I don't see why the prototype adapter wouldn't work. It won't sit flush on the exterior due to the domed design of that insert but that shouldn't be any risk. If you were really committed to the idea of converting to 12mm thru, you could even file it more flush for a more finished appearance. Is that insert removable?

[AZR3]

Ok, I was having a brain fade moment, I was think your adapter would replace the entire insert, not just thread into it and it'd be a hassle to design one that would fit that nut style opening in the fork.
I'm pretty sure that insert comes out, I'll check when I get home later

[99donuts]

Are you still looking for testers?

Given that you have three bikes on which you can assess the fit I’ll definitely take you up on the offer to send a test set. Email/PM me your Paypal address and state/country.

email sent!

[joejack951]

https://youtu.be/ii0aeARoPj0

Install video and a call for more feedback on fork dimensions.

[KyleH]

I was lucky enough to get in on the initial batch of these from Joe and am super excited about these. I have a Firefly Allroad with a Parlee fork that uses 15mm TA but between my wife and I we started amassing a ridiculous amount of disc wheels due to different axle standards and needs so these were a perfect solution to helping thin the herd.

The Parlee fork has a 13mm dropouts so the adapters required cutting off two threads to get the correct length. To do this I used painters tape and covered the threads I wanted to keep and give myself a straight edge to cut against. I used a Dremel with a small cutoff wheel to make the cut and then cleaned up the threads using a small file. All in all this took maybe 10minutes including digging out tools and taping. Super easy.

Install was a breeze; the non-threaded insert fit perfectly and I think I spent longer trying to find my circlip pliers than I did installing the threaded adapter. I did not locktite mine in yet as I’m still waiting for my front axle conversion kit for a set of wheels I regularly ride, but once that is on, I will install the adapters in a more permanent fashion. I’ve done a few shorter rides and had no issues with them coming loose or having any side effects. The non-threaded adapter was a little short for the Parlee fork but the Chris King and White Industries hubs both have pretty generous axle ends that provide a good footing on the fork legs so I wasn’t worried about that.

Overall I would 100% buy these again and would recommend them to anyone who is looking to convert to the 12mm TA standard. Install takes minutes and doesn’t really require anything special (tool or knowledge wise) to do.

[joejack951]

Install was a breeze; the non-threaded insert fit perfectly and I think I spent longer trying to find my circlip pliers than I did installing the threaded adapter.

Thanks for the feedback, Kyle! I have had many similar experiences in the garage when it involves a not-often-used tool.

[crazybaboon]

Fitted the adapter kit to my Niner RLT RDO, fitted perfectly without any modifications needed.

[NickJHP]

Fitted the adapter kit to my Niner RLT RDO, fitted perfectly without any modifications needed.

Ditto here with the same model fork - see images. Installation was a snap, and installing and riding a 12mm thru axle wheel was exactly the same as when I had a 15mm wheel in the fork without the adapters. The only point I'd make is that the Niner RDO fork already used a 125mm thru axle, and the adapters add about 3mm to the overall outside width, so the 125mm 12mm thru axle that I used was about the same 3mm short of being flush with the face of the adapter. Robert Axle make a 130mm 12x1.5 thru axle, but I'd say that 125mm would be perfectly sound mechanically, as the threads will still be engaged at least half a dozen turns, and the tightening torque on a thru axle isn't very high relative to the thread size.

[joejack951]

Nick, a quick point about the conversion kit and axle length. Total additional width is 2mm however only 0.75mm of that is actually lost engagement. The threaded adapter has a 1.25mm thick flange while the non-threaded insert has a 0.75mm thick flange. A 125mm axle will come up 2mm ‘short’ on the threaded side but 1.25mm of that (the flange thickness) is outside of your original dropout. Only the thickness of the non-threaded flange is lost engagement.

I can show this in cross section from CAD if it isn’t totally clear. My point being, a 125mm axle is structurally 100% sound. I would need to look at those 130mm axles to see if they’d even fit as they would need at least 17mm of thread to not bottom out on the threaded adapter.

[joejack951]

I appreciate all the feedback so far. Based on the info I've gathered, I'm going to start with 10+15 and 13+13 conversion kits which seems as though it will cover the majority of forks where there is interest. Does anyone know of any popular forks that fall outside of those two thicknesses? 18+18 forks seem to exist but not many appear to be using them, plus I think I'd need to create a custom 136mm or 146mm (boost) long 12mm thru axle to support that application. The other two kits mentioned above can make use of an off-the-shelf 125mm axle.

[TJH]

I would very much like a pair of your inserts to allow me to mix wheels between bikes. My Genesis Datum 2018 has 15mm through axle forks with 10.5mm thickness dropouts on both sides. I'm happy to pay. Can you help? Tim (UK)