15mm Hub Options
While not all manufacturers have jumped on the 15mm rear axle bandwagon it looks a lot like 15mm is here to stay. So I thought I’d provide a guide on 15mm hub, chain tensioner and adapter options.
But first a little extra information for those who haven’t been exposed to the 15mm craze just yet.
I’ve lifted this extract from our look at the Alienation Prototype Thrust Hub back in September 2013
15 mm thru axles were adopted by the mountain bike fraternity around 2009 firstly for downhill then cross country because it’s stiffer and stronger. It was said to be the death of quick release. When you are running suspension I can see the need to stiffen things up. I wouldn’t have thought there was the same issue with BMX bikes, because firstly BMX frames are rigid and secondly they are much smaller, so the tubing is generally shorter, which to me means there should be less flex anyway.
A few years down the line and 15mm drop outs are emerging as a new standard for high end BMX race frames. Frames from Supercross, Anarchy, GT, Redline (USA), Yess (Canada), Avanti (New Zealand) and MeyBo (Netherlands) are available (or are about to be) with 15mm drop outs. And it’s not just carbon frames either, they are mostly alloy and there’s a cromo frame with 15mm dropouts on the way too.
When Redline announced the Project 79 carbon frame with a 15mm thru axle they claimed it made the carbon frame “20% stiffer than a standard 10mm axle”. You can see the video here vimeo.com/37331587 Redline Engineer Kurt Hall says it 17 seconds in.
So chances are if you have a frame with a 15mm drop out you are already sorted out or you are making do with the adapters, or possibly a hub, that came with the frame.
Here are the options as we see it.
10-15mm Adapters
Kink 10-14mm Adapters
The Kink adapter washers come in 4mm or 5mm width options and as you would have noticed they aren’t a perfect match for converting your 10mm hub, but it’s a quick and cheap option at around $10-15 a pair. It’s what I had used when I first got a frame with 15mm drop outs. There just weren’t a lot of options. There is a little bit of float but not as bad as running a 10mm axle in a 15mm drop out. The sit between inside the drop out between the dropout slot and the axle. If you go down this route just make sure the adapter is narrower than the dropout width. The main problem with this is you need 10mm chain tensioners that will work with a 15mm dropout, they are more difficult to find than you would think. I’ve used the old school “lollypop” style chain tensioners and Speedline tend to work well too.
Profile 15mm Conversion Kit for carbon frames
The 15mm conversion kit can adapt Profile Mini, Totem, and Elite 3/8 rear hubs (as well as Madera 3/8 rear hubs) to 15mm drop-outs.
These adapter kits will work with rear hubs only.
This 15mm conversion kit is specifically for the Redline Carbon frame includes 3/8 bolts. I’ve used these before for other frames trimming down the adapter to suit. If you intend to run 15mm chain tensioners make sure you allow for both the thickness of the chain tensioner and the frames dropout width.
Profile 15mm Conversion Kit
The 15mm conversion kit is designed to be used with most other frames that use a +5mm thick rear dropout.
These may save you from cutting anything and worth considering if you are running Profile hubs.
15mm hubs
The only 15mm hub we have used so far is the Alienation Thrust hub (see our review of the early prototype), so rather than just regurgitate the marketing information check out the links provided below.
15mm chain tensionsers
When considering a 15mm hub you would also need to work out if you will need chain tensioners and if your 15mm axle is wide enough to allow for them.
There are very few options for 15mm chain tensionsers.
Hopefully this will help you as a guide to the world of 15mm, over the past 4 years the range of 15mm products have expanded somewhat and we expect that to continue as BMXers look for that edge over the competition.
Posted in: News
