Mountain bikes are all thru-axle these days, and road bikes are moving in that direction quickly as well as the cycling world adopts disc brakes. And while we love the stiffness and reliability of thru-axle, many wheel-on trainers don’t include thru-axle compatibility out of the box.
Never fear, though: our favorite Lama is here, with videos to guide us on getting the job done!
If you have a Tacx wheel-on trainer such as the popular Tacx Flow Smart, you’ll need to know the length, diameter, and thread type your bike’s rear wheel uses. Then just purchase the correct “Tacx E-Thru Axle” on Amazon or elsewhere.
Using the Tacx adapters on other brands’ trainers is going to be a little “hit and miss,” as Shane says. They won’t work with the popular CycleOps Fluid 2, for example. The Wahoo KICKR Snap has its own adapter kit, but only for 12×142 thru axles.
Here are Shane’s tutorial videos showing how to set up the Tacx and Wahoo thru-axle adapters.
I use an axle from robert axle project. They have a great website and Awesome products.
I also use one from Robert Axle Project. Very easy to find the one that’s compatible with your bike/trainer set up.