A lot of controversy and argument has surrounded the release of the 15mm QR thru axle from Shimano and Fox. I had the opportunity to throw the new 20mm thru axles from Shimano/Fox and Rock Shox on the Ultimate scale and here are the results.
- Rock Shox Maxle Lite – 80g
- Fox/Shimano 15QR TA – 90g
- Rock Shox Maxle – 140g
As you can see…the Maxle Lite is lighter by 10 grams. What is really surprising is that Rock Shox was able to shave 60g off the original Maxle. That is a lot of weight savings for one small part.
So the debate about 15mm vs. 20mm rages on…keep in mind that this is a pure comparison between axles. This does not include the weight of the lowers which is going to vary between travel. Currently, I only have the Talas 140 RLC, Reba Team and Lyrik Coil in house. As you can tell, that is not a great comparison for weight because each fork has a very different purpose.
I will try to get exact weights later, but it appears that the Hope Pro II hubs are actually lighter in 20mm form than 15mm…
I founded Bike198 back in 2008 and started riding bikes seriously in 1994. A lot has changed since that time and one of the greatest releases is still getting out on the bike and shredding trail or tearing up the road.
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