Thru axles query

[velobaba]

I am considering buying a frame and fork that are thru axles. Frame is 12x142 and fork is 12x100. The owder doesn't have the thru axles for the frame and fork.
Can I purchase any brand thru axles to fit the frame and fork or will I need to purchase brand specific axles? For e.g: if the fork is an Enve fork then will I need to buy an Enve thru axle?

Thanks,
jalal

[ocslick]

Depends on your frame, but many frames can be found on Robert Axle Project Thru Axles . Their website is great and I used them to replace some odd proprietary Mavic thru/QR axles that were a pain on my Look 785.

[EB]

Thru axle thread pitch (among other things) is not standardized, and generally there is not really a "standard" thru axle. I consider a frameset that doesn't include them incomplete. The Robert Axle finder can help, though your frame/fork brand needs to be listed there.

[prototoast]

Even within a standard (e.g. 100x12mm), there are still 3 variables--the overall length, the thread length, and the thread pitch. There's some wiggle room with either of those except the thread pitch. If it's a mass-produced frame or fork, you can usually find the specs from the manufacturer.

[Gabe77]

The failure to standardise axles is one of the great pains in the arse of the cycling industry.
A bit like mobile phones having all different chargers dspite that every on has the same guts.
There are 5 distinct features all axles have:

• Nominal inside length (100, 142)
• Nominal diameter (12, 15, 20mm)
• Actual outside length (can be pretty much anything)
• Thread pitch (1.0, 1.5, 1.75 tpmm - I haven't seen any others)
• Threaded length (can be pretty much anything)

These are usually printed on the shaft like 12*168L*M12xP1.0*19L so you can buy generic ones off ebay rather than scrounge for originals.
As others stated there is a Robert Axle Project dedicated to assisting cyclists out of this labyrinth. They came up with standard code numbers for each variety.
To add to the stupidity many bikes have a different pitch for the F & R axles, even despite them being both 12mm...
The only logical reason I can come up with for this is that rears have longer threading so a coarser pitch will take as many turns tu fully unscrew.