Venice Motor Bikes
Custom Builder / Dealer/Los Angeles
If they were really that easy to snap?, I guarantee that there would be so many lawsuits that there wouldn't be any more quick releases on bikes. 
Quick Release Wheels
- Thread starter 2door
- Start date
Dave31
Active Member
Old thread but wanted to mention several time I have come across some who over tighten the quick release.
Just recently helping someone out with some new tires and disc brakes I had a heck of a time removing the wheels.
Then I found out the owner would use a hammer on the lever to lock it.
I will admit i am not really sure how tight a quick release should be, but I would say if your using a hammer its too tight.
Just recently helping someone out with some new tires and disc brakes I had a heck of a time removing the wheels.
Then I found out the owner would use a hammer on the lever to lock it.
I will admit i am not really sure how tight a quick release should be, but I would say if your using a hammer its too tight.
Thanks for bumping this old thread, Dave. I'd forgotten about it so I'll update with my experience so far with the QRs.
The bike I installed quick release hubs on is still on the road (the beige/brown Norton in my album) and has well over 1000 miles on those rims. After starting this thread over two years ago I replaced the rear rim on that bike, it too has QR axle. I've never had any issues with either the front or rear. I check the lever tightness before a ride and have never found either one loose.
I take back my earlier reservations about quick release based on my success using them. Only one of my bikes has them but I'd use them again.
Tom
The bike I installed quick release hubs on is still on the road (the beige/brown Norton in my album) and has well over 1000 miles on those rims. After starting this thread over two years ago I replaced the rear rim on that bike, it too has QR axle. I've never had any issues with either the front or rear. I check the lever tightness before a ride and have never found either one loose.
I take back my earlier reservations about quick release based on my success using them. Only one of my bikes has them but I'd use them again.
Tom
paul
Well-Known Member
all my motorized bicycles i had quick releases on and had no problems. my bike i moved here with was a schwinn home grown and i put over 4,000 miles on it with quick release front and rear, my electric bicycle now has over 6,000 miles on it however the rear wheel is also the motor and it came with nuts and bolts the front is quick release.
rogergendron1
New Member
just to let you know 2 door ... every axle i have ever broken was a quick release axle ! broke 2 rears on a 29er and 1 rear on a 26 mountain bike !
they do not hold up to the same stress as a solid axle but they are suficiant for a motorized bike as long as your not planning on jumping it lol! the quik release axle is weaker because the axle itself is hollow to alow for the rod for the release lever to slide through, this leaves you with a hollow axle that onlyu has a few mm thickness where as a solid axle is just that ... a solid steel threaded rod
witch would YOU rather have a hollow threaded rod or a solid threaded rod ? if your just riding around and not doing jumps or tricks and your not offf roading then i would go with the quick release as it is realy convieniant ! but if its a rock solid axle you want and dont care about carrying the extra wrench than go for solid axles.
the quick release axle will bend easyer snap easyer and break on you easyer than a solid axle will, im fact i have never even herd of a solid axle breaking lol i have only seen them bend or warp or strip out.
they do not hold up to the same stress as a solid axle but they are suficiant for a motorized bike as long as your not planning on jumping it lol! the quik release axle is weaker because the axle itself is hollow to alow for the rod for the release lever to slide through, this leaves you with a hollow axle that onlyu has a few mm thickness where as a solid axle is just that ... a solid steel threaded rod
witch would YOU rather have a hollow threaded rod or a solid threaded rod ? if your just riding around and not doing jumps or tricks and your not offf roading then i would go with the quick release as it is realy convieniant ! but if its a rock solid axle you want and dont care about carrying the extra wrench than go for solid axles.
the quick release axle will bend easyer snap easyer and break on you easyer than a solid axle will, im fact i have never even herd of a solid axle breaking lol i have only seen them bend or warp or strip out.
rogergendron1
New Member
If they were really that easy to snap?, I guarantee that there would be so many lawsuits that there wouldn't be any more quick releases on bikes.
lol i have broken 3 so far just doing my normal dirt trail and down hill riding !
all were rear wheel axles, like i said they are hollow ! there is only like 2mm of metal there holding the wieght of your bike and the force of you jumping and landing and breaking ! a solid axle is far more durable and i have never had a problem with them. i run solid in the rear where all the force and torque is and a quick release up front. the bike i use that snapped all the axles is a 29 down hill and trail bike hard tail, and i do ride it hard.... non motorized just pedal power.... and under just pedal power i managed to snap 2 rear axles on it before i swapped to a solid rear and never had a single problem since. the other axle that broke was on a full suspention havoc down hill bike and it snapped clean through will breaking going down hill and my tire warpped sizeways and hit the left chainstay causing me to fall and tumble my ars down the hill !
what happens is the axle shaft snapps and the quick release shaft bends but stays inside and in tackt, your bike suddeny experiances a major drag as if the breaks are on and when you stop you may not even see whats wrong but rest assure that inside your hub your axle is split in two and your ridding all your wieght on the quick release shaft ! once i eve had the shaft break too that is when i fell and flew down the hill ! the shaft broke insude the hub and when i hit the disk break it split in two downward seperated in the hub and snapped the quick release and my whole tire came loose and flopped sideways !
if your doing any kind of hard ridding or down hill trailing than i highly recomend you do not use one on your rear tire. if you are just putting around town or racing on a kart track than there is no reason why they wont work just fine ! i still use them just not in the rear lol i only put them up fron and runn a solid rear.
Last edited:
maniac57
Old, Fat, and still faster than you
I've been riding for decades on quick release axles and have never had a failure of any kind.
Been using them on my motorbikes for years as well for the ease of flat repair without tools.
