Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

feature

How to easily fit & remove through-axle wheels

Usually paired with disc brakes, through-axle wheels are increasingly common; here's how to use them

Increasing numbers of road bikes have wheels with bolt-through axles. The advantages are increased stiffness between the frame, fork and the wheels, and they make correct wheel alignment easier, especially if the bike uses disc brakes. Here's how to remove and fit wheels equipped with through-axles. 

Our guide below shows you what we believe is the best method to fit and remove wheels with bolt through axles. If there are other methods that you prefer then feel free to let everybody know in the comments.

Removing the front wheel

Step1

1 Open the lever Just like a traditional quick release lever, most through-axles also use a flip lever. This has to be opened in order to remove the wheel. Usually it will have a slightly curved shape and the curve should point in towards the frame (or fork) when closed and away from them when open.  

Step3

2 Locate the lever in the axle As you open the lever you must look for the recess in the alloy collar underneath the pivot. The back of the lever must sit in this recess, so that you can turn the axle and begin unscrewing it. 

 

Step4

3 Unscrew the axle With the lever engaged into the recess in the collar, you can rotate the lever. The lever turns the collar and unscrews the axle.

 

Step5

4 Pull the axle out As you unscrew the first few turns of the lever, you'll feel the threaded portion of the axle (the bit which screws into the opposite drop out) disengaging from the fork. When you feel this, you can just pull the rest of the axle straight out.

 

Step6

5 Drop the wheel out With the axle removed from the fork, you can now drop the wheel out. Sometimes you'll need to give the top of the tyre a little tap, because the fork dropouts can grip the hub axle caps.  

 

Refitting the front wheel

Step7

1 Locate the rotor in the brake and hub in the drop outs When refitting the front wheel in the fork, make sure the disc pads aren't dislodged. They shouldn't be as they're pinned in, but it's happened to us before. We've also mangled a pad carrier spring, so get the rotor lined up before you try and slam the wheel into position.

 

Step8

2 Check the wheel's in position As the disc rotor enters the calliper the wheel hub axle ends will find their slots in the fork. Some times a gentle wiggle and pull on the top of the wheel is needed to get everything seated and centered. Make sure the wheel is centered; if it's off the axle won't pass through the hub and engage cleanly.

 

Step9

3 Slide the axle in With the wheel now sitting squarely in the drop outs and brake calliper, it's time to fit the axle. They only fit from one side, usually the right hand (non disc) side. This keeps the lever away from a potentially hot disc brake rotor. On some hubs the central tube through which the axle passes inside the hub body can float about a bit and not immediately line up. This can make engagement with the threaded portion of the opposite fork leg a bit tricky. If this happens, you'll need to waggle and turn the axle at the same time to gently to align this tube and engage with the fork thread. 

 

Step10

4 Screw in the axle Wind the axle lever in to pull the fork legs together. Check to feel the action of the lever assembly, you should need some force to flip the lever to closed, though not as much as a traditional open dropout quick release lever, as once closed there is no way for it to allow the wheel to fall out.  Fold the lever over into the closed position. 

 

Step11

5 Check it's tight Give the top of the wheel a little wiggle just to make sure it's firmly held. If that's fine give the wheel a spin to check the rotor is running cleanly through the brake calliper.

 

Removing the rear wheel

Removing the rear wheel seems to cause many people headaches. True, the design of the drop outs on some bikes does make it a little tricky, but there are a few tricks to help make it as quick and easy as possible.

Step12
Step13

1 Downshift to the smallest sprocket You want to let the rear wheel drop out of the frame as easily as possible. If the chain is on anything other than the smallest sprocket, tension in the rear derailleur and interference between the sprocket and jockey wheel will make it harder to drop out the wheel. The further up the cassette the chain, the more likely it is that you'll have problems. 

 

Step14

2 Undo the lever Flip the rear lever to the open position, as you did for the front wheel. Engage the back of the lever into the carrier recess and unwind the threaded end of the axle from the drive side dropout. When you sense the clunk of the thread releasing, you can slide the axle out of the wheel. 

