I have a Jamis Renegade S4 with thru axles per official documentation: "front 12mm/rear 12×142 thru-axle with Switch Lever". If I want to quickly switch wheels, let's say one set with road and one with gravel tires, could I convert these to quick release?
by hashpot666
9 Comments
Swapping wheels with a thru axel takes one minute, I do it every other day. You’ll probably spend longer centering your rotors with quick release than changing wheels with thru axels.
No. Quick release need a dropout in the frame or fork to “fall thru” when the tension is released. Thru axles are better, be happy you have them. Thru axles also just unscrew and you change the wheel I wouldn’t really call it faster or slower to switch wheels.
i wonder if dt swiss thru axle levers are universal
You can probably find thru axles with quick release levers such as DT etc use. That way you get the best of both worlds. But honestly, I have thru axle bikes and qr bikes and the TA’s are so much better. And I just need a 6mm key and 5 seconds to open/close them. I keep a multitool on every bike so it’s moot in that regard.
There are some tool-less thru axles that have a built in lever to twirl instead of using a hex to remove them. You still need to pull the thru axle all the way out to remove a wheel, which takes an additional four seconds. It probably saves you the few seconds that it takes to pick up the appropriate hex key in changing wheels. If you’re in the middle of a race and have a support car following you with multiple wheelsets to swap when you get a flat, that might matter. Otherwise, the nearly flush heads on those thru axles look cleaner and don’t make a difference otherwise IMO.
For ultimate wheel changing convenience, do what pro teams do: use a hex bit on a power drill (make sure you adjust the clutch so as not to over-torque the bolt).
The shop did give you the stubby thru axle key that comes with the renegade, right?
If you want a QR-like experience on a thru-axle wheel, you want a tool-less trhu-axle like the DT Swiss RWS.
[https://www.dtswiss.com/en/wheels/wheels-technology/rws-technology](https://www.dtswiss.com/en/wheels/wheels-technology/rws-technology)
I have an RWS front axle for my road bike and think the system works really well, you just need to get the dimensions off of your existing axle and it should be an easy swap.
What’s that hideous sticker on your fork say? I’m curious.