Bicycle Mechanics - Bearing drag.

I've noticed that when relube and get my wheels spinning real smooth, the compression from the quick release will induce a little bit of drag. The last time I rode, I tried to account for this, and had 'em loosen up on my pretty quickly. Is there a sweet spot such that I can roll silky smooth w/o worry of things getting loose after a good offroad ride?

I've noticed that when relube and get my wheels spinning real smooth, the compression from the quick release will induce a little bit of drag. The last time I rode, I tried to account for this, and had 'em loosen up on my pretty quickly. Is there a sweet spot such that I can roll silky smooth w/o worry of things getting loose after a good offroad ride?

Hub adjustments can be a pretty fine thing to get right, and it usually takes patience to get a feel for it. After you do a few times it gets easier, but accounting for the compression induced by the QR is the hard part. Since you are aware of this, you have already taken the big step to getting correct adjustments.

Park has a pretty good proceedure for getting it right:

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=105

Also, a jig for doing a bench adjustment with the QR installed makes this job much (!!!) easier. I am talking about the Stein Hub Axle Vise:

http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=212654919649&d=single&c=Tools&sc=Hub-and-Axle&tc=Axle-Vises&item_id=SN-HAV

Hope this helps ;-)

My experience has been different for every wheel. The general procedure, though, is to leave a bit of play in the axle when tightening down and locking the cones. This play is then removed when you cinch down the QR skewer. I've rarely been able to do it right the first time; it usually involves several iterations to get the right amount.

This works too
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31MEtpZKtbL._SS500_.jpg

Practice makes perfect.

You can make an excellent axle vise (that will allow QR in place, depending on your vise) for about $0.15.

Just buy a nut from the hardware store that fits your axle. Cut through one of the flats with a hacksaw (kerf will be parallel to the axle direction. Spin it onto your axle, then clamp it in your vice so that the kerfed flat is not against one of the jaws. The kerf will allow the nut to compress around the threads.

Alternatively, it's a little cleaner to cut one of the corners of the nut, as it's easier to get that between the jaws in use.

If your vise jaws are taller than the axle vise, then they will hit the QR nut. So, you can grind an old QR nut to fit next to the axle vise without interfering with the vise.... or you could just buy a 2nd nut at the hardware store to fit your skewer, which may bring the total cost to about $0.25.

I need to take photos of this sometime.

Hub adjustments can be a pretty fine thing to get right, and it usually takes patience to get a feel for it. After you do a few times it gets easier, but accounting for the compression induced by the QR is the hard part. Since you are aware of this, you have already taken the big step to getting correct adjustments.

Park has a pretty good proceedure for getting it right:

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=105

Also, a jig for doing a bench adjustment with the QR installed makes this job much (!!!) easier. I am talking about the Stein Hub Axle Vise:

http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=212654919649&d=single&c=Tools&sc=Hub-and-Axle&tc=Axle-Vises&item_id=SN-HAV

Hope this helps ;-)

This is the easiest by far and requires no extra tools. I use this method exclusively. +1

Thanks everyone!