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rear qr axle keeps loosening

Old 08-12-21, 08:41 PM
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mtbguy90
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rear qr axle keeps loosening

So i got a new mtb last year and one day the rear wheel just fell out the dropouts, luckily not while i was riding! I've probably just identified the cause. Every time i coast, the cassettes keep inching forward, and i'm not talking about wobbling about, but really moving slowly but surely in the direction of wheel rotation and that's probably what's loosening the qr axle and causing that grinding sound caused by an improperly seated wheel or loose axle, not to mention the stand also buckling. I've no idea why the cassettes are doing this though but it's causing me to have to unlock and lock the lever to silence the grinding noises. What could be causing this and what should i do?
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Old 08-12-21, 09:04 PM
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Try a Shimano QR of the internal cam variety.

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Old 08-12-21, 09:05 PM
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With this description I have little idea to what's going on. If you bought the bike from a local shop go back to them first. Can you post a photo or vid? Andy
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Old 08-12-21, 09:09 PM
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"Cassettes"?
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Old 08-12-21, 10:01 PM
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If you are seeing the cassette sprockets wobble while the wheel is coasting... that is a well-known condition caused by manufacturing tolerances. (All my bikes have this to one degree or another.) It's not related to your wheel moving in the dropout.

You need at least ten posts before you can post pictures here.

As Andy said- we more details. Make and model of bike, type of quick-release, how you've maintained the bike... all of this is relevant. Probably your first step is having the bike examined by a qualified mechanic, preferably at the shop where you bought the bike.
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Old 08-12-21, 11:06 PM
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I’m not sure what is going on, but I have a question.

Are you tightening the QR just by turning it; i,e. threading it into the QR skewer nut until it is tight?

John
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Old 08-13-21, 03:52 AM
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Originally Posted by 70sSanO
I’m not sure what is going on, but I have a question.

Are you tightening the QR just by turning it; i,e. threading it into the QR skewer nut until it is tight?

John
This was my thought as well: How to use a Quick Release
https://www.bikebarn.com/how-to/be-s...ctly-pg247.htm
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Old 08-13-21, 07:45 AM
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It certainly sounds like you are not properly or sufficiently tightening the QR. If it is not good and tight, there can be miniscule movements of the axle which will gradually loosen the QR. Thisw was a problem identified years ago with F QRs on wheels with disc brakes, but that is because the front discs impart a force that QRs were not intended to handle.

If it's happening on the rear wheel, though, it's almost definitely user error.
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Old 08-13-21, 07:46 AM
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Two possibilities come to mind:

1) improper tightening of the quick release, e.g. using it as a wing nut rather than a cam.

2) using an open-cam type quick release on a horizontal dropout.
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Old 08-13-21, 10:41 AM
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Firstly, thanks for everyone's replies!

From the replies I've got, I've learnt about int and ext cam skewers. Mine is of the latter sort, which after some reading isn't the best due to compression of the soft plastic material. Looks like I'll be changing them out with int cams. My bike is a Polygon Xtrada 5 2021, don't think it has a big following. In the way of maintenance, I've only fine-tuned gear indexing and cleaned the chains, haven't got to replacing grease on the cranks or wheel axles yet, but the qr problem already presented itself a month after purchase.

The cassette doesn't only wobble, it actually rotates in the direction of wheel travel when coasting and that is what i suspect is slowly loosening the tension on the skewer.
I'm unable to tighten the skewer in any other way than turning the lever because my bike stand is attached to the threaded end of the skewer in place of the nut. That makes it impossible to fine tune the tightness.
Perhaps it's also worth mentioning that after a short distance and when i put the stand down, it oftentimes buckles with an audible creak coming from the axle and that causes the rattling sounds caused by improperly seated wheel in the dropouts when spinning the wheel. Opening and closing the lever temporarily solves it until i ride it a distance again
​​​​​​
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Old 08-13-21, 10:51 AM
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I'm unable to tighten the skewer in any other way than turning the lever because my bike stand is attached to the threaded end of the skewer in place of the nut. That makes it impossible to fine tune the tightness.

Perhaps it's also worth mentioning that after a short distance and when i put the stand down, it oftentimes buckles with an audible creak coming from the axle and that causes the rattling sounds caused by improperly seated wheel in the dropouts when spinning the wheel. Opening and closing the lever temporarily solves it until i ride it a distance again
Each fastener shound only have one singular duty. Your QR skewer is doing double duty.

Which is more important: Kickstand or rear wheel?

Nix the kickstand or find one that attaches by way of a different method.

Last edited by base2; 08-13-21 at 10:54 AM.
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Old 08-13-21, 11:08 AM
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Originally Posted by base2
Each fastener shound only have one singular duty. Your QR skewer is doing double duty.

Which is more important: Kickstand or rear wheel?

Nix the kickstand or find one that attaches by way of a different method.
Great, I'll do that, thanks! That kickstand was a last minute add on during bike purchase, didn't anticipate such problems, being my first bike after 16 years anyway...
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Old 08-13-21, 11:17 AM
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Originally Posted by mtbguy90
The cassette doesn't only wobble, it actually rotates in the direction of wheel travel when coasting and that is what i suspect is slowly loosening the tension on the skewer.
​​​​​​
How can this be? The cassette will rotate only when the chain is moving it.
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Old 08-13-21, 02:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Moe Zhoost
How can this be? The cassette will rotate only when the chain is moving it.
If the cog set bearings are not freely moving they will try to keep the cogs rotating (as is happening when pedaling, when coasting the cog set is stationary) when coasting. Usually the chain will droop along the upper run when this happens. Andy
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Old 08-13-21, 03:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Andrew R Stewart
If the cog set bearings are not freely moving they will try to keep the cogs rotating (as is happening when pedaling, when coasting the cog set is stationary) when coasting. Usually the chain will droop along the upper run when this happens. Andy
Thanks - always a pleasure to learn something new. So the bearings bind and lock the cog set to the hub? How common is this and what would cause it on a relatively new bike?
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Old 08-13-21, 07:39 PM
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Common enough for shop wrenches to deal with it a few times a year. Ice, grit/mud, rust can all collect inside the FW core and cause the balls to not roll, thus drag the outer portion of the core along with the wheel's spin. Rarely we see it on fairly new stuff, usually from poor factory assembly (as in not having zero preload). But there are other outside of the cog set causes like stuff wrapped up behind the cog set and jammed against the spoke ends (hair, foliage being usual). Sometimes a spoke guard is not well mounted and presses against the cogset's back side. Andy
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