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Just reading in another thread about disc brakes undoing QRs. It seems the wheels are going to fall off and I'm going to die if I don't get my MTB converted immediately.
20mm was initially about stiffness IIRC.
Then qrs fell.out because they or their users were inadequate.
Then 15mm came along to [s]make more cash[/s] keep us safe.
Take a 12mm drill bit and you can convert your frame to a through axle...
yes - but you also need 29er/650b wheels as 26ers have proven to be dangerous... 😆
QRs are less secure. There is a higher chance of the wheel being ripped out by braking forces.
With some skewers, it's not a significant risk, possibly, but with others it is.
My race bike still has QRs and discs, but I put sturdy Shimano skewers back on instead of pimp lightweight ones.
QR forks were/are flexi which isn't really that good.
20mm as said above brought in stiffness.
15mm is a lighter option and stiff enough when you get the rest of the fork design right.
I have ridden flexier 20mm forks than my current 15mm ones.
It's also much simpler and easier to use.
Take a 12mm drill bit and you can convert your frame to a through axle...
I thought might just clag some big bolts from the local hardware shop into the dropouts, then carry around a couple of big King Dick spanners for wheel changes.
Oh, do I need to drill the hubs out too?
I went from 20mm thru back to QR (for about a month) and the flex on rocky descents was...disconcerting.
25mm thru now. Woof.
I'm ready to be corrected but I don't think anyone ever had a properly fastened qr come loose. I've seen a couple fail when being tightened though not whilst riding and I've seen a few come loose but all on bikes of people who waft them closed.
As for stiffness I personally didn't notice much of a change going from my qr vanillas to 20mm pikes when the qr was properly tightened, mostly it was wheel deflection and it was the same for one to the next, that said in not exactly punishing in my riding.
[i]don't think anyone ever had a properly fastened qr come loose[/i]
The original design of Hope ones were 'known' to have issues in this area.
It seems the wheels are going to fall off and I'm going to die if I don't get my MTB converted immediately.
This wont happen - you will be fine
But bolt through is just better in every way for modern MTB applications.
I'm ready to be corrected but I don't think anyone ever had a properly fastened qr come loose.
That's how I see it too. I haven't seen the trails littered with corpses and bikes with no wheels.
Now the stiffness question - that's another issue altogether.
With some skewers, it's not a significant risk, possibly, but with others it is.
My race bike still has QRs and discs, but I put sturdy Shimano skewers back on instead of pimp lightweight ones.
This. I've had bad QR skewers come undone on both the front and back of bikes. Shimano I've never had a problem with but I've found them very loose on other peoples bikes. I reckon the front coming undone and wheel ejecting is probably one of the nastiest things that could happen you on on a bike - probably even worse that handlebars snapping.
The original design of Hope ones were 'known' to have issues in this area.
Strange you mention hope ones, personally I ruined two <edit> ball end type <edit> that wouldn't tighten properly, and I know a couple of people who've done the same, in all cases though it never came lose, it just didn't work properly as you couldn't tighten them down enough and it was the thread end which failed rather than the cam.
I haven't seen the trails littered with corpses and bikes with no wheels.
No but there hae been cases.
Came off my bike a couple of weeks ago going down down steps in the woods. Went in a bit quick so had to brake, didn't end up massively well.
I was basically fine, but the bike sort of flipped up and over and I tried to catch it. Somehow my rear wheel actually came off, as well as the rotor being bent
Might have been because its a cheap bike, or I hadn't done it up enough, or something else - don't know
No, you don't need them. On longer travel forks (140mm up) I find the stiffness beneficial, but on shorter forks and the back end it doesn't make a difference that significantly improves my enjoyment of riding a bike.
I know it is a bigger faff to get my 12mm rear axle out and it is one more loose part to lose and replace at great expense.
had a QR come loose on the megavalnche, and Id checked my bike over before I started off
Im generally a big fan of OS axles, im not lightweight and ride clumsy so I feel the benefit
have had my rear maxle come undone too, which is worrying!
have had my rear maxle come undone too, which is worrying!
Lever or bolt up?
In my grossly unfounded opinion this is probably the same thing as most people experience with qr coming loose and down to whacking the lever on something and slackening the cam. Personally I don't like lever locks and prefer actual bolts with nothing snaggy/sticky out, unfortunately all my forks have levers as that's how they're made.
Where does the flexing occur in a QR system when compared to a 15/20mm?
I'm ready to be corrected but I don't think anyone ever had a properly fastened qr come loose.
My rear one got caught on some undergrowth came undone, wheel fell out when I stopped to work out why the back was feeling so bad.
We have relatively short memories, but [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/pinder-v-fox ]this thread[/url] contains links to Stoner's blog on the Pinder v Fox technical evidence.
As others have said, losing your front wheel is one of those "issues" with such large consequences that eliminating even a pretty small risk seems sane enough.
Now I know its rare, but I have actually seen a QR front wheel come out mid bunny hop. This was about 1991 when that's all there was, and the bike wasn't very well maintained, but the we were all doing 20mph or so sprinting back to the cars down a private road with little speed bumps in it. He was 20 yards in front of me, bunny hop, front wheel fell out, fork dug into the floor (remember it was all clips and straps then as well) and the first thing to hit the floor was his face. It wasn't pretty. Our cold, smashed teeth, nose, blood etc. He never rode a bike again AFAIK after the plastic surgery to put his face back together.
Oddly I do like a bolt though fork these days. Can't think why......
I probably almost lost my front once due to a Hope QR working loose. It was a fairly jumpy trail route, and I eventually stopped to check what the noise was only to find that I could move the wheel side to side very freely. I first thought I'd broken the axle, but then found it was just a very loose QR.
The best solution by far was 20mm, there were a raft of compatible hubs, plus a fork standard everyone was happy with.
And then Shimano/Fox rocked up with 15mm...given that we're constantly told that a fatter tube = stiffness with less weight, I fail to understand where the supposed weight saving for a 15mm axle comes from.
I've had both front and rear QRs come loose in my CX bike. The trails round here can be quite rattly on 32mm tyres, but it was probably becasue I didn't do them up properly.
However, I could tell the instant they came loose and stopping (on rim brakes) wasn't an problem. Might not notice on a disc equipped suspension fork though.