Getting the front quick release right
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 4
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Getting the front quick release right
Morning all
I am having issues with my front wheel.
Between the disc breaks and quick release, I cannot get everything lined up correctly.
When the wheel goes in the drop ins the disk is nicely lined up between the pads. Then I close the lever and it pushes the wheel towards the non lever side and disk rubs against the inside brake pad.
So I loosen the skewer slightly and try again, now the wheel is too loose and when I pull the brake the wheel twists in the frame. After much careful and slow fractional turning of the nuts, i have found that the moment it stops rubbing, it immediately starts falling out of the frame.
It was fine until I took it off to change the tyre, so I have obviously done something stupid, but I cannot work out what.
My first thought was adjusting the fixed end of the skewer, but that does not seem to be possible as a separate adjustment to the skewer as a whole.
I am having issues with my front wheel.
Between the disc breaks and quick release, I cannot get everything lined up correctly.
When the wheel goes in the drop ins the disk is nicely lined up between the pads. Then I close the lever and it pushes the wheel towards the non lever side and disk rubs against the inside brake pad.
So I loosen the skewer slightly and try again, now the wheel is too loose and when I pull the brake the wheel twists in the frame. After much careful and slow fractional turning of the nuts, i have found that the moment it stops rubbing, it immediately starts falling out of the frame.
It was fine until I took it off to change the tyre, so I have obviously done something stupid, but I cannot work out what.
My first thought was adjusting the fixed end of the skewer, but that does not seem to be possible as a separate adjustment to the skewer as a whole.
#2
Mother Nature's Son
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sussex County, Delaware
Posts: 3,118
Bikes: 2014 Orbea Avant MD30, 2004 Airborne Zeppelin TI, 2003 Lemond Poprad, 2001 Lemond Tourmalet, 2014? Soma Smoothie
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 853 Post(s)
Liked 1,437 Times
in
819 Posts
Are you sure you are operating the QR mechanism correctly? It sounds like you are tightening it wrong. Are you tightening it too much before trying to close the lever. It should take some force to fully close the lever, but not a struggle. When you say "the moment it stops rubbing" what stops rubbing? I know it looks QR's are easy to work, but you would not be any where near the first to be doing it wrong. There are videos available for this very subject.
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Golden, CO and Tucson, AZ
Posts: 2,837
Bikes: 2012 Specialized Elite Disc, 1983 Trek 520
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 676 Post(s)
Liked 741 Times
in
430 Posts
You may have knocked the brake caliper out of alignment when you removed the wheel. Follow the above directions on getting the wheel mounted correctly. Then if needed, find instructions on checking and adjusting the brake caliper. It's easily done with minimal tools, is a good skill to have, and adjusting brakes should be done regularly anyway.
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 7,887
Mentioned: 38 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6971 Post(s)
Liked 10,968 Times
in
4,692 Posts
#6
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 4
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
thanks for the input
"moment it stops rubbing" - i am referring to the brakes rubbing on the disk - ill take some photos and try and show what I mean, but loosening nut makes the wheel wobble when i apply the brake, tightening it makes the pads rub on the disk.
I was hoping to avoid taking the caliper off (well letting it loose) and reseating it as then i have even more parts to try and align.
"moment it stops rubbing" - i am referring to the brakes rubbing on the disk - ill take some photos and try and show what I mean, but loosening nut makes the wheel wobble when i apply the brake, tightening it makes the pads rub on the disk.
I was hoping to avoid taking the caliper off (well letting it loose) and reseating it as then i have even more parts to try and align.
#7
Newbie
Join Date: Oct 2021
Posts: 47
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 29 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 4 Times
in
3 Posts
I don't have hydraulics, only mechanicals. I loosen the caliper, install the wheel properly, apply the brake and strap the lever while I tighten the caliper bolts. Haven't had to do this very often but it works for me.
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Nor-Cal
Posts: 3,767
Bikes: lots
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1958 Post(s)
Liked 2,932 Times
in
1,489 Posts
That's not the correct way of adjusting most cable actuated disc brakes. Unless you're using brake TRP Spyre where both pistons move you'd had pad rub on the stationary piston side.
Likes For cxwrench:
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 18,093
Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4208 Post(s)
Liked 3,875 Times
in
2,315 Posts
Sometimes the axle ends (end caps or lock nuts) and/or the QR skewer end caps will indent the face of the drop outs. Especially if the QR caps are steel and/or the drop outs are Al. When this happens the reinstalled wheel will tend to settle back into these indents. One way to work with this situation is to install the wheel and secure the QR properly THEN adjust the brake to work best with this wheel position. Future reinstalls will tend to mimic this position. I don't know if this is what's going on but it can be frustrating to try to only slightly reposition the wheel in this case. Andy
__________________
AndrewRStewart
AndrewRStewart
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,906
Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4806 Post(s)
Liked 3,931 Times
in
2,556 Posts
I don't quite get what you are doing with the QR lever and adjust but: be very certain the lever is tight and the hub is really secure! You need that security far more than the old days with rim brakes. Basic physics.
Look at your bike from the left side. The brake caliper is behind the front hub. The disk travels through it moving up. When the caliper grabs the disk, it is being lifted up. That caliper is solidly mounted to the fork. The fork gets lifted up (relative to the front wheel). So, on a hard stop, if the QR isn't tight enough, the fork is neatly lifted off the hub. You plus the bike are going forward while the front wheel is still stopping. Wheel gets struck by the down tube and your life goes to s*** really fast. (So does the wheel and probably your fork. You aren't riding home.)
