Whisky Parts Co Adds Thru Axle Road and Cyclocross Forks

OK, I would understand 9mm thru-axle, something like DT Swiss RWS, but 15mm for road and cyclocross ???
What a load of dreck !

thru axle forks for road any cyclocross – but not mountain bike?!!?!?

Ojos Azules – 15mm makes a lot of sense in that it’s a commonly available hub size for 100/135 spaced hubs. Makes for a little more cross-compatability between bikes and wheel sets.

Maxle (and also Maxle Lite) are really nice in that the hub/dropout interface aligns to the same position every time – wheel install/removal will put the rotor in the exact place every time, even if the bike isn’t perfectly upright or weighted.

No! I will not purchase a new fork with a different axle standard! Of all the things that I thought weren’t stiff enough, the interface between the front hub and the fork isn’t one of them. After 15 years of riding disc off road I have never had the front wheel pop out. It has also never come out on my disc cross frame. Stop the madness!

Then again, maybe if we make the fork a little wider, and a little longer to fit 2.5 inch tires, then add some sort of air sprung, hydraulic damped suspension to it, maybe even remote lock out, we would really have a useful product.

From someone who was at Saddledrive when this was first revealed to the public, these forks look really great, have a totally flush left side, and once adopted in mass and gradually improved will be as light as a QR and stiffer.

You might think it’s odd now, but wait a year or two, this is the future.

I can say with confidence that these forks are 100% proprietary. Whisky partnered with SRAM to shorten the Maxle Lite, making it more applicable for a road/cross application. Why 15mm? It’s the most common standard and there are a wide variety of hubs available. Why thru-axle at all..? Simple, it unifies the fork legs. Your wheel will turn better, your forks won’t twist under disc brake loading, you eliminate the dreaded brake chatter on your cantilever cross bike and once hydraulic brakes are released for road levers cable routing limitations will be reduced.

If nothing else, bike handling will be improved through less twisting of the fork legs. The first time you ride one of these and hit a tight corner you’ll be jaw-dropped.

Nice forks, but stay out of NAHBS. The only thing North American about Whisky is the design, albeit a good one, still doesn’t belong at NAHBS.

Jackaroo, I agree, Interbike is for everybody, but NAHBS is for showcasing US made bikes and parts, they don’t belong there. Don’t get it twisted.

@Reg- *slow clap*