Originally Posted by CBBaron
It maybe possible to get an old style steel QR to tighten down enough to hold a fixed wheel in place but I know I could defeat the new fangled Al and plastic QR. Even with a good QR I wouldn't trust it without a chain tensioner in place. A tracknut or a Phil style bolt can provide a very secure attachment using the leverage provided by a good wrench, while the QR is limited by the leverage provided by the much shorter QR lever acting over only 90 degrees. Tracknuts take about 10 additional seconds to use during a wheel change, I think the security provided is well worth the extra time.
Craig
That would depend upon the type of QR you're talking about.
http://www.juggleart.com/catalog/pro...pg&w=203&h=200
This QR = good.
http://www.amclassic.com/images/Skewers.jpg
This QR = bad.
I know it might be hard to believe, but a rider hammering away on a fixed gear doesn't pull on the axle any harder than a rider hammering away on a derailer bicycle. Back when roadies still had horizontal drops, I don't think that any pro racers felt any need to hesitate before going nuts on their pedals. A QR holds pretty damn tight. Track riders have long believed that they are somehow stronger than other riders and put more stresses on their drivetrains, but this isn't actually true as long as they are driving forward (obviously, a freewheeling rider is incapable of putting stress on the drivetrain in the opposite direction). This belief has found its way into the fixed-gear community, though. A rider in the granny ring on an MTB puts several times more force on their chain and freewheel bearings than a fixed-gear rider can possibly bring to bear. A good thing, too, as that kind of torque would probably strip a hub instantly as soon as they tried to skid!
All that said, I already mentioned that there are benefits to using axle nuts, but that doesn't mean that they are somehow superior to a QR. I'm not too anxious about having to use a wrench instead of a quick-release, but I'm annoyed by the myth of their insufficiency.