The most embarrassing question ever...

[punkypossum]

...please don't laugh!!!!

I need to swap the tyres on my bike. Now, in the past when I had a bike without quick release I was perfectly happy doing it, but since I've had my trek I haven't had to as I haven't had any p***tures (touch wood), and the only time I wanted to swap tyres, the lbs did it for me while they were doing some other jobs.

Now, I'm perfectly aware that quick release is supposed to be the easiest thing in the world, but I was always under the impression that you just loosen the lever, the wheel pops out and then you pop it back in. Looking at my bike books, things seem far less straight forward and there seems to be a lot of playing around with adjuster screws, etc. involved. I'm having a panic attack - I want the old nuts and bolts back!!! What do I do? What if it all goes horribly wrong? What if I lose my wheel halfway down the road? Can someone please reassure me????

 

[Wolvesandy]

http://bicycletutor.com/remove-install-wheels/

hope this helps

 

[summerdays]

I did mine for the first time recently - its not too bad ... at first I didn't release the nut enough...till the nut fell off then I realised I hadn't undone the brakes and that was why it didn't drop out.

Then when I put it back in, I had more troubles ... one time I forgot to do up the brakes ... luckily I had only gone 10 metres before I realised. And another 2 times... I had the brake rub because I hadn't quite put it back in straight.

(There I bet people didn't realise anyone could find quick release so hard - what can I say other than I'm not mechanically minded)

 

[Bald Eagle]

Well Q R's are the way to go,no tools required for a start but hey its only easy if you know how. It is very simple to do though but why not pop in to your local bike shop and ask them to show you, when you see it done you won't have a problem.

 

[punkypossum]

I did mine for the first time recently - its not too bad ... at first I didn't release the nut enough...till the nut fell off then I realised I hadn't undone the brakes and that was why it didn't drop out.

Then when I put it back in, I had more troubles ... one time I forgot to do up the brakes ... luckily I had only gone 10 metres before I realised. And another 2 times... I had the brake rub because I hadn't quite put it back in straight.

(There I bet people didn't realise anyone could find quick release so hard - what can I say other than I'm not mechanically minded)

Argh!!! That's not reassuring at all!!!!

 

[punkypossum]

http://bicycletutor.com/remove-install-wheels/

hope this helps

That makes it look so easy!!! I think it's the not getting it back in straight and brake rub that I'm most worried about...

 

[HJ]

Just remember, when you have put the wheel back on to lift the bike so that the wheel is off the ground and spin it round by hand then apply the brake and then spin it again. That way you will find out if,
a) you have remembered to reconnect the brakes (and not when you are try to slow down approaching a junction as I once did) and
if there is any brake rub.
If there is brake rub, release the QR and seat the wheel again then re-apply the QR and run the above test again (I hope that makes sense).

Don't worry about asking questions, it is better to learn from somebody else's mistakes, then to make them yourself.

 

[Shaun]

I'd never come across QR's before either, but when I had two bikes stolen I decided to start using the QR's on my Sirrus to take the front wheel off the bike every time I put it in the shed, and store the wheel inside the house (working on the theory that theives would prefer to nick a bike with two wheels ).

If you're worried about brake rub / not getting it in straight, just lift it up and give the wheel a spin - you'll soon find out if it's not right. Undo, wiggle, push, jiggle, etc. then tighten up and try again.

After a few goes you should be able to do it with your eyes shut.

Cheers,
Shaun

PS. ALWAYS test the brake before heading off, that way if you accidentally forget to do it back up it won't be a major problem.

Damn, that Scot's bloke beat me to it ...

 

[summerdays]

Argh!!! That's not reassuring at all!!!!

Its meant to be... that if I could do it ... that so could you... I must admit I don't know how to put the back wheel in with the chain to deal with as well.

 

[punkypossum]

Its meant to be... that if I could do it ... that so could you... I must admit I don't know how to put the back wheel in with the chain to deal with as well.

Lol, the chain is the least of my problems!!!

 

[buggi]

haha when i first took my wheel off and put it back on i rode to the bike shop the next day to get an inner and the guy said "you don't like to brake then?"

i forgot to turn my brakes back on!!!


it's dead easy. first go to the brakes and flip the little lever up to widen the brakes (to allow the wheel to "fall" out). then back to the quick release, just flip the lever open and, holding the "nut" on the other side of the wheel, just swivel the lever round a few times until it feels loose. you don't have to take the whole quick release thing out, it just needs to be loose. then pick up the front of your bike and pull the wheel out.

when you put the wheel back, swivel the lever a few times (holding the nut on the other side) to semi tighten it and then push the lever back into the closed position. you should start to feel the pressure half/two thirds of the way. if you don't, it may need tightening a bit more so flip the lever open, swivel it round again, and close the lever. if you can't close the lever or you feel the pressure before half way you semi-tightened it too much and will need to untighten it a bit.

Important: then go back to brakes and flip the little lever on the brakes into the closed position so your brakes are back in action!

my LBS gave me a leaflet on doing it. tells you what kind of pressure to expect on the lever to ensure it's tight enough. can't for the life of me find it tho, so can't tell you.

 

[simonali]

As it's an American bike, the forks will probably have "lawyer tabs" on them, meaning that one the QR is undone you'll have to give the nut on the other end a few turns before the wheel will drop out.

 

[buggi]

I was once told that the QR should be hard enough to close that it leaves a mark on your hand, and that's always worked for me.

sounds about right to me. it leaves a dent in my hand.

 

[andygates]

Don't get too hung up about putting the wheel in wonky. Once it's in, you can just slack it off and nudge it as often as you like

This thread reminds me, I need to file off the lawyer lips on my road bike.

 

[punkypossum]

As it's an American bike, the forks will probably have "lawyer tabs" on them, meaning that one the QR is undone you'll have to give the nut on the other end a few turns before the wheel will drop out.

What? More complications? What on earth are they for then? Some strange extra security feature or just to annoy clueless owners?

How will I know I've got them? Is it basically just a case of waiting for the wheel to fall out and if it doesn't, that's why?