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I'm currently using Shimano XT QRs on my bike (I've always used Shimano QRs simply because of their reputation).
The rear QR fully engages with the lever at about 90° to the skewer but with the front QR it's closer to 45° leaving the lever end perilously close to the rotor; as a consequence I've got the lever on the non-disc side.
I understand that it's generally accepted that the QR lever should be on the disc side (to counter the possibility of loosening?) so I'm wondering whether it's time for a change.
Since I treated myself to a Hope wheelset some months ago, Hope are the obvious choice. Are Hope QR skewers decent? I'd much rather security over bling any day.
Yes. Had one on my hardtail for 3 years with no issues.
They're alright if you keep them greased, they seize and get creaky if you don't. You already own the best available skewers IMHO.
Shimano or DT RWS. Only sensible choices.
In true STW fashion...
Never greased, never seized and used weekly all year round. The lever position of the shimano skewer I have is also a poor fit on the disc side of my bike. The hope one is perfect.
+1 for Shimano. Best there are.
Don't worry about the side, it will be fine.
Hope skewers are shiny tatt IMHO.
APF
The newer Hope QRs (without the ball ended lever) seem to be much more reliable than the old ones. I'm not sure I understand the problem you are describing but Shimano are generally reckoned to be the best. Also, many folk run the lever on the non-disk side with no problems so don't write that off.
Prefer Hope to Shimano. Have to retighten my Shimano one frequently whereas Hope never works loose.
Only problems I've had with QRs have been Hopes. Loosening off mid ride mainly. And having to crank up tight as and it being a mare to remove.
XT never had a problem with. Swap you!
Hope for me. Work well and a British company. No brainer imho.
Note also available in numerous colours to colour match as desired frame, bars, floating rotors, Kashima shock .... The list is endkess 🙂
Wouldn't ride off road with QR on disc side - far to easy for it to jam with a branch or similar. It is generally accepted that Shimano QR's are the best 😀
Wouldn't ride off road with QR on disc side - far to easy for it to jam with a branch or similar.
Eh?
Hope skewers work well with me. Never had a problem with them losening at all. Easy to look after too, just disassemble, clean, lube, reassemble. I've completely disassembled mine in the past too, for curiosities sake.
[quote=iainc ]Wouldn't ride off road with QR on disc side - far to easy for it to jam with a branch or similar. Wouldn't that depend on the position of the QR? If it's basically flat against the fork or pointing backwards I'm not seeing how it could hook up on anything. If it's pointing forward, then yeah - but the same would be true on the non-disk side?
Hope for me. Work well and a British company. No brainer imho.
Shimano for me Japanese company (probably made in Taiwan, but meh). More importantly there's substantially more shimano made QRs in service around the world, and yet their reputation for this one particular (quite critical) product seems to be ahead of Hope's...
National pride is one thing, and Hope make all sorts of stuff that's very good, but shimano QRs are simply better, and I would rather trust them to keep my wheels attached.
Lever on the LH side is just a hangover from road bikes isn't it? No reason you can't turn the skewer round if it helps...
Wouldn't ride off road with QR on disc side - far to easy for it to jam with a branch or similar. It is generally accepted that Shimano QR's are the best
Yes, will depend on skewer position etc as pointed out, but why risk having a skewer, which pops open with a lever force, beside a spinning disc ? Put it other side and it's out of harm's way surely.
My Hopes weren't up to much, cheapo shimano is functionally far better imo. (I replaced my Hopes with some Shimanos I got in a halfords bike in 1991, and still an upgrade...)
Have you considered not QR? Halo hex skewers are nice- cheap, light, and reliable. Not tool free but, when did you ever want to remove a wheel without having a tool handy?
In my opinion the best 'standard' qr-axle is Shimano.
I'd upgrade every axle to DT Swiss RWS. no brainer, more torque at hand, never slips, it's swiss, simple and light, it's swiss.
If I want something fancy I'd go for Salsa as the anodizing is way better and the shape and ergonomics nicer when applying force.
