How tight for 'Quick Release?'
 

How tight the quick releases on rims and seat post? I asume there is no torque wrench for this.

Tight is good. My rule of thumb is to hold the lever out parallel with the axle and tighten the nut on the opposite end till it's finger tight. Then I push the QR lever in so that it's perpendicular to the axle. If I'm not able to push the QR in that much, I back off the nut on the opposite side a skosh.

When you close it , you should see the impressment on the palm of your hand . When it close your seatpost will not move and there be no play in your hub (wheel) .

If you have semi-horizontal drop outs, and your rear wheel slides forward in the drop outs when going up a steep hill, the QR is not tight enough.

My rule is "tight enough to do the job, no more, no less.

On wheels you want the rear wheel not to slip (with horizontal dropouts) so a bit more tension might be needed than with a front. On seatposts, you want the post held tight enough not to slip or twist in normal riding - including hard bumps - but may want it loose enough that it twists in a crash possibly sparing you a broken pelvis.

An exact answer is impossible because bikes and QRs vary so much. Some people enjoy excellent clamping at very low QR tension, and others can barely keep a post from slipping even when closing with all their strength.

The guideline offered above of all the slack taken out halfway through the throw is a good starting place, and you can go from there, balancing good holding power and ease of closing and opening.

Good thread, I always wonder this as well. Early on, mine were as tight as I could get them. Hard to open without something to pry with. But now I'm getting looser and looser with them.

I figure the front wheel has the tabs anyway, its not going anywhere. The rear wheel I still give it a good tightening, but nothing crazy.

My rule of thumb is not so tight that it is painful to open them once closed. That said I have big, strong meat hooks for hands :)

I'll keep watching the thread and see if something pops up that changes my current stance.

Depends also on the skewer. I have some ENVE titanium skewers that need to really really be tight in the back, otherwise I get creaking from slipping out of the saddle. They just don't have as luck mechanical clamping advantage

I've found a big difference in how hard the QR is to close based on whether it's dry or lubed, so rather than feel, I arrange the nut so that the lever starts to resist my efforts to close it when it is sticking straight out.

At one time the CPSC stated that the QR ends (or was it the axle's locknuts) needed to slightly emboss the drop out face when tightened. As many nicer drop outs were chromed steel this meant a fair amount of pressure and none of the plastic or AL used by current QRs. Andy.

I'm used to horizontal steel, so I do it just about as tight as it will go.

I have one bike that I'm building up with old looking CF dropouts that have me worried a bit.

My method too. Very simple and effective. And you always get it just tight enough.