I was wondering if it's possible to use a quick release on the rear wheel of a fixedgear bike?
Will the quick release be strong enough to keep the wheel in place?
Does anyone make a fixedgear hub with a quick release, or are they all solid axles with locking nuts?
Reason for asking these questions, I'll be riding a fixedgear on the street and I'm trying to get away from carrying a wrench to undo the locking nuts in case of a flat. Any alternatives? Enjoy hearing from fixedgear street riders.
<t...@slac.stanford.edu> wrote: >I was wondering if it's possible to use a quick release on the rear wheel of >a fixedgear bike?
>Will the quick release be strong enough to keep the wheel in place?
>Does anyone make a fixedgear hub with a quick release, or are they all solid >axles with locking nuts?
>Reason for asking these questions, >I'll be riding a fixedgear on the street and I'm trying to get away from >carrying a wrench to undo the locking nuts in case of a flat. Any >alternatives? Enjoy hearing from fixedgear street riders.
>I was wondering if it's possible to use a quick release on the rear wheel of >a fixedgear bike?
>Will the quick release be strong enough to keep the wheel in place?
>Does anyone make a fixedgear hub with a quick release, or are they all solid >axles with locking nuts?
>Reason for asking these questions, >I'll be riding a fixedgear on the street and I'm trying to get away from >carrying a wrench to undo the locking nuts in case of a flat. Any >alternatives? Enjoy hearing from fixedgear street riders.
> -tom
It is doable and in fact commonly done, sometimes every on the track.
But if you are not riding on the track, there is no real need to use a track hub, a regular freewheel hub for the street properly spaced is probably what you want anyway and it will be a QR hub.
IMHO the only real reason to use track hubs is because they have the reverse threaded lock rings which are keep the cog from unscrewing when back pedalling.
But since you are riding on the street, you will have brakes so this is not a concern.
Tom Nakashima wrote: > I was wondering if it's possible to use a quick release on the rear wheel of > a fixedgear bike?
Sure. MIne is. Campagnolo's old quick release track hubs (before the rules changed) were the first hubs I ever saw with curved skewers. Looked odd to me then and now.
> Will the quick release be strong enough to keep the wheel in place?
Most quick release wheels are more secure than most nutted axle wheels. The cam action is very effective. If you 're worried about it, oil inside the bell housing so the cam works correctly.
> Does anyone make a fixedgear hub with a quick release, or are they all solid > axles with locking nuts?
Don't think there are any current Q/R track hubs. 10mm axles are easy to swap over to Q/R but some hubs are 9.5mm axle so check that first.
> Reason for asking these questions, > I'll be riding a fixedgear on the street and I'm trying to get away from > carrying a wrench to undo the locking nuts in case of a flat.
Me too. Never had a problem with my Simplex Q/R. And my gear is low.
> Any alternatives?
Sure, a "peanut butter" wrench. These are flat with a punched 15mm socket on one end . They are less common now but easy to carry. The problem is that when you flat, the wrench will be at your girlfriend's house. Of course if you change it to Q/R you won't have a pump or a spare tub anyway. Cab fare is a good thing for an urban cyclist.
Andrew "many ways to approach a problem" Muzi -- Yellow Jersey, Ltd http://www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971
A Muzi <am...@yellowjersey.org> wrote in <3c1145e1$0$65152$272ea...@news.execpc.com>:
>> Does anyone make a fixedgear hub with a quick release, or are they all >> solid axles with locking nuts?
>Don't think there are any current Q/R track hubs. 10mm axles are easy >to swap over to Q/R but some hubs are 9.5mm axle so check that first.
Wheels Manufacturing makes 9.5mm quick release axles. If your LBS doesn't stock them (mine does) then you can order them from Sheldon Brown. They cost just over $10.
"Tom Nakashima" <t...@slac.stanford.edu> writes: > I was wondering if it's possible to use a quick release on the rear wheel of > a fixedgear bike?
Yes.
> Will the quick release be strong enough to keep the wheel in place?
Mostly. At 6'4" and 210+ lbs, I have never pulled the wheel forward in the dropouts with a fixed gear, but then I have made a point of clamping the wheel down as tight as I can.