Quite. The great Trek skewer recall of 2015 (other brands were affected) was to ensure that the lever couldn't flip over far enough to catch in the rotor.Yes, will depend on skewer position etc as pointed out, but why risk having a skewer, which pops open with a lever force, beside a spinning disc ? Put it other side and it's out of harm's way surely.
Does anyone run the rear QR with the lever on the non-disk side?
I'd do something completey different and change the front caps on your new hope hub for the 9mm bolt through version, and the get a DT RWS 9mm QR axle.
Have Hope skewer on on rear wheel, Shimano on another. Both work, neither have come loose.
@scotroutes - on my bike having the lever on the drive side interferes with the mech, so no.
I understand that it's generally accepted that the QR lever should be on the disc side (to counter the possibility of loosening?)
I've never heard that. Where did you hear it?
It's precession wot does it. The theory is that the rotation of the wheel could cause the spindle of the QR to rotate. In practical terms I don't think it's really an issue and many folk run the lever on the non-disk side so there's less chance of your hand coming into contact with a hot rotor.
dvatcmark - Member
I'd do something completey different and change the front caps on your new hope hub for the 9mm bolt through version, and the get a DT RWS 9mm QR axle.
This !! Actually i think you get a noticeable improvement with superstar 9mm qr axles I'd also get the 10mm upgrade for the rear too
Fwiw I've used hope and shimano qrs and b think they are both fine
not sure how the QR ends up in a position where it could interfere with your disc unless it's one of the older bent steel lever ones.
Another option you have is switch to 9/10mm QRs but that needs new end caps for your hubs.
This !! Actually i think you get a noticeable improvement with superstar 9mm qr axles I'd also get the 10mm upgrade for the rear too
Yep - I've done this on my MTB - I noticed an improvement in front end stiffness.
My hope ones are gold to match the gold bits on my Barry white Inbred.
Surely the most important consideration!?
Just the thought of that has improved my front end stiffness.stumpy01 - Member
My hope ones are gold to match the gold bits on my Barry white Inbred.
Shimano all the way. My Hopes needed constant checking that they hadn't come loose, and after a while started creaking loudly as well. Looked fantastic though, and matched my red Pro IIs which was the main reason I bought them!
Best QRs I have had are Mavic ones, a little more solid feeling than Shimano.
My hope ones are gold to match the gold bits on my Barry white Inbred.Surely the most important consideration!?
that right there, my hope clamps are black, to match the black hope seatpost clamp and black hope brake calipers.
to answer other things above.
- with the lever pointed back wards, and the force required to tighten properly theres no change of a) disc rotor interference b) how hard it needs to be clamped. i don't believe it'd ever "knock" loose
- i did look putting it other side, theres no space on my bike due to rear mech/hanger etc YMMV
- mine were bought earlier this year, and replaced shimano XT ones, one of which the 'arm' had been replaced - i'm assuming due to a knock (SH bike)
the only issue i've had is some creaking, and that was due to it not being clamped tight enough , nd make sure wheel is properly seated - do it has tight as you can manage.
Are the ops XT skewers broken? Mine all have a stop at ~85°
And tbh, the only real upgrade from xt is xtr......
PJay, If your going to change the skewer anyway and have hope hubs I'd recommend fitting the 9mm end caps. Makes the front a little stiffer and secure. You can also then use a DTSwiss RWS axle which are imo much nicer than quick releases.
e.g. like the set at the top of the pic in my recent for sale thread
[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/hope-brake-mounts-and-hub-axle-adaptors ]recent for sale thread* [/url]
As for the normal QR when I use these I normally close the QR over the calliper as that keeps it out of the way. Can you not alter the lever engagement angle my tightening or loosening the nut on the opposite end slightly?
* cheeky bit, 9mm QR and adapters still for sale 😀
9mm DT RWS are far superior, and Shimano QRs are also much better than the Hope QRs, which I had come loose on me.
