Mountain bikers hate axle standard changes, and not without reason.
Once you have invested in a great lightweight wheelset, that is also robust enough for technical descending, it is deeply annoying to have it only work with certain forks.
Many riders still have legacy long-travel forks that use 20mm axles, the industry trend towards 15mm thru-axles has been a costly and frustrating issue.
This is especially true for those gravity riders who have both downhill and enduro bikes, rolling the same wheel size, but having to use different axle sizes. Annoying? Very.
Forkmods is an Australian company that specializes in ensuring seamless convergence for those riders who wish to use legacy parts or wheelsets between different bikes. Without having to fiddle with misaligned end-caps.
- Best mountain bike hubs
- Best mountain bike wheels: the best MTB wheels reviewed
Keeping the 20mm axle standard alive
Although the company’s first axle conversion kits were for road bikes, Forkmods has seen huge demand and requests, for mountain bike kits. Especially from riders who remain committed to 20mm thru-axle forks, mostly used on downhill and enduro bikes.
The new Forkmods mountain bike axle kit gives you the ability to run 15mm thru-axle hubs on 20mm axle downhill forks. This is clearly the conversion kit that many riders have been hoping for.
How does it work? Forkmods uses two reducer sleeves, that mate to the fork dropouts. These 20- to 15mm reducers are supported by 15mm steel inserts, which allow you to slide through that 15mm thru-axle.
Riders who are concerned about any torsional issues need not worry. The Forkmods kit is comprehensively engineered and tested. You won’t be suffering unwanted brake rub due to a misaligned enduro wheel in your downhill fork.
With a target price of $110, this Forkmods axle conversion kit is a lot cheaper, and less hassle, than having to build and maintain two front wheels – for your enduro and downhill bike.
- Best mountain bike forks: the best front suspension for XC, trail, enduro and downhill
- Best budget mountain bike forks: affordable trail taming suspension forks