By contrast - rim brakes and loose QR. Rim is going very close to horizontally forward at the caliper. Grabbing the rim wants to pull the brake off the bike and the wheel forward in the dropout. (Countered by your weight pushing the bike forward and the tire braking action pulling the wheel back.) All these forces are near horizontal which the dropout handles easily even if you pull the QR out. (Please don't. There can be other forces involved.)
So - look at that QR as being needed to do the work of a rock solid thru-axle. It can, but it should be as tight as we used to secure QRs in back when all rear dropouts were horizontal. Don't use the QR to adjust the disk location! Adjust the brake to work with a proper, tight! QR. Brake rub is by far the lesser of two evils.
Look at your bike from the left side. The brake caliper is behind the front hub. The disk travels through it moving up. When the caliper grabs the disk, it is being lifted up. That caliper is solidly mounted to the fork. The fork gets lifted up (relative to the front wheel). So, on a hard stop, if the QR isn't tight enough, the fork is neatly lifted off the hub. You plus the bike are going forward while the front wheel is still stopping. Wheel gets struck by the down tube and your life goes to s*** really fast. (So does the wheel and probably your fork. You aren't riding home.)
By contrast - rim brakes and loose QR. Rim is going very close to horizontally forward at the caliper. Grabbing the rim wants to pull the brake off the bike and the wheel forward in the dropout. (Countered by your weight pushing the bike forward and the tire braking action pulling the wheel back.) All these forces are near horizontal which the dropout handles easily even if you pull the QR out. (Please don't. There can be other forces involved.)
So - look at that QR as being needed to do the work of a rock solid thru-axle. It can, but it should be as tight as we used to secure QRs in back when all rear dropouts were horizontal. Don't use the QR to adjust the disk location! Adjust the brake to work with a proper, tight! QR. Brake rub is by far the lesser of two evils.
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Chapel Hill NC
Posts: 1,683
Bikes: 2000 Litespeed Vortex Chorus 10, 1995 DeBernardi Cromor S/S
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 645 Post(s)
Liked 797 Times
in
446 Posts
Morning all
I am having issues with my front wheel.
Between the disc breaks and quick release, I cannot get everything lined up correctly.
When the wheel goes in the drop ins the disk is nicely lined up between the pads. Then I close the lever and it pushes the wheel towards the non lever side and disk rubs against the inside brake pad.
So I loosen the skewer slightly and try again, now the wheel is too loose and when I pull the brake the wheel twists in the frame. After much careful and slow fractional turning of the nuts, i have found that the moment it stops rubbing, it immediately starts falling out of the frame.
It was fine until I took it off to change the tyre, so I have obviously done something stupid, but I cannot work out what.
My first thought was adjusting the fixed end of the skewer, but that does not seem to be possible as a separate adjustment to the skewer as a whole.
I am having issues with my front wheel.
Between the disc breaks and quick release, I cannot get everything lined up correctly.
When the wheel goes in the drop ins the disk is nicely lined up between the pads. Then I close the lever and it pushes the wheel towards the non lever side and disk rubs against the inside brake pad.
So I loosen the skewer slightly and try again, now the wheel is too loose and when I pull the brake the wheel twists in the frame. After much careful and slow fractional turning of the nuts, i have found that the moment it stops rubbing, it immediately starts falling out of the frame.
It was fine until I took it off to change the tyre, so I have obviously done something stupid, but I cannot work out what.
My first thought was adjusting the fixed end of the skewer, but that does not seem to be possible as a separate adjustment to the skewer as a whole.
Last edited by Litespud; 01-12-22 at 11:32 AM.
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Mission Viejo
Posts: 5,806
Bikes: 1986 Cannondale SR400 (Flat bar commuter), 1988 Cannondale Criterium XTR, 1992 Serotta T-Max, 1995 Trek 970
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1944 Post(s)
Liked 2,164 Times
in
1,323 Posts
Just as a note, the wheel is sitting on the ground, it doesn’t move when you tighten the QR. The fork blades are compressed against the hub lock nuts/caps.
My SWAG is the non-caliper blade moves slightly more so the rotor is no longer centered.
As everyone one has recommended, tighten the QR properly and then correctly adjust the caliper.
John
My SWAG is the non-caliper blade moves slightly more so the rotor is no longer centered.
As everyone one has recommended, tighten the QR properly and then correctly adjust the caliper.
John
Likes For 70sSanO:
#13
Newbie
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
That is why bolt through axles are better for disc brakes. Once you take the wheel off it is impossible to put it back on a QR at the same tension like it was before. The QR compresses the fork blades and changes the caliper angle against the disk.
After putting back the wheel with a proper tight QR, I loose the caliper bolts, pull the brake lever and with the brake on tight back the bolts. When I release the lever the pads should be aligned with the disc.
After putting back the wheel with a proper tight QR, I loose the caliper bolts, pull the brake lever and with the brake on tight back the bolts. When I release the lever the pads should be aligned with the disc.
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 982
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 506 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 639 Times
in
357 Posts
A properly built fork with a standard hub width will not experience any deformation of the fork when a QR is tightened. If the fork is too wide for the hub then yes, it will deform.
Likes For KerryIrons: