When I bought my Focus Mares a few seasons back, I ran into an issue. My home trainer, a Tacx Bushido, is a wheel-on trainer that clamps the bike at the axle to hold it in place. Focus’ R.A.T. axles, a quarter turn quick release thru-axle, is unfortunately not compatible with this type of trainer. Other bikes with traditional bolt-on thru-axles can also run into this issue. The Robert Axle Project solves this problem with their Trainer thru-axles and helps anyone looking to drop quick release thru-axles with their lightweight Lightning bolt-on axles.
The Robert Axle Project makes many different kinds of axles. Many allow you to hook up different types of trailers or attach cargo racks to bikes that might not normally work with them. That’s how they got their name. Founders Chris and Katy enjoy bike touring on their mountain bikes. When they upgraded to light, carbon full suspension rigs, their trusty BOB trailers that they had come to rely on, couldn’t hook up to the new bike’s rear thru-axles. With a 6-pack of beer as payment, a friend, who also happens to be a machinist, created their first BOB compatible thru-axle. Since they couldn’t call it BOB, they went a bit more formal with the Robert Axle Project.
They also make lightweight bolt on axles to replace cheap, factory axles or convert R.A.T. and quick release thru-axle systems to standard bolt ons. They are CNC’d from 7075 aluminum here in the US and hard anodized to add durability and fight corrosion. We were sent a pair of Lightning Thru-Axles for the Mares, along with a Trainer axle to use with the Bushido. We weighted them, and mounted them on, and put them to the test earlier this season.
Converting from R.A.T. to the Robert Axle Project Lightning axles wasn’t very hard. There is a small hex bolt that needs to be removed from the fork and frame to swap the nut part of the axle systems. Just unscrew that bolt, pop out the nut, pop the new one in lined up to the bolt hole, reinstall the small bolt, and you are good. From there, add a little bit of grease to the thru-axle, as you should for any, install the wheel, and insert the thru-axle and tighten as you would any bolt on.
I couldn’t really tell a difference riding with the Lightning bolt on thru-axles versus Focus’ R.A.T. axles, which is a good thing. I’ve never really had an issue with the R.A.T. axles in the past, and the Lightning axles worked just as well. At 38g for the front, and 44g for the rear, the overall weight savings was about 40g for the pair, with each axle coming in 20g lighter that their respective R.A.T. counterparts. For the weight weenies out there, every little bit helps, but on a cyclocross bike, it’s not always my first priority.
As far as durability goes, I don’t see it being an issue. The Lightning axle is well made and machined to tight tolerances, so unless you are pretty ham-fisted when it comes to the 6mm hex wrench for tightening the axle, you should get plenty of use without any issues. I’ve only ever had one axle come loose on me while riding, but they claim that their tight manufacturing tolerances will help prevent this from happening with their axles. I didn’t experience any issues with any of the three axles coming loose, so it does the job pretty well.
You can also say that the Lightning axle would be more aerodynamic than other axles with quick releases or handles. Though it does lose the handle on the bolt on side, the nut side does stick out a bit further than the R.A.T. due to the design of the frame. If you have a frame/fork that has a flush nut that works with a Robert Axle Project axle, you’ll definitely get the most gains here.
For me, about the only negative is a positive for other riders. Personally, I prefer to have a quick release to be able to get my wheels off easily. I normally ride with a multitool or a small took kit, so unscrewing an axle isn’t much of a problem (except during a race). Having the ability to swap wheels to get the right tires for the conditions and being able to do it quickly and tool free is important to me. If that’s not something you do often, then it’s probably not a drawback for you. For others looking ditching the quick release handle, which can get caught on things while riding in tight spaces, the clean bolt on axle is a benefit.
Finding the right axle is easy using their Axle Finder tool on their website. Simply answer questions about the type of axle you are looking for, they type of bike, brand, and a few other questions, and it will take you right to the product you need.
At $58 each for the front and rear Lightning Axles, and $64 for the Trainer Axle, it’s a relatively inexpensive way to drop some grams and add some simplicity to your R.A.T. equipped Focus. For more traditional set ups, Robert Axle Project Lightning axles come in at around $42. They are a little more expensive than some of the other thru-axle options out there, but reasonable for the quality of the pieces. Whether you have a road, mountain, cross, gravel, or any other kind of bike that uses thru-axles, the Robert Axle Project will probably have one for you.
http://www.robertaxleproject.com
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
~Veggie Powered Athlete~
Location – Lancaster, PA
Current Testing Rigs – 2024 Van Dessel Arch65, 2019 Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie, 2018 Van Dessel Motivus Maximus LTD, 2016 Van Dessel Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, 2015 Bianchi Sempre Pro, 1978 Trek TX900
Dream Bike – I’ll tell you when they make it
Discipline – Cyclocross, gravel, road and duathlons (ride/run)
Favorite Rides – Quiet country roads of Amish Country, some of the best roads around.
Food of Choice – Sweet potato roll
Beer of Choice – Unibroue Grand Reserve 17, aged four years
Bourbon of Choice – Widow Jane 10 Year