tightness of quick release

sam218 said:

When I pickup bikes from the bike shop and the QR has been tightened it seems
really tight. When I release and tighten the QR again at same tension
my hands feel pain. Is this normal? (If I tighten with gloves on I don't feel pain)
I am afraid of breaking the QR from it being too tight. Is this possible? How does a QR work?

One good way to get it tight enough is to adjust it so that you feel the tension when the skewer is half way trough the swing.
check http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQtires.shtml the quick release directions are almost at the bottom.
I've found this to be a great way to get it tight enough without being to tight. Earlier I thightened the QR's a bit too hard.

sam218 said:

When I pickup bikes from the bike shop and the QR has been tightened it seems
really tight. When I release and tighten the QR again at same tension
my hands feel pain. Is this normal? (If I tighten with gloves on I don't feel pain)
I am afraid of breaking the QR from it being too tight. Is this possible? How does a QR work?

Unless you use disc brakes, you shouldn't need to tighten the QR's up so much that they hurt your hands. Undertightening is obviously a bad idea but overtightening can destroy the bearings in the hub.

the front one on my bike is barely tight at all, i mean tight enough it's not gonna fall off, but the back is pretty tight, it's a single speed though so i've gotta be picky about the chain tension, it's just like any bolt though, you'd have to get it pretty tight to do anything to it. If the normal hollow part of the axle is threaded, where there's loose bearings inside and they have the other nut to tighten up against the peice right against the bearings, it shouldn't really be able to hurt the bearings, if they're sealed ones just sitting there, then it could hurt them

mjw_byrne said:

Unless you use disc brakes, you shouldn't need to tighten the QR's up so much that they hurt your hands. Undertightening is obviously a bad idea but overtightening can destroy the bearings in the hub.

Please explain how over-tightening could destroy the hub bearings. By bending the axle? Thanks.

jhas said:

Please explain how over-tightening could destroy the hub bearings. By bending the axle? Thanks.

A QR skewer works like any screw/bolt, it compresses anything in between. With the axle, you have the locknut, cone, then the bearings. Overtightening presses the cone too much on the bearings, limiting movement, eventually wearing/pitting the bearings and/or the cups.

well the only way i can think of that would hurt your bearings, is if you tightened it hard enough, to bend the threads on the axle so that the cones could slide in and press on the bearings, otherwise i don't think it'd do much

10timesbetter said:

well the only way i can think of that would hurt your bearings, is if you tightened it hard enough, to bend the threads on the axle so that the cones could slide in and press on the bearings, otherwise i don't think it'd do much

Well, actually it could.Bearings are supposed to be left slightly loose when using a QR,to that when compressed,by the QR the looseness goes away. Obviousoly too tight bearings or getting too horsey with the QR is not a good idea. With bolt on axels, there is no compression,so the bearings are set to minimum looseness.

How would a bolt-on hub be any different than a quick-release? In both cases you are reducing the distance between the dropouts as you tighten, and, hence, squeezing the entire hub.

I've always read that the best way to tighten a quick-release is to adjust it so it contacts when the lever is at the halfway point. Then push it the rest of the way. It should be good and snug, but not gorilla tight.

jhas said:

How would a bolt-on hub be any different than a quick-release? In both cases you are reducing the distance between the dropouts as you tighten, and, hence, squeezing the entire hub.

Think about it real hard.There is no compression of the axel.I'ts a well known and recognized concept.