Been clamping my front wheel wrong for 2 years on my quick release

Was at a bike shop in Denver getting a flat fixed. Mechanic guy watched me put the wheel back on and just shook his head. Said I was leaving the skewer too loose and the wheel could pop out on a hard stop. He showed me how to really crank it so the lever leaves an imprint on my palm. 2 years of riding around half attached. Anyone else get told basic stuff way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarah_hart22d ago

Oh come on, how loose are we talking here? I've been riding around with my quick release just snug enough to hold the wheel in place for years and never had an issue. Unless you're doing nose manuals or hitting curbs like a maniac, that wheel isn't going anywhere. I bet half the mechanics out there overtighten everything just to cover their butts. And that palm imprint thing? Sounds like a good way to strip the threads or warp the axle if you ask me.

kai60221d ago

Dang, I gotta disagree with you here man. The whole point of the palm imprint test is to get it just tight enough without going overboard, not to crank it down. If you're stripping threads or warping axles with your hand, you're either the Hulk or you're using a cheater bar, not your palm.