beginner and quick-release skewers.

"Paul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I appreciate that this is probably a really basic question but here goes.

I have noticed that toothed, circular piece of metal that contacts the

frame

Quoted message said:

under the QR lever itself has 'bitten' through the layer of paint and into the aluminium frame
beneath. It's a miniscule depth but I suppose that

after

Quoted message said:

a number of wheel removals it when the QR position moves slightly it might wear a fine groove into
the frame.

Does this indicate that the QR is too tight or is this ok? I've seen some articles that state that
a wheel should be removeable as soon as the QR lever is opened and others that say that after a
wheel is in position the

QR

Quoted message said:

should be tightened a few turns before closing.

The QRs on my bike start to meet resistance at about 50% through their arc when closing (about 90
degrees to the axle) which, according to another article is a sign that they're about right.

I'm sorry if this is really basic stuff but, as a beginner, I'm trying to start to move my
maintainence skills beyond just cleaning and lubing and avoiding running off the the bike shop for
simple repairs. Equally though, as a beginner, I recognise my lack of knowledge alongside the
potential of wheels falling off whilst riding!

Thanks in advance to anyone who could take the time to enlighten me.

Kind Regards,

Paul

You really can't have them too tight. Generally, if you're an average person and you feel a little
discomfort in your palm while closing the lever because it seems fairly tight, you're in the ball
park. You shouldn't be able to close it very easily so that you don't even notice it's tight, and
you shouldn't have the urge to put a bar on there to get more leverage either. You will definitely
chew through the paint, which is a good thing, because you're wanting to get a good purchase on the
metal underneath for effective clamping force. Eventually, after enough wheel removals, you'll have
little rings of no paint where your QR's hit the frame. This is normal and a good thing.

Cheers,

Scott..

Relax, everything you stated about your QR is correct. I have those same marks on the dropouts on my
bikes, and both of them are steel. The QR cam squeezes the frame with considerable force when
tightened properly, and some metal displacement in to be expacted. this might actually help the
skewer to hold better.

As to the lever meeting resistance at about 50% on the way (sticking straight out from the frame),
this is where it's supposed to meet resistance.

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": geocities.comczcornerOpen ↗

Actually, you can have them too tight. My mechanics say that if you tighten them down too much (as I
had been doing), they can actually start to bind up the hub bearings. Scott's advise about meeting
resistance about 90 degrees seems about right.

And yes, biting through the paint is normal; better that that the asphalt biting into your back!

-Kalukis

"S. Anderson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Paul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I appreciate that this is probably a really basic question but here

goes.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have noticed that toothed, circular piece of metal that contacts the

frame

Quoted message said:

under the QR lever itself has 'bitten' through the layer of paint and

into

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the aluminium frame beneath. It's a miniscule depth but I suppose that

after

Quoted message said:

a number of wheel removals it when the QR position moves slightly it

might

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

wear a fine groove into the frame.

Does this indicate that the QR is too tight or is this ok? I've seen

some

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

articles that state that a wheel should be removeable as soon as the QR lever is opened and
others that say that after a wheel is in position

the

Quoted message said:

QR

Quoted message said:

should be tightened a few turns before closing.

The QRs on my bike start to meet resistance at about 50% through their

arc

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

when closing (about 90 degrees to the axle) which, according to another article is a sign that
they're about right.

I'm sorry if this is really basic stuff but, as a beginner, I'm trying

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

start to move my maintainence skills beyond just cleaning and lubing and avoiding running off
the the bike shop for simple repairs. Equally

though,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

as a beginner, I recognise my lack of knowledge alongside the potential

of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

wheels falling off whilst riding!

Thanks in advance to anyone who could take the time to enlighten me.

Kind Regards,

Paul

You really can't have them too tight. Generally, if you're an average person and you feel a little
discomfort in your palm while closing the

lever

Quoted message said:

because it seems fairly tight, you're in the ball park. You shouldn't be able to close it very
easily so that you don't even notice it's tight, and you shouldn't have the urge to put a bar on
there to get more leverage either. You will definitely chew through the paint, which is a good

thing,

Quoted message said:

because you're wanting to get a good purchase on the metal underneath for effective clamping
force. Eventually, after enough wheel removals, you'll have little rings of no paint where your
QR's hit the frame. This is

normal

Quoted message said:

and a good thing.

Cheers,

Scott..

Paul said:

I appreciate that this is probably a really basic question but here goes.