Does anyone run the rear QR with the lever on the non-disk side?
no, because a rear wheel jam is unlikely to result in the OTB that a front wheel one would most likely cause !
oh, and 9mm DT Swiss front and rear for me 🙂
[img] 
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scotroutes - MemberJust the thought of that has improved my front end stiffness.
Shudder......
Being slightly serious for a minute - the Hope ones do seem to need adjusting 'just right' to get them done up tight. There's little twiddle room between 'nope, still too loose' and 'Bugger, too tight to close'.
Dunno how or why, but the Shimano ones seem to have a greater operating range.
But, it's about 5 seconds of potentially extra twiddling when putting the wheels in, so doesn't really register on the give-a-shit-ometer.
Never had a Hope QR come loose. And they're GOLD!!!
I had a Hope one for a while on the rear of one bike & went back to XT - after slightly overtightening the Hope one then having to prize it open it with cold wet fingers to fix a puncture... the XT lever shape is nicer to use (to me anyway) and the internal cam skewers just feel smoother in operation I reckon... the Hope one always felt a bit creaky and I think the Hope lever (on mine anyway) had a longer throw & would sit further inboard when fully closed. Only upside is the colour choice with the Hope as far as I can see, the industrial milled look is slightly polarizing.
Have "what skewer" threads become the new "what tyres" threads?
Over the years I've used Shimano and Hope; neither have been better or worse, neither have been a problem, neither have loosened, neither have resulted in death.
Never got on that well with mine - they were the old ball-ended type though...
Shimano or DT RWS for me. No issues with either. Just work and are very ergonomic.
[quote="nixie"]Can you not alter the lever engagement angle my tightening or loosening the nut on the opposite end slightly?And this is why people have skewers coming loose.
And closing over the caliper? Do you mean "not closed properly"?
[quote=iainc ]
no, because a rear wheel jam is unlikely to result in the OTB that a front wheel one would most likely cause !I suspect you are in the overwhelming majority, and yet there isn't (and never has been) a massive number of stories about rear QRs unscrewing themselves. That being the case, I can't see that precession is a major factor in real life and that either side at the front is actually OK.Does anyone run the rear QR with the lever on the non-disk side?
[quote=andyl ]
not sure how the QR ends up in a position where it could interfere with your disc unless it's one of the older bent steel lever ones. The "Trek" recall was due to some levers opening so far that it could catch in the rotor. Around half our hire fleet was affected, even though all the QRs looked externally identical. I can assume it was some sort of machining tolerance in the cam mechanism.
Looks like I'll be sticking with Shimano then. The DT Swiss things look nice (if a bit pricey). I take it I need 9mm bolt through caps for the hubs and can then use the DTS 9mm RWS with my standard QR fork dropouts (it looks like they also do [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/dt-swiss-rws-mtb-steel/rp-prod81161 ]a version[/url] for standard QR hubs.
I understand that it's generally accepted that the QR lever should be on the disc side (to counter the possibility of loosening?)
I've never heard that. Where did you hear it?
In here:
[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/road-bikes-with-discs-do-you-put-front-qr-on-non-disk-side ]singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/road-bikes-with-discs-do-you-put-front-qr-on-non-disk-side[/url]
aracer - Member
damascus » Then brant came up with an industry reason why it should be on the disc side. Might have been to do with the force of being pulled on the disc side etc.It's because disk brake forces can result in slight motion of the axle/QR in the dropout which will result in unscrewing the QR. I think the idea is that if the lever is on the left such unscrewing will be obvious, though it won't be if the nut is on the left. Not an original thought from Brant - though he might have helped publicise it - original theory was James Annan's I think.
[url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121005235921/http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/disk_and_quick_release/ ]https://web.archive.org/web/20121005235921/ http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/disk_and_quick_release/ [/url]
Some more links here: [url= https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=james%20annan%20disc%20brake ]https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=james%20annan%20disc%20brake[/url]
Personally I'd not buy a new bike (or parts to build one) with discs and QRs - one reason I'd not get a road bike with discs.