Jim,

I totally agree that boring out the center of the bolt would be the way to go. Welding the nut on the spindle and reversing the bolt is good too. That way when you have to pull the tire you do not have to mess with the brakes, the wheel just slides down and off.

I have seen numerous broken axles. Our tracks around here can be very agressive. Between the rough tracks and agressive cornering it does take a toll. One race I remember (John Day, Oregon) had a downhill run crossing a drain "dip" in the road, then a hard turn to the left. I think I saw that course eat more than 10 front axles in one day! Many of them were grade 8 bolts too. I have yet to see a broken 20mm axle though.

We definatly do have a lot more races around here. I think Mike Hodgert and I have the record for people who have attended the most races. I have lost the exact number but someplace around 150 races since getting involved. Our primary season is going to start in a couple weeks, we will have a race almost every weekend for a couple months.

Aaron