I have noticed that toothed, circular piece of metal that contacts the frame under the QR lever
itself has 'bitten' through the layer of paint and into the aluminium frame beneath. It's a
miniscule depth but I suppose that after a number of wheel removals it when the QR position moves
slightly it might wear a fine groove into the frame.

This is not a problem. The paint there is not going to survive no matter what -- used to be, frame
builders would chrome plate the dropouts to get a little better wear, but of course chrome does not
give as good a grip.

Quoted message said:

Does this indicate that the QR is too tight or is this ok? I've seen some articles that state that
a wheel should be removeable as soon as the QR lever is opened and others that say that after a
wheel is in position the QR should be tightened a few turns before closing.

The issue here is not the tightness of the QR, but the "lawyer lips" on the front fork. Years ago,
someone sued because they forgot to tighten their QR, and fell as a result. They argued that the
bike design was faulty for allowing the front wheel to come off when the QR is open. Of course, that
is the point of a QR, but the plaintiff won the case based on questionable expert witnesses. So, we
now have QR front hubs that cannot be removed without loosening the QR a few turns. This has the
effect of producing more, not fewer, maladjusted QRs, but the US legal system functions that way.

Quoted message said:

The QRs on my bike start to meet resistance at about 50% through their arc when closing (about 90
degrees to the axle) which, according to another article is a sign that they're about right.

Just about. Look at your palm after you close the QR. There should be an impression in your palm
from the lever.

When I started riding, I did not use enough pressure on my QR. In a minor accident, the wheel came
off, and the fork dug into the pavement. This destroyed the fork.

BTW, the guy who responded that the QR can be too tight was wrong. If the bearings bind from the
tightened QR, then the reality is that the bearings are maladjusted, not the QR.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored _`\(,_ | by little statesmen
and philosophers and divines. --Ralph Waldo (_)/ (_) | Emerson

Thanks to you all for taking the time to reply, it seems that I'm ok.

Thanks again,

Kind Regards, Paul

"David L. Johnson" <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

The issue here is not the tightness of the QR, but the "lawyer lips" on the front fork. Years ago,
someone sued because they forgot to tighten their QR, and fell as a result. They argued that the
bike design was faulty for allowing the front wheel to come off when the QR is open. Of course,
that is the point of a QR, but the plaintiff won the case based on questionable expert witnesses.
So, we now have QR front hubs that cannot be removed without loosening the QR a few turns. This
has the effect of producing more, not fewer, maladjusted QRs, but the US legal system functions
that way.

That's why I took a file to my fork and shaved those bad boys off. I'm not going to get dropped
from a race or group ride while fumbling with my QR. They are called "quick release" skewers for
a reason. You should have them tight enough to hold your wheel in place, but loose enough that
you don't have to fight with them to take your wheel off quickly. Once you have them adjusted,
you shouldn't have to turn the end cap at all, just crank the lever up / down to remove / replace
the wheel.

Hope this helps,
- Boyd S.

David L. Johnson said:

BTW, the guy who responded that the QR can be too tight was wrong. If the bearings bind from the
tightened QR, then the reality is that the bearings are maladjusted, not the QR.

I agree mostly and with your other comments, but I think *everything* can be overtightened.

I have in my junk box some Campy Record (70's record) skewers that were overtightened - one
stretched at the threaded portion so that the thread pitch visibly changes as you move along the
skewer. I have another broken one that stretched even more.

I didn't break these (but I've broken innumerable other parts from overtightening, usually with a
panicked "Oh Sh**!"😉. I was told (when they got donated to my parts box) of the user who was a
real gorilla.

I *did* break another skewer on my Yakima rack. I think it was a Maillard, it had alloy endcaps -
the cap on the cam end split. More overzealousness on my part, when I had a tandem on the roof.

So be careful - it isn't easy, but you really can overtighten the skewer.

--
Mark Janeba remove antispam phrase in address to reply

S. Anderson said:

You really can't have them too tight.

Not true. I have a friend whose husband maintains her bikes. He likes to keep the skewers REALLY
TIGHT. Once while he was away she needed to remove the front wheel to get the bike onto her car
rack. She wasn't strong enough to open the skewer so pried it open with a large screwdriver,
resulting in damage to the paint on the front fork.

When she arrived at the race and told me about the problem, I had her go release my front skewer.
She was amazed that it was so easy for her to open.

Point is, the lever has a fairly significant mechanical advantage. It produces considerable clamping
force with only moderate lever pressure.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