QR (skewer) vs Thru Axle

Cerps

Member
Mar 20, 2023
6
4
Minnesota
As I help my wife search for her first ebike, I'm getting hung up on QR skewer (thin axle that stays in the wheel) vs boost thru axle. I'm not asking about thru axle with handle vs thru axle fastened with allen key. All of my bikes are new enough they are thru axle and it seems like the more sturdy and foolproof option. For an entry level mountain bike that will probably spend most of the time on the paved trails, I'd think QR might be fine. But I do wonder with a mid drive putting down more watts if there could be issues down the road. We've kind of narrowed it down to Liv/Giant talon/tempt, Trek Powerfly 4, or Specialized Tero 3.0 based on cost and what is available locally to try out. There are some other brands that could be ordered online but without a fit test drive so I don't think we'll go down that route. I just don't know if the thru axles really justify the extra $800

How are those of you with QR front and rear fared with your mountain bikes? Am I over thinking it? Or am I missing something? I'm mostly curious about the rear hub since the front could be remedied with a fork upgrade. I can lace my own wheels and have some boost hubs from a cracked wheelset laying around I could use and an extra boost 29" wheelset too in the future. Another potential issue might be increasing the pedal assist cutoff. Trek I've found a magnet gear to press on the end cap to address. I think Liv/Giant is a spoke magnet so might not be as easy.
 

mike_kelly

Well-known member
Subscriber
Aug 11, 2022
941
774
US
She will be fine. I am 250lbs with an 80lbs eMTB with skewers and it works fine.
 

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