Rigid riders, "upgrading" from 9mm to Thru Axle?

SSmtbr

SSmtbr

Well-Known Member
I've been on my Specialized Crave SL with the carbon fork for about 4 years now and the fork has been solid with zero issues (as any rigid fork should). It's got the 9mm q/r interface which is fine with my wheels since the hub end caps convert between 9mm and 15mm when I want to run my TA suspension fork.

Has anyone had experience or considered moving from a 9mm q/r carbon rigid to a 15mm TA rigid fork? I've come across a fairly good deal through a friend looking to offload a pretty much new ENVE fork but will still cost me $$$, but significantly less than MSRP. Is the move really worth it? Obviously moving from a 9mm to TA on a suspension fork is a huge upgrade, but with rigid is the difference worth it? Singletracks did a comparison between the Whisky forks and said there a slight difference but going between brands is there any larger of a difference? Am I just vain and want the ENVE bling?
 
How old is the ENVE fork? You might notice a difference if you are going from a carbon fork from 2012 to a 2018 fork. But if it's worth it, ....well....thats up to you and your wallet.
 
I would say save the money on fork and get a set of carbon wheels...but with any upgrade you do always open a can o worms.

All new bikes are 15mm thru axle up front and definitely not 9mm, and also boost spacing in the rear hub, this means any wheels you buy for this bike is somewhat antiquated.

My advice...do nothing, ride bike until you break it, buy new bike.
 
SSmtbr said:
I've been on my Specialized Crave SL with the carbon fork for about 4 years now and the fork has been solid with zero issues (as any rigid fork should). It's got the 9mm q/r interface which is fine with my wheels since the hub end caps convert between 9mm and 15mm when I want to run my TA suspension fork.

Has anyone had experience or considered moving from a 9mm q/r carbon rigid to a 15mm TA rigid fork? I've come across a fairly good deal through a friend looking to offload a pretty much new ENVE fork but will still cost me $$$, but significantly less than MSRP. Is the move really worth it? Obviously moving from a 9mm to TA on a suspension fork is a huge upgrade, but with rigid is the difference worth it? Singletracks did a comparison between the Whisky forks and said there a slight difference but going between brands is there any larger of a difference? Am I just vain and want the ENVE bling?
Click to expand...
I went from a Niner Carbon QR. to a Whiskey9 15mm TA. Totally worth it. :)
 
pooriggy said:
I would say save the money on fork and get a set of carbon wheels...but with any upgrade you do always open a can o worms.

All new bikes are 15mm thru axle up front and definitely not 9mm, and also boost spacing in the rear hub, this means any wheels you buy for this bike is somewhat antiquated.

My advice...do nothing, ride bike until you break it, buy new bike.
Click to expand...

He can always swap hubs on the carbon hoops if he switches bikes tho ;)
 
pooriggy said:
My advice...do nothing, ride bike until you break it, buy new bike.
Click to expand...

This.

What are you going to get out of the upgrade? It will likely be a little lighter and stiffer. Personally I think the weight loss is negible for the expense. And stiffer? I think a little give is good considering the application.
 
SSmtbr said:
I've been on my Specialized Crave SL with the carbon fork for about 4 years now and the fork has been solid with zero issues (as any rigid fork should). It's got the 9mm q/r interface which is fine with my wheels since the hub end caps convert between 9mm and 15mm when I want to run my TA suspension fork.

Has anyone had experience or considered moving from a 9mm q/r carbon rigid to a 15mm TA rigid fork? I've come across a fairly good deal through a friend looking to offload a pretty much new ENVE fork but will still cost me $$$, but significantly less than MSRP. Is the move really worth it? Obviously moving from a 9mm to TA on a suspension fork is a huge upgrade, but with rigid is the difference worth it? Singletracks did a comparison between the Whisky forks and said there a slight difference but going between brands is there any larger of a difference? Am I just vain and want the ENVE bling?
Click to expand...
Do it. Very much improved lateral stiffness. Is that the one Alex has for sale?
 
I had way too much flex on my 9mm Focus carbon front fork on my cross bike. Enough that in hard turns the rotors would rub.

I switched out to a 9mm DT Swiss through-axle setup, stiffened everything up, huge difference. I just got a cheap 9mm DT Swiss through axle (it has a nut, so it's similar to 9mm QR) and got the 9mm through axle endcaps from Stan's.

I believe Novatec makes the same thing, I bought a set from Amazon at one point. You may be able to drill out your current endcaps with a 9mm drill bit on a lathe. I did that when converting a rear hub from 10mm QR to 100mm TA.

Just a thought, and only if you really notice the flex.
 
Santapez said:
I had way too much flex on my 9mm Focus carbon front fork on my cross bike. Enough that in hard turns the rotors would rub.

I switched out to a 9mm DT Swiss through-axle setup, stiffened everything up, huge difference. I just got a cheap 9mm DT Swiss through axle (it has a nut, so it's similar to 9mm QR) and got the 9mm through axle endcaps from Stan's.

I believe Novatec makes the same thing, I bought a set from Amazon at one point. You may be able to drill out your current endcaps with a 9mm drill bit on a lathe. I did that when converting a rear hub from 10mm QR to 100mm TA.

Just a thought, and only if you really notice the flex.
Click to expand...
PLEASE try not to make this a serious discussion..
 
Santapez said:
I had way too much flex on my 9mm Focus carbon front fork on my cross bike. Enough that in hard turns the rotors would rub.

I switched out to a 9mm DT Swiss through-axle setup, stiffened everything up, huge difference. I just got a cheap 9mm DT Swiss through axle (it has a nut, so it's similar to 9mm QR) and got the 9mm through axle endcaps from Stan's.

I believe Novatec makes the same thing, I bought a set from Amazon at one point. You may be able to drill out your current endcaps with a 9mm drill bit on a lathe. I did that when converting a rear hub from 10mm QR to 100mm TA.

Just a thought, and only if you really notice the flex.
Click to expand...
I think you mean their 4-in-1 series?
1525889901403.png
 
Thanks for the feedback! I bought a DT RWS skewer last summer which minimized rotor rub but have had a few issues with the nut stripping out when tightened to the recommended specs so I'm a little cautious with it. The fork is from a friend who lives out west but visiting in a few weeks and was ridden once late last season but put away in storage because he decided he liked suspension more.

I'm really not expecting loosing any weight over swapping forks because there's only so many grams to be shed (and I've got more than enough KILOgrams on my body to loose before bike grams count). Overall I don't feel significant flex when railing turns, just didn't know if the carbon layout in the ENVE would improve the ride quality and stiffness would be a noticeable change to warrant moving over to a new fork/axle interface.
 
qclabrat said:
Not sure it makes sense to put a $600 fork on a bike worth about the same and expect an appreciable gain.
Click to expand...

Definitely agree for the most part. I can pick this up on the "used" market for a decent amount less than retail which is really the only reason I'm considering it. At full retail cost, I'm perfectly happy with my current rigid fork even if it does offer some significant performance increase. If I don't pick it up now and sell my frame/break it, I'll be looking at forks at retail cost so I'm looking to it as somewhat of an investment, although it doesn't seem like a very smart one at the moment for the most part.
 
I've been pondering the same thing for a while on my rigid SS, only I have a Niner rigid fork with 9mm dropouts.

I'm running DT RWS skewers front and rear, and wonder if I'd actually feel the difference if I spent the money to convert to through axles, so I've been sticking with my setup for now.

The Enve fork has been calling to me for quite some time.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom