Quietly lurking behind the scenes for just over a year now, (or OverBoost as we’ve heard it called unofficially) is coming. Yes, technically it’s a new standard, but it’s one that may actually make life a bit easier when it comes to existing and future hub options. We’ve heard rumors that the big brands will be moving to 20mm Boost spacing in the future, and smaller brands like DVO and RST are already there.
Existing 20mm forks already use a 110mm hub spacing, so that number does not change for 20mm Boost. What does change is the spacing of the brake mount. Boost places the brake tabs 5mm farther outboard which gives hub manufacturers more room to space out the flanges for stronger wheel builds. But just as importantly, the change in brake spacing gives 20mm Boost the same dimensions as 15mm Boost which gives forks like the RST Stitch and RST Rebel the option to run either 15mm Boost or 20mm Boost axles and hubs by simply adjusting the diameter of the axle’s insertion. Some forks, like the RST Killah, will be dedicated to 20mm Boost.
That will make many 20mm Boost forks compatible with existing 15mm Boost wheelsets. Even better – since the brake spacing is wider than previous 20mm hubs, you should be able to use older 20mm non-Boost hubs with an adapter to make them compatible with 20mm Boost forks – the adapter will simply space the brake rotor out 5mm. The only thing you won’t be able to do will be to run 20mm Boost hubs on existing 20mm forks (until someone makes an adapter for that as well).
The takeaway? Don’t freak out. 20mm Boost is all positives, offering stiffer wheel/fork systems and easy backward compatibility for most existing wheels.
Fuck 'em and the new standard they rode in on.
Freedom of contract. We sell them guns that kill them; they sell us drugs that kill us.
