Tandem Tom

I know the reason there are there but it is a real nuisance. So what is the preferred method of removal? Prime and paint after?

woodcraft

Just file them off.

newer dropouts are mostly aluminum so no paint needed,

if steel, a bit of nail polish should work.

Crankycrank

I never bothered re-paining filed dropouts even if steel since the paint usually gets worn off there eventually anyways. Of course if you end up with a completely naked dropout due to a little too much filing enthusiasm then it would probably be good to put some protective paint on.

RowdyTI

What would happen if your QR failed and you filed off the lip? You could end up in a wheelchair.

Crankycrank

Yes, same as if you forget to tighten your handlebars or lugnuts on your car. Solution is to check your QR, handlebars, lugnuts and tie your shoes before jogging. Never have seen a quick release fail in 50 yrs. Just some that aren't installed properly.

KLiNCK

Some do seem more "obtrusive" than others, but I'd still rather have them there...
It's just a matter of getting use to the idiosyncrasies of the difficult ones.
IMO, anything that helps keep the front wheel in the fork is a good thing!

dksix

People are using the term drop out here. I always think of the drop out being on the frame, is that also the correct term for where you mount a wheel to the fork or is there some kind of tab on the frame's drop outs?

If it is the mounting of the front wheel, why are the tabs such a nuisance?

Andrew R Stewart 

The vast majority of QR "failures" I've seen and read of are from operator error, a few from the cam/lever falling out of the cap but only when already loosened, and a handful of actual skewer rod breaking.


QRs that loosen while riding are operator error. Andy

easyupbug 

I was taught a long long time ago they are fork ends not drop out.

fietsbob

I happen to have a steady hand access a bench vise and a long sharp flat file, others like their dremel or an air powered grinder.
use what You like why start a popularity poll?

You need racing fast wheel changes? I doubt it.

I do have a Rim brake frame I built in the 70's before those things were added .. but with disc brakes I'd leave them on.

I have a hex bolt secure non QR lever,skewer on my disc brake bike , there is no great inconvenience there..







.....

blakcloud 

What ever you want to call them, I filed them off my bike and I am still here to tell the tale. I used a Dremel and it took a few minutes to do two bikes.

Tandem Tom

As most of our bike are pre-lawyer lips I am use to checking the QR's. I transport the bikes in the back of my truck and have a rack with fork clamps. Having to fuss with the QR is a bit of a pain. It is nice to just flip the lever and take the wheel out.

dedhed

This did happen to me once popping a wheelie (youth, alcohol and transporting the bike were factors) and I somehow survived.

Dean51 

I make 'em gone along with their aggravation and have never looked back.

JohnDThompson 

If nothing else, they defeat the purpose of having a quick release on the hub. The tabs wouldn't be necessary if people used their quick releases the way they are intended to work, rather than as half-*ssed wing nuts.

prathmann

I take them off to avoid ending up in a wheelchair. Once saw a crash (fortunately not any serious injury) because the rider had carelessly attached the wheel with the QR resting on the lawyer lips instead of the proper location. Worked ok for awhile but when he hit a bump the wheel became extremely loose and unstable.

Without lawyer lips you adjust the QR once carefully and then never have to adjust it again (at least until you take the hub apart). If you mess something up in mounting the wheel it's immediately apparent because the QR adjustment doesn't feel right. OTOH, with lawyer lips you have to redo the adjustment every time so there's no immediate feedback if things aren't lined up right or something got stuck under the QR. Far more chances of error that way.

dksix

Yes, I guess I do but had never thought of it that way. I assume they principle behind quick releases are to opening the lever for enough free play to remove the front wheel and then closing lever tightens a sufficient amount...... all of this time and I never gave it any thought but now, Yes I agree, quiet a hassle.

woodcraft

+1 More chance of calamity with a fork-mount roof rack as well.

sweeks

It only takes a few seconds to adjust the QR, and it's still tool-free.
(/Devil's Advocate Mode)
Steve

EDIT: Is removing them "lip service"?

RowdyTI

What do you suppose happened here?

europa

The reason the lips are there is to protect the muggins who doesn't do up his quick release... but if he's going to forget that, he isn't going to have wound up the slack in the quick release so the wheel's trapped by the lips anyway. They aren't a big deal if you rarely take out your front wheel but if, like me, you have to take it out every day, they're a pain in the saddle warmer.

rydabent

Just what is so hard about unscrewing the QR a few more turns???

rumrunn6

wow, me too! on a stingray. popped a wheelie. I was maybe 10 yrs old. on my way to school. I wasn't going fast so was able to hop off the bike as it crashed but the fork bent. watched my front wheel roll down the street crossing multiple lanes past a firehouse & stopped a long way away by a grocery store. no such thing as quick releases back then

leob1

Make it three! I put a 16 inch wheel on my sting ray, didn't tighten the nuts. The last thing I remember was see the front wheel bouncing down the street on it's own.
No helmuts back in those days, that was the first time I was unconscious in the street.

Grasschopper

What's so hard about the proper operation of a QR in the first place? Fact is people mess this up daily and that's why there are lawyer tabs at all. If one know how to use a QR there's no point to the lawyer tabs. I file them off all my bikes and have never had an issue. Of note...even with the QR undone a wheel won't fall out of the fork unless you pick up the front end. And even with lawyer tabs you aren't going to be saved longer than a few seconds if you're riding with QRs that aren't tightened properly.