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Thru Axle Tightening

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Old 10-05-20, 07:20 AM
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Lars Halstrom
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Thru Axle Tightening

My rear thru axle bolt tightens over several days. What could be causing it. It's on an 11spd shimano derailleur. The bike is a 2017 Felt VR5 carbon. I do grease the threads and barrel of the axle. It also has sealed cartridge bearings.

Last edited by Lars Halstrom; 10-05-20 at 07:23 AM. Reason: more info
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Old 10-05-20, 07:56 AM
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aggiegrads
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Precession is the only possible mechanism I can think may be causing it. Similar to how pedals can tighten on a crank over time.
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Old 10-05-20, 08:15 AM
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How are you determining that your through axle is tightening?

I just grease and torque my axles to spec and the only time I touch them again is if I remove my wheel.
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Old 10-05-20, 08:28 AM
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Stiction, precession and just because some things do that because of ever so slight differences a few 10,000'ths of an inch can make when threads and anything else is machined.
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Old 10-05-20, 08:30 AM
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Should I be concerned on effects to other components? The thru axle has a limited threaded distance at the tip.
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Old 10-05-20, 08:32 AM
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Originally Posted by jadocs
How are you determining that your through axle is tightening?
+1 How do you know this is happening? Is your rear wheel starting to bind after a few rides? What type of thru axle do you have and how is it tightened? Are you tightening it properly initially? Does it have a "cam lever" (like a qr skewer) that locks it in place and are you using it correctly?

BTW, your rear derailleur type is immaterial and I assume you mean your hubs have cartridge bearings.
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Old 10-05-20, 08:32 AM
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is the thru-axle that holds the hub in the frame tightening. or are the "cone nuts" (for lack for a better term) tightening on the bearings?
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Old 10-05-20, 08:39 AM
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Lars Halstrom
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Jadocs,
That's a good point. The torque needed is much greater with hand. But maybe I should measure how much of the threaded end is exposed at the tip. If it didn't increase, then it could be something else. I use Phil's waterproof grease.
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Old 10-05-20, 08:53 AM
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I use a torque wrench when tightening on the work stand. The thru axle uses a hex key to tighten. No affects to bearings. Stiction sounds like the most probable cause.
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Old 10-05-20, 09:04 AM
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Might be time for us to learn what exactly you are calling a thru-axle. It'll make a difference. Others are suggesting that you are experiencing the bearings tightening from a loose lock nut on the sleeve that is probably the actual axle, and not the thru-axle, which is just a big bolt that goes.... well.... through the axle.

Edit..... I sure wish like some of the other forums I use that the forum software would let me know that someone else has posted in the time it took me to write this. <grin> Though short, mid-writing, I went to make anothe cup of coffee.... <grin>

Last edited by Iride01; 10-05-20 at 09:07 AM.
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