Originally Posted by
gcl8a
I read somewhere that using a quick release was bad with single-speed bikes. This doesn't make sense to me, since the forces on the rear wheel should be the same regardless of whether or not you have a derailer.
Correct. This is a widespread superstition.
Good quality quick releases hold as well as nuts, if not better.
See:
http://sheldonbrown.com/qr
Originally Posted by
gcl8a
But then the other day I totally mangled my derailer and had to do a quick conversion to single-speed to get home. The rear wheel slipped in the (horozontal) drop-outs two or three times, and I had to stop and realign it.
Does your derailer mount with an adaptor claw like this?
If you removed the adaptor claw with the mangled derailer, the axle stub on the right side may have been long enough to keep the skewer's acorn nut from gripping the dropout...it may have been pressing on the end of the axle. Sometimes removing the coniical spring from the skewer is a quick fix for this.
Sheldon "QR" Brown