 

Step16

3 Let the wheel out For a standard rear derailleur pull the body of the derailleur backwards and the rear wheel should fall out.

If you have a SRAM Type 2 rear derailleur (as shown), depress the lock button and swing the arm of the derailleur forward to lock it. This creates a slack chain. The wheel will now release from the frame, it night take a little nudge on the top of the tyre to get it moving. Similarly for a Shimano Shadow type clutch rear derailleur, move the clutch switch to the off position.

With the chain now slack you can pull the derailleur body backwards to create an obstruction-free path for the axle (the silver circle in the centre of the black cassette, above).

 

Step17

4 The wheel out The wheel is free from the frame and disc brake. 

 

Refitting the rear wheel

This can be a little more tricky, as you have to simultaneously line the chain up on the sprockets, guide the disc rotor between the brake pads and into the calliper, and ensure the axle is going to line up with the frame drop outs.

Step18

1 Position the sprocket and chain Line up the top run of chain so that it sits on the smallest rear sprocket. Ensure the lower run of chain is running below the axle. 

 

Step19

2 Pull the wheel into place It should just be a case of bringing the wheel and the frame together gently to get a fit, but you often need to guide the axle with your fingers. Mind out for sharp edges. There should be a sense of the axle hitting its dropout stops and sitting squarely in the frame. Check the tyre position in the seat stays, if it isn't central, it's not properly seated. Pull the wheel out for another go. As you get to know your wheels and frame and the way they fit together become more familiar, you'll find the process becomes easier.

 

Step20

 3 Replace the axle With the wheel lined up you can reinsert the through-axle. Try gently rotating the axle as you insert it, it can help the axle move through the hub. 

 

Step21

4 Screw the axle into place When the threaded end of the axle touches the far drop out, make sure the lever is open and begin to wind the lever to engage the axle and frame threads. 

 

Step22

5 Tighten the axle Make sure its tight enough to stop any movement between the hub and frame and close the lever. 

>> Read more: The full archive of road.cc maintenance articles

 

Add new comment

15 comments

Avatar
hmas1974 | 2 years ago
0 likes

One bit of useful advice you ommitted was copper slip paste or other compound on the axles to prevent them siezing.

And yes, before anyone asks, it did happen to me. Whether a freak occurrence or not, the axle bonded to the free hub and had to be cut out.

Avatar
emjay49 | 2 years ago
0 likes

Looking forward to "how to blow up a tyre"

Avatar
absolutelymike | 2 years ago
1 like

It's all a lot easier if you turn the bike upside down. Don't know why it's so tabo? 

Avatar
Drinfinity | 3 years ago
0 likes

I prefer the Allen key bolt through, rather than a QR handle. I've had the notch in the handle round off, and you have to fiddle to get it to the correct angle. 
 

Canyon have a neat system where the handle stows inside the axle which solves most of these issues.

Avatar
Sriracha | 3 years ago
1 like

tl;dr
Leftie loosey, righty tighty.
That's it folks.

Avatar
quiff replied to Sriracha | 2 years ago
0 likes

Which bit should I be turning left / right? The top or bottom of the bolt?  

Avatar
xerxes | 4 years ago
0 likes

My new bike has through axles and I really like them. The ones on my bike don't have a lever, just a hex key hole which I think looks much smarter.

I've always though that quick release was utterly pointless unless you have a car following you around with spare wheels that would allow for a  quick change. For pretty much every other situation, if you get a puncture you're going to have to stop and sort it out and having to use an allen key, or even a spanner for wheel nuts, instead of using a quick release skewer, really isn't going to add much time to the overall process.

Avatar
Dr_Lex | 7 years ago
3 likes

^ Ah; the Oscar Wilde benefit. 

