Carbon-Ti has been machining lightweight bolt-on thru-axles for a decade now, with their latest evolution X-Lock Evo Thru Axle more refined than ever. Lower profile, lighter weight, more secure tightening, more sizes to fit almost any disc brake road/gravel/mountain bike, plus more colors to choose from… all that, and they even get lower pricing than when we last reviewed them.
Carbon-Ti X-Lock Evo lightweight alloy thru-axles
What’s not to love about a simple lightweight upgrade component that gets its own upgrade? When we reviewed the original X-Lock bolt-on thru-axles five years ago, we found them to be a high-quality way to shed a few grams off your bike. While certainly not cheap, they’ve always been a reliable, made-in-Europe option for riders looking to get rid of clunky QR lever thru-axles. And now they have evolved to be better than ever.
Carbon-Ti X-Lock Evo has updated the XC & Marathon World Cup proven axles with a number of performance upgrades.
What’s new? Thru-axle Tech Details
From the outside in, the new X-Lock Evo thru-axles get a lower-profile head design that sits even closer to your frame or fork. Now 15mm fork axles drop the head washer altogether, while the 12mm axles come with either a new flat head+nylon washer or an integrated conical alloy head. The new heads all also shift to larger 6mm hex tooling (vs. 5mm) for more secure & more durable tightening.
Inside, the thru-axles’ variable thickness profile has been reshaped & optimized to save weight without decreasing stiffness. Real weight savings seem small, maybe 1-4g depending on sizes. But when you are talking about axle weights from 30-35g, that’s still nice to see.
Color-wise, Carbon-Ti had already offered the axles in their standard seven anodized colors – black, acid green, blue, silver, green, red & gold – but now also adds a matte black option for a slightly stealthier setup.
Carbon-Ti X-Lock Evo thru-axles – Pricing, options & availability
