Raleigh71

Schwinn bikes I've owned have had those funky clips that hold the front wheel to the fork. It seems unnecessary. What function did they serve??

See photo.

kamtsa

Here is a technical explanation in Legalese:

"Open-ended slots in lower ends of bicycle front fork legs receive front wheel axle in usual manner, but to prevent accidental separation of wheel from fork even if regular retaining means on axle became loose, safety means are provided comprising a pair of longitudinally flexible clips mounted at lower ends on axle with retainer means formed integrally therewith at upper ends, and receiver means adjacent lower end of each front fork leg for cooperatively receiving such retainer means, manual flexing of clips being required to effect disengagement of wheel axle from fork."

From US patent 4103922 https://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT4103922

Kam

operator

Same function as lawyer lips on modern forks. Secondary wheel retention.

mrrabbit 

Cause without, "YOUR WHEEL WILL FALL OFF AND YOU'LL DIE!!!"

Come on Operator, what happened to your old bogeyman routine???

(Kinda miss it...)

Merry Xmas

=8-)

operator

Haha - Sorry, i'm really hung over and putting fenders on a slow steel bike

thompsonpost

"Lawyer lips," is that your's, Botto, or a common phrase. I've never heard it before, but makes perfect sense.

operator

Botto invents nothing: https://www.google.ca/search?client=o...utf-8&oe=utf-8

thompsonpost

I'm on a Blackberry, therefore searching is a bit tedious. Thanks for the heads up.

davidad

Like the lawyer tabs, it's there to protect stupid people.

thompsonpost

And even some people who aren't stupid. I didn't ask for the lips on my FOX shock but got them anyway.

electrik

And, now you're begrudgingly a safer... especially if you don't torque the QR properly and you have disc brakes.

well biked

Nothing says "old Schwinn" like those tabs. I've put a few miles on Schwinns, I kinda like those tabs.

tcs

In the pivotal legal case that pushed the industry to make secondary retention obligatory, the plaintiff's lawyer called the American cycling great John Howard to the stand. Mr Howard's paid testimony was that quick releases vibrate loose "all the time".

Interestingly, in Mr. Howard's book "The Cyclist's Companion" (which claims to be 'complete'), this is never mentioned.

tcs

Raleigh71

Thanks for all the insightful and colorful explanations as to the useless gizmos. I've been riding bikes for....like 47 years and haven't had a front wheel come off yet. I'm sure I've had a few loose ones over the years but even those didn't come off.

JanMM

You're a lucky guy. Most of us are. A rare few are unlucky and need the redundant retention devices.

Homebrew01

And the rest of us grind off the tabs so that we're not constantly annoyed by them.


Really ? Link ? If true, that's disgraceful.

griftereck

I think the should do like Raleigh used to do with there Sturmey Archer front hubs. There was a keyhole shaped drop out and the cones had a sort of flange on them that went into the drop out. It takes ages to get one of those wheels out of the forks. Got to lever the fork off of the cone.
I reckon that if you could unscrew the axle from the cones when the wheel was in the forks. The wheel would still be really difficult to get out of there.

Obviously It would be unsafe to even attempt that.

I dont have any SA front hubs anymore, so cant try it. :/

DannoXYZ 

Those axle-clips came about around the time wing-nuts were used to attach the axle to the fork. This was pre-QR era and the lock wasn't as strong as nuts tightened with a wrench. Those clips really did serve a purpose back then. It was Campy who invented the QR after trying to use wing-nuts in the icy winter cold with frozen hands. When you can barely turn a wing-nut, much less tighten it, the clips serve a very real functional purpose.

John M Bog

No, actually you probably wont die, but what happened to me, might happen to you. When i was about 12 i was popping wheelies on my bike and the front tire fell off. I landed on my face and chipped both my front teeth. I am now 52 and a couple years ago I had all four front teeth capped, because they were all damaged in the accident, but took years to realize it.

fietsbob

\


You overestimate the mechanical attention to detail of the average consumer ..

Lawyer's lip fork tips came later, same reasoning ... assume no wisdom on the part of your consumers..


It enlarges your market segment that way.. especially the ones that can find a lawyer..





....

davidad

To protect stupid people and manufacturers from their lawyers.

BobFishell

At least those are detachable. For the newer ones, a Dremel tool is needed.

WizardOfBoz

In the 1970s, a lot of things were redesigned either to avoid liability lawsuits, or to respond to government mandates from, for example, the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

The wheel retention clip shown was designed and patented (applied 1976, granted 1978) by Frank Brilando, who was Schwinn's Chief Engineer. Brilando had many patents and designs, including the Sting Ray. He was also a formidable road racer and competed in the 1948 and 52 Olympics for the US, and also raced on the tour here and in Japan. Oh, and he served in the Corps of Engineers during WWII. He passed away recently (late April or Early May I think).

Given that people have gotten hurt when QR wheels aren't attached properly, I think that these are a pretty great idea. My wife's bike has them (and should, given that she keeps asking me "what directly do I flip this lever to tighten the wheel?) and it's a lot easier to take her wheels off than mine: I have lawyers lips on my fork tips. Kind of defeats the "Q" in QR.






https://www.bicycleretailer.com/indu...ng-ray-dies-93

Crankycrank

I can't tell you how many people I've "trained" how to use a quick release properly. These include cheap Wally bikes to $5K+ bikes. Also have met many experienced riders who have had the front wheel come off due to just having a brain fart after putting the wheel back on and forgetting to make sure the QR was tight or some nice person undid it as a "fun" joke while the owner wasn't around. Ended in some serious injuries for some. I thought some legislation came out years ago that shops had to make sure the buyer knew how to use a QR before leaving with the bike but either that is no longer in force or enforced. Anyways, I hate lawyer tabs and what not and grind them off for myself but I'll bet they've saved countless injuries and some lives. Just sayin'.

JanMM

You were 42 when MrRabbit wrote that "YOUR WHEEL WILL FALL OFF AND YOU'LL DIE!!!"
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