Watched a guy lose his front wheel because he forgot the quick release

Happened at the intersection of 5th and Main last Tuesday, guy went over the handlebars when his wheel popped off mid-turn, so now I always double-check mine before I roll out, anyone else got a horror story about a loose wheel?

2 comments

2 Comments

king.jordan8d ago

Watched a buddy of mine go down exactly the same way on a group ride a few years back - his front wheel just decided to peace out on a fast descent and he faceplanted into gravel. Took him months to heal up all the road rash and he still has a weird click in his wrist when it rains. Now I do the same thing as you, grab the wheel and yank it hard side to side before every ride, especially after I put the bike on the car rack since those racks can wiggle things loose. Good call on the lever positioning too, I always make sure mine are tucked in tight.

nathanb718d ago

Four of my riding buddies have had this happen over the years, and two of them ended up with broken collarbones from it. First thing I do before any ride is flip the bike over and give each wheel a hard tug sideways and forward to make sure it's actually locked in. Some quick releases will look tight but if the skewer isn't seated properly in the dropouts it can still pop off with the first big bump. Also a lot of people don't know that you should always have the lever facing backwards on the front wheel and forwards on the rear so it can't catch on stuff and open.