No axle problems of any kind.
Just keep the hubs maintained correctly.
Been using them on my motorbikes for years as well for the ease of flat repair without tools.
No axle problems of any kind.
Just keep the hubs maintained correctly.
rogergendron1
New Member
i know u guys like proof and pics so here s the first one that broke on me...
and maniac ... all my regular bike riding is verry hard dirt trail and down hill riding and jumping ... they do not hold up to that, i found out the hard way... not just 1 failure but 3 !!!!
this one was the first one to go and it was a brand new axle !, i had just finnished a long ride on the trails and rode out onto the pavement to ride home and i noticed a drag on the rear axle so i stopped and looked but could not see anything wrong i checked the breaks and everything and couldnt find anything ! i got home and went to unlatch my tire and thats when the release lever just flopped down, i gave a sort of easy pull on it to see whats up and it slid right out snapped in half bearing fell out and all. this was not a maintenace issue the bike was only a month old and the grease was fully packed and brand new.
it just plain failed.
i do like this system a lot but i will never put one on the rear tire of any trail bike ever again lol
and maniac ... all my regular bike riding is verry hard dirt trail and down hill riding and jumping ... they do not hold up to that, i found out the hard way... not just 1 failure but 3 !!!!
this one was the first one to go and it was a brand new axle !, i had just finnished a long ride on the trails and rode out onto the pavement to ride home and i noticed a drag on the rear axle so i stopped and looked but could not see anything wrong i checked the breaks and everything and couldnt find anything ! i got home and went to unlatch my tire and thats when the release lever just flopped down, i gave a sort of easy pull on it to see whats up and it slid right out snapped in half bearing fell out and all. this was not a maintenace issue the bike was only a month old and the grease was fully packed and brand new.
it just plain failed.
i do like this system a lot but i will never put one on the rear tire of any trail bike ever again lol
Attachments
Last edited:
Abusing any kind of mechanical equipment will eventually result in failure of some parts or component of the system. Racing, off road, jumping, curb hopping etc. are all forms of abuse.
The majority of riders don't treat their bikes badly and will never see the kind of failures seen when they are subjected to extreme conditions. This goes for motorized bicycles, cars, motorcycles or lawnmowers.
Like they say. "If you're gonna have a party, you've got to pay the band".
If your riding style requires solid axles then use them. The rest of us have experienced no problems with the quick release style.
Tom
The majority of riders don't treat their bikes badly and will never see the kind of failures seen when they are subjected to extreme conditions. This goes for motorized bicycles, cars, motorcycles or lawnmowers.
Like they say. "If you're gonna have a party, you've got to pay the band".
If your riding style requires solid axles then use them. The rest of us have experienced no problems with the quick release style.
Tom
MEASURE TWICE
Well-Known Member
I used a front wheel quick release type, from a Hard Rock mountain bike on my motor bike. I don't weight but 125 lbs, but the motor bike has a bit of added weight from the stuff I welded on it and the 3hp 4stroke Briggs. So I was trail riding an hit a stone the size and shape of a brick. The stone got kicked sideways and the front tire hopped up over the stone. I had no damage to anything, but I slowed down till I knew the trails I was going on a 3rd and 4th time.
Just for my next time out trail riding, I swapped in a fork I found that has shocks. This fork is for 24 inch wheels and I had both front and rear 26 inch wheels. The shock seems to be when not under compression keeping the bike level with the 24 inch wheel in the front. The front wheel is now by default a solid axle.
Analyzing if there is the same amount of metal in a quick release to a solid axle, I think in some cases they might be equal. It is just that the center portion of a quick release is not bearing any weight til the outer axle is compromised. That would seem you have better strength to weight ratio with a solid axle?
MT
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=29678&page=16
Just for my next time out trail riding, I swapped in a fork I found that has shocks. This fork is for 24 inch wheels and I had both front and rear 26 inch wheels. The shock seems to be when not under compression keeping the bike level with the 24 inch wheel in the front. The front wheel is now by default a solid axle.
Analyzing if there is the same amount of metal in a quick release to a solid axle, I think in some cases they might be equal. It is just that the center portion of a quick release is not bearing any weight til the outer axle is compromised. That would seem you have better strength to weight ratio with a solid axle?
MT
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=29678&page=16
rohmell
Active Member
The real issue is using a QR with a disc brake in front. The rotational forces that occur when the brake pads clamp down on the rotor causes a rotation of the axle in a downward direction, and right out of the fork.
You can see this for yourself by loosening the QR and then rolling the bike slowly (don't ride it) and braking. If you look closely, you will see that the disc brake/rotor becomes the pivot point and the axle will tend to try and come out of the fork.
The simple solution is to have the disc brake on the upper right side of the fork instead of the comml lower/ left side combination. This will casue the rotational force to try and push the axle into the fork.
Again, this is applicable only to QRs with disc brakes. The forces that occur with V brakes are different.
You can see this for yourself by loosening the QR and then rolling the bike slowly (don't ride it) and braking. If you look closely, you will see that the disc brake/rotor becomes the pivot point and the axle will tend to try and come out of the fork.
The simple solution is to have the disc brake on the upper right side of the fork instead of the comml lower/ left side combination. This will casue the rotational force to try and push the axle into the fork.
Again, this is applicable only to QRs with disc brakes. The forces that occur with V brakes are different.
massdrive
New Member
One of my bikes has a front disc brake with a quick release hub and honestly I'm more concerned with baring failure. I check front and rear baring's often and have not noticed any loosening of the hub. If you are a gas-n-go rider chances are any number of things can "fall off" your bike at any given moment. We should all be in the habit of performing regular safety checks on our bikes.