My 2011 Specialized Rockhopper 29er has 9mm QR axles (135mm and 100mm lengths).
I’m going to replace them with solid all-thread (or only mostly all-thread?) if it’s not expensive. If metal shops want to charge $200 for a custom set of basic axles, I’ll opt out.
I want to know what metal properties need to be requested for axles beyond my current knowledge.
I plan to mount onto the axles, an axle-mount rack adapter (Old Man Mountain’s Divide rack dropout extension), so the axles will need to be 215mm long at back and 180mm long in front. If the axles are too labor inten$ive for a shop, I’ll mount the OMM Divide rack dropout extensions — or else the Tubus rack foot extensions — to the wheel dropout bracket with a longer M8 bolt among the two bolts that’s fastening the wheel dropout bracket to the frame.
I’m working between a Salsa Wanderlust HD rack and a Tubus Logo Classic rack; both steel. I plan to continue to exceed rack load weight tolerance recommendations on occasional grocery runs to carry 85lbs of water in two 5-gallon jugs in rear panniers, so I might as well order very hard and durable axles while I’m at it so those aren’t ever a variable.
I’m submitting order inquiries to metal shops. They want specs I couldn’t know regarding the properties. I’m saying I want “high strength” carbon steel, heat treated, and chamferred all-thread 9mmx1.0".
I’m being asked if it should be “DIN976 (obs DIN975),” “CL8,” “mill finish with no plating”. Any insight there?
And I still need to figure out the pitch without taking my hubs apart, if possible. It’s probably 1.0 or 1.25. I’m hoping 1.0, right, cause that’s a tighter, more secure thread pitch, yeah? I wonder if I can just expect P1.0 and expect to order after-market cones and axle nuts and washers for m9x1.0 if I’m wrong.
Maybe Specialized rider care will email back with the pitch someday soon.
I slso wonder if the bearing cups have an inner diameter wider than the 9mm axle perhaps past 10mm to possibly accept a sneaky 10mm axle. The whell dropouts are just barely wider than 10mm, so maybe it’s possible to upgrade to 10mm?
For those who know axle properties, metal industry lingo, and any relevant Specialized manufacturing specs, please chime in.
Thank you.
Sidenote: Unless bike corporations have a gun to the head of any metal manufacturers who dare to mass produce 9mm axles in any attempt to short the custom axle market, it seems 9mm threaded rod is a Bermuda Triangle of fear. Same with black security Torx bolts. Must be superstitious vodoo physics or something?
P.S. Please don’t suggest Grainger or McMaster-Carr. All of America seems to be anti-M9, especially as all-thread.
I see 180mm solid axles available, wonder if they would make you a longer. https://wheelsmfg.com/products/hub-parts/all-axles.html?axle_type=6863 I’ve bought before from them.