Avatar
Augsburg | 7 years ago
0 likes

My bike has through bolt on the front wheel and standard skewer on the rear.  I much prefer the through bolt.  I do often add a small dob of grease on the threads of the through bolt before reassembly.  

Avatar
mike the bike replied to Augsburg | 7 years ago
0 likes

Augsburg wrote:

My bike has through bolt on the front wheel and standard skewer on the rear.  I much prefer the through bolt.  I do often add a small dob of grease on the threads of the through bolt before reassembly.  

 

Why is the through bolt better Augsburg?  I've never used one and, although it looks simple enough, I feel it might be a case of belt and braces?

Avatar
KiwiMike replied to mike the bike | 7 years ago
3 likes

mike the bike wrote:

Why is the through bolt better Augsburg?

 

1. Much tighter tolerances than a standard QR - virtually zero ability for the wheel to be crooked or move in the dropout under braking relative to the fork, which leads to brake rotor rubbing on pads. This is 95% of the benefit, IMHO as rubbing pads are a PITA, either the moment you start riding, or after heavy braking if the (standard QR) wheel shifts in the dropout.

2. Stiffer package overall - gives better handling (argubaly minor benefit as most people don't get anywhere close to the limit with standard QR's)

3. Completely removes the risk of something going horribly wrong under heavy braking - on the front wheel the natural force when braking is to try and rotate the wheel down and out of the dropout. If your standard QR has come loose, the wheel could be dislodged. This is pretty darn unlikely, granted. 

4. I believe the overall package is safer for beginners, too - it's harder to incorrectly install a through-axle. 

Avatar
velochris replied to KiwiMike | 7 years ago
0 likes

Rubbing rotors are what has put me off road disc brakes. Is this mostly a problem on the front as opposed to the rear?

I'm thinking of getting a Genesis Datum which had a qr rear and thru front.

[/quote]

 

1. Much tighter tolerances than a standard QR - virtually zero ability for the wheel to be crooked or move in the dropout under braking relative to the fork, which leads to brake rotor rubbing on pads. This is 95% of the benefit, IMHO as rubbing pads are a PITA, either the moment you start riding, or after heavy braking if the (standard QR) wheel shifts in the dropout.

2. Stiffer package overall - gives better handling (argubaly minor benefit as most people don't get anywhere close to the limit with standard QR's)

3. Completely removes the risk of something going horribly wrong under heavy braking - on the front wheel the natural force when braking is to try and rotate the wheel down and out of the dropout. If your standard QR has come loose, the wheel could be dislodged. This is pretty darn unlikely, granted. 

4. I believe the overall package is safer for beginners, too - it's harder to incorrectly install a through-axle. 

[/quote]

Avatar
DrG82 replied to mike the bike | 4 years ago
0 likes

mike the bike wrote:

Augsburg wrote:

My bike has through bolt on the front wheel and standard skewer on the rear.  I much prefer the through bolt.  I do often add a small dob of grease on the threads of the through bolt before reassembly.  

 

Why is the through bolt better Augsburg?  I've never used one and, although it looks simple enough, I feel it might be a case of belt and braces?

The bolt through design was originally from MTBs with upside down forks, then they started becoming the norm on long travel forks and are now the norm on most reasonable quality forks.

Initially it was just a case of stiffening things up both in general and so that the braking forces were more evenly distributed. Later it was noticed that you could actually make a lighter fork using a bolt through because you don't need to beef up the caliper side leg to take twisting forces.

I'm guessing the latter point is more the focus with the road market. Incidentally it probably makes manufaturing the carbon fork legs eaasier too as the dropouts can be milled up easily and the legs only face simpler forces.

 

Avatar
Grizzerly | 7 years ago
2 likes

What is the point? 

Avatar
SteppenHerring replied to Grizzerly | 7 years ago
2 likes

Grizzerly wrote:

What is the point? 

Lots of point. Ever since I upgraded my track bike from standard QR to Through Axle with discs, the guys at Herne Hill can't stop talking about my setup.

Latest Comments