Maybe you have a mountain bike with a 142×12 rear end that has a bulky lever that won’t fit in the trainer, or maybe you have something like a Foundry BroadAxe that just doesn’t have anything protruding at all? Whatever the reason, if you have a mountain bike with a thru axle rear end and you want to put it on a trainer, Kinetic has you covered. Their new Traxles are more than just a trainer adapter though, they’re designed to be left in the bike whether you’re riding outside or on the trainer. Sure, you’ll lose the quick release function on some rear ends, but if you’re really concerned about that for racing you can always replace the Traxle with the supplied thru axle for the race.
More on the Traxle next.
It’s hard to tell from this picture, but this Foundtry BroadAxe is one of the bikes that has nothing on the side of the dropouts – just a flat surface. With the Traxle, mounting in a trainer is simple and as mentioned it can be left in place, and since the BroadAxe doesn’t have a quick release axle, you’re wouldn’t be missing out on that function.
Traxles will be offered in three designs which correspond to the various 142×12 thru axle designs on the market:
- Shimano (T2101)
- Maxle/Trek ABP (T-2102)
- Syntace/Specialized (T-2100).
Available in Spring 2013, Traxles will retail for $45-50 MSRP, and will be available through QBP and Kinetic.
Really, Traxles are just the latest product in Kinetic’s line to maximize trainer adaptability. When you see all of the different trainer end caps spread out, you realize just how many options there are to mount a bike. Fortunately, Kinetic can machine them in house to keep up with changes in design.
