How to choose your mountain bike wheel locks?

How to choose your mountain bike wheel locks?

A seemingly innocuous part, the wheel lock or wheel clamp ensures that your wheels are held securely in place. As such, it must be selected without error, otherwise you won't be able to mount your wheel.

Standards

  • The dimensions of thefront wheel axle 9x100 mm, 15x100 mm, 15x110 mm Boost, 15x110 Predective Steering, 20x110 mm or Lefty (only for Cannondale forks of the same name).
  • Rear axle dimensions: 9x135 mm, 12x135 mm, 12x142 mm, 12x148 mm or 12x150 mm.
  • Mounting types: quick-release (QR) or thru axle.

Types of wheel locks

Quick release" type Commonly referred to as 9 mm or QR (for Quick Release), this type of wheel lock remains mounted on the wheel even when it is no longer on the bike. The locking pin itself has a standardized diameter of between 4 and 5 mm.
Reminder: for the rear wheel, however, it's 10 mm, even though it's called 9 mm.

Simple, light and quick to install, as its name suggests, this type of lock will be reserved for leisure use due to its lack of rigidity and sturdiness.

Through axle" type This element, which acts as a wheel axle, screws directly onto the frame or fork. As such, it can be dismounted from the wheel when removed from the bike.

Several diameters are available: 15 or 20 mm for the front axle; and 12 mm for the rear axle.rear axle. For the front, the most common standard is 15x100 mm, and 20x110 mm for serious riding. For the rear, it can be 135, 142 or 150 mm, and there are several formats: the "X-12" type, recognizable by a 1.0 mm thread pitch (very fine). The "Maxle" type, identifiable by a 1.75 mm thread pitch (relatively coarse). And finally, the "E-Thru" type, with a thread pitch of 1.5 mm. Please note that some frame brands develop their own axle standards, which are not compatible with these three classics.

In addition to this multitude of standards, new MTB frame geometries and the use of increasingly wide tires have forced manufacturers to develop new standards. Some bike models, for example, require a few millimetres longer axles, known as "Boost" axles. In addition, some forks require special axles, such as Cannondale's Lefty and Lefty Supermax, or RockShox's RS-1.
Last but not least, you'll also find a 9 mm thru axle called "Thru Bolt", specific to certain models of DT SWISS wheels.

Increasingly common, thru-bolt axles offer much greater torsional rigidity and ruggedness.

Which wheel lock to choose?

The choice between a quick release or a through axle, and also its size, can be constrained by your frame and/or fork model. The first thing to check is which mounting system is compatible with your components. Even if there are adapters available which, in most cases, will allow you to opt for a different axle length to the one you've had until now.

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