> Does anyone make a fixedgear hub with a quick release, or are they all solid > axles with locking nuts?
You can get a hub suitable for fixed gearing that uses a QR. Any hub that will take a freewheel will also take a fixed cog. But do have brakes on your bike!
> Reason for asking these questions, > I'll be riding a fixedgear on the street and I'm trying to get away from > carrying a wrench to undo the locking nuts in case of a flat. Any > alternatives? Enjoy hearing from fixedgear street riders.
I've currently deep-sixed the fixed for street riding and have gone with a coaster brake hub on my track bike- mainly because the bike won't permit the use of brakes. I use a bolt-on Bendix hub and carry a Surly Jethro Tool wrench (with handy bottle opener). It's small and designed to be used with your foot for leverage if needed- fits in my small seat pack along with a spare tube and tire levers. So that's another viable option.
I like the utter simplicity of my bike, which I use to commute to work. It's tempting to say that "there's nothing to break" but I can't remember the last time I actually *broke* anything on a bike other than a spoke or a frame joint. Chains, derailleurs, cables, etc all seem prety robust. For me it's an aesthetic- I like a bike with no brake levers, no shift levers, no cables, no brazeons, the bars flipped over and sawed off... It's stark and dedicated to simple motion. Not to mention a PITA when there's a hill.
> I was wondering if it's possible to use a quick release on the rear wheel of > a fixedgear bike?
> Will the quick release be strong enough to keep the wheel in place?
Yes.
> Does anyone make a fixedgear hub with a quick release, or are they all solid > axles with locking nuts?
No, but most track hubs can be converted by swapping out the axle. I do this a lot.
Most _tracks_ require nutted hubs for historical reasons (used to be wing nuts, which were potentially hazardous.)
> Reason for asking these questions, > I'll be riding a fixedgear on the street and I'm trying to get away from > carrying a wrench to undo the locking nuts in case of a flat. Any > alternatives?
Most of my own fixed gear fleet are QR equipped, for that exact reason.
Sheldon "Keep Pedaling" Brown +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | I still feel that variable gears are only for people over | | forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength | | of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? | | We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear! | | --Henri Desgrange, _L'Equipe_ article of 1902 | +-------------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772, 617-244-1040 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.comhttp://sheldonbrown.com
I'll add a me-too with a slight caveat. I use a QR on one wheel, which has my low gears for climbing my afternoon commute hill. Originally I used an old Campy QR (and the old Campy axle) in there, and it was very difficult to clamp down tightly enough. I switched out the skewer for a Shimano one, and have not had any problem since. The Shimano skewers clamp stronger -- at least stronger than a 1970 Campy one.
--
David L. Johnson
__o | "Business!" cried the Ghost. "Mankind was my business. The _`\(,_ | common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, (_)/ (_) | and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!" --Dickens, "A Christmas Carol"
I agree that Shimano QRs seem to have more clamping pressure than Campy.
Curiously, though, I used to have this clamping problem on my old Univega beater with a Shimano QR (Ultegra). I just tightened the crap out of it and lived with it for a couple of years until -- eureka! -- I figured out what was going on.
This bike has fairly thin dropouts, so the axle protruded ~1 mm too far on each side. The QR would just barely start to bottom out no matter how much the nut was pre-tightened. The fix was simply to add one thin spacer between each cone and locknut.
Tom-<< I was wondering if it's possible to use a quick release on the rear wheel of a fixedgear bike? Will the quick release be strong enough to keep the wheel in place? Does anyone make a fixedgear hub with a quick release, or are they all solid axles with locking nuts? >>
You can convert many track hubs to hollow axles w/o much problem but if you have only one brake or none-nuts are a much better idea..just carry a 'peanutbutter' wrench in your back little bag..
Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl ST. Boulder, CO, 80302 (303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com
Jon-<< But since you are riding on the street, you will have brakes so this is not a concern. >>
More than a few fixed gear guys here onm Boulder do not have brakes on their rigs...so a track hub is essential for them. I use a track hubset as well, as the rear is a flip-flop, another reason to use a solid axle...just carry a wrench.
Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl ST. Boulder, CO, 80302 (303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com
