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As the title says, I lost the original axle hub skewers (both front and back) while moving. I bought this bike secondhand over a year ago, and it's a 2015 Diamondback Century 2. Diamondback no longer hosts the product specifications and won't respond to my customer support request, for some reason. I can tell you the original axle hubs are in place.

I did find the product specifications of this model/year on REI, however, they only list the rear/front hub specifications as DB-24H (rear) and DB-20H (front), with no mention of the dimensions (in any way I would understand).

Could anyone help me understand better how to figure this out, maybe using the information from REI above? Also, any tips/direction on what brand/website would be a good place to find replacement skewers. I'm seeing a wide range of prices online and many of them don't even list their product dimensions.

Thank you! John

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  • John, I've edited out reference to skewers to match the title and tags. Skewers make me think of quick release wheels, not thru-axle wheels. If it's not thru-axle bike then please correct
    – Swifty
    Apr 3, 2020 at 18:38
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    Are you sure that these are thru-axles not quick-release? A picture of the side of one or both hubs will be helpful. Available pictures of the 2015 model show rim brakes with standard QR hubs. Since it is a road-bike you'll need a 100/130mm couple of QR skewers which are not brand specific.
    – Carel
    Apr 3, 2020 at 20:16
  • Whoops I somehow missed the word skewer in the title so I've rolled back the question to your original wording. Can you add a photo? The wording really matters and given your comment on WeiwenNg's answer I'm thinking you don't have thru-axles
    – Swifty
    Apr 3, 2020 at 20:40

2 Answers 2

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First, do you have quick releases, or do you have thru-axles? If you have rim brakes, then you have QRs. Any QR will fit your bike. If you have disc brakes (look for a rotor on the left side of each hub), you probably have thru-axles, but it's also possible you have QRs.

If you have thru-axles, you probably need to call Diamondback Bikes. Their FAQ lists a number for consumers to call about replacement parts. Because REI is a national chain of outdoor equipment stores in the US, if you're still in the US, you may be able to get to one, and they may be able to help you as well - although they may not have the correct information on hand themselves and probably don't stock replacement thru axles for every bike, so they would probably end up reaching out to Diamondback themselves.

Since you asked, we should discuss the dimensions of thru-axles! As you've noticed, they are more complicated than quick release skewers. QRs can have a bit of the rod poking out the frame end, so they could be made to standard lengths. The over locknut diameter of rear road and MTB QR hubs is slightly different (130mm and 135mm), and that was the only point of differentiation. In fact, an MTB rear QR will fit a road bike, you'll just have some rod sticking out the left side of the bike. Front QRs are the same width between road and mountain bikes. Also, some early disc brake bikes took QRs, although by 2015, chances are you should have had TAs if the bike were disc brake.

First, there's the axle diameter. The current Century 2 has a 12mm diameter axle in front, and a 12mm axle in the rear. Many mountain bikes and some gravel bikes take 15mm axles in front. Many current mountain bikes take wider hubs than the current road standard of 100mm front, 142mm rear. In any case, chances are that your bike takes that standard.

From there, I'd refer you to the Robert Axle Project (note, they make and sell thru axles), or to this page on Modern Bike. Because forks vary in how thick they are at the dropouts, thru axles also vary in their length. So, a 12x100 front thru axle is really longer than 100mm - RAP's site says that a 125mm thru axle would fit my gravel bike.

Another aspect is the thread pitch, or the distance from one thread to the next one on the threaded part. Thread pitches can be 1.0mm, 1.5mm, or 1.75mm.

Last, not discussed on either site, but thru axles can have flat seats or conical ones.

RAP does have a bike database, and it has some information on Diamondback bikes. It is able to suggest a front thru-axle that should fit all Diamondbacks. However, it's not able to suggest a rear thru-axle for your model. It suggests measuring your thru-axle ... which you don't have. This, unfortunately, is a lesson not to lose your thru-axle. If you're transporting the bike with wheels off, best practice would be to thread the axles into the frame. In any case, it does seem like calling Diamondback is the best option.

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  • Wow. This is incredibly detailed and helpful.. I'm learning a lot. I'll probably just call them again, as you suggested. As I'm only missing the skewers, and not the hub axles, it sounds as if I could just purchase a slightly longer skewer to be safe, right? (In the case I don't get an answer from Diamondback).
    – JohnX
    Apr 3, 2020 at 18:23
  • @JohnX if you bought a thru-axle that was too long, then I'm pretty sure it would push the fork legs apart, or push your rear dropouts apart. That would leave your hub loose in the dropouts. That wouldn't end well.
    – Weiwen Ng
    Apr 3, 2020 at 20:33
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    I did a search for brand/model noted by the OP. The wheels are HED and appear from the photo as QR. Any standard QR should work.
    – P. Barney
    Apr 3, 2020 at 21:59
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    @JohnX I noticed what Barney said as well, but the title did say thru-axle. So, do you have thru-axles or skewers? An easier way to ask this is, do you have rim or disc brakes? If you have rim brakes, you certainly have quick release skewers, and replacing them is much simpler. If you have disc brakes, then chances are you have thru-axles (but you actually could have QR skewers). All this may seem like quibbling over minor terminology, but trust us, the distinction is important.
    – Weiwen Ng
    Apr 3, 2020 at 22:35
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2015 century 2Presuming this is you, tt's a standard 130mm-spaced, rim brake road bike. You need any set of quick release skewers. Get a road type set so the back one doesn't stick out past the nut.

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