Originally Posted by
Wennnz
Does anyone happen to know a good rear thru axle replacement? Loving my Topstone 105 so far, but when you attach a rack to the back, it interferes with the thru axle handle. Looking for an axle that won't make it so I have to remove the rack every time I want to take the rear wheel off. I'm not sure which axle length I should be looking for, though. Everyone, including Cannondale, has told me 12x142 so far, but that's the hub length, not the axle length.
I went through this with my rack-equipped Topstone 105 recently. The axle levers are adjustable, so theoretically you can loosen it little by little, adjusting the lever every time, but that's a time consuming process.
I bought a
Robert Axle rear thru axle using their axle finder guide. Ended up with a
Lightning Bolt-on Axle - Rear 12 mm x 162-167 mm x 1.0 Thread. It's longer than the stock axle, but uses a spacer to get the correct length. It's allen-key removable, so interference with the rack and fender mounts isn't an issue.
I struggled to get it threaded when I first swapped things over, but I didn't have much thru axle experience and didn't know the derailleur hanger had to be well lined up before the threads would catch. Once I figured that part out it was pretty smooth to install, and seems to be going strong!