If you’ve ever owned a Suntour suspension fork, like that on my Voodoo Bizango (which has a Suntour Raidon), you might have already been a bit thrown by the proprietary Suntour thru-axle system, Q-Loc. Unfortunately, Q-Loc is prone to breaking, and then you have a wheel stuck in the fork. This once bit me in the bum quite badly because I’d let my front tubelessly-set-up wheel run out of sealant, and it deflated on a ride and wouldn’t stay up after I reinflated it with my mini pump. I couldn’t get the wheel off to put an inner tube in, so had to resort to public transport.
Getting home I did a lot of online research, many people found they were having the same issue, but the solution as per the bike shops’ advice was to just buy a new Q-Loc axle. Being unhappy to just spend more money on a clearly poor quality component, I found a permanent fix to this problem using a third-party provider, Hexlox. This is a short article on how to find the right replacement for your Suntour fork.
How to find the right Hexlox universal thru-axle
Part one is finding the right Hexlox axle. Unfortunately, they’re not cheap. I paid £55 for mine including postage in October 2023 and they seem to have increased in price a little since then.
For my Suntour Raidon fork, I wanted the ‘Q-LOC THRU AXLE – HEXLOX READY,’ which I bought directly from the Hexlox website. Be sure to get the right product else it won’t work. For the Q-Loc axle, you’ve just got the one option, for the FRONT 15 BLACK-SUNTOUR Q-LOC version, which is what I use in the Raidon fork and it works great. Hexlox also make replacement thru-axles for other specifications such as on gravel bikes or other suspension fork brands, but for Suntour forks, you get a special Q-Loc replacement product. Just a shame that it’s expensive!
The Hexlox axle is a clever system; it’s a 2-part thru axle which threads together using a standard 6mm hex/’allen’ key (hence the name). The first part of the process is removing the stuck Q-Loc thru-axle: this is pretty easy to do so long as you’re unhurried and doesn’t require power tools. Unfortunately, I’ve recycled mine so can’t demonstrate, but it’s not difficult.
Next is installing your new Hexlox thru-axle. Be sure to grease the threaded ‘male’ half with assembly grease or copperslip to keep it from seizing. I also like to apply a light coat of copperslip to the thru-axle before fitting it into the fork (and through the wheel hub).
After positioning the wheel in the fork’s end, just thread in the male to the female part of the Hexlox thru-axle, and that’s all there is to it.
A cheaper work-around while you save for a Hexlox; double-ended/’sausage’ inner tubes
It might seem a bit unfair to need to spend £55 just in case your Q-Loc thru axle breaks, so a good way to hedge your bets is to get a double-ended inner tube in case you end up with a similar situation to me. This way, you can fit a new inner tube without needing to remove the wheel and keep riding. The touring cyclist retailer SJS Cycles sells a range, with a 29er 2.1 inch tube setting you back £10 (in July 2024) which isn’t too bad. This is also a good solution for cycles where you really don’t ever want to be messing around with removing wheels while on the road, such as a heavy cargo bike or trike.
Unfortunately stock of these inner tubes seems to be a bit limited, so it’s worth getting one while you can.
So that’s all there is to it. The Hexlox thru axle has worked a treat ever since and has made working on and disassembling the fork and wheel very easy. It’s unfortunately that Suntour forks use this clearly over-engineered ‘solution,’ hopefully in time they use something that’s less prone to such a disastrous failure mode. Happy riding!
Update: another way round
Phil Kemp in the Voodoo Bizango Owners Group shared his own fix; simply feeding a quick release skewer through the Q-Loc thru axle. I haven’t tried this out myself but I can’t think of any reason why it shouldn’t also be a permanent fix.
Calum On Wheels 