Have a 1985 Raleigh Technium mtb with 6-cog freewheel. Starting just this spring, when I pedal hard (standing) up a hill, the rear wheel shifts in the dropouts. The cog side shifts forward, which causes tire to rub frame. I stop, loosen skewer, and it slides back in to place. Skewer is plenty tight. Serrations on inside of nut appear good. Paint is worn from contact area. Can jiggle wheel with skewer removed, but not by hand once it's tightened. Cant see anything wrong. Wheel rotates no problems. Suggestions?

If you have the skewers with an external cam mechanism (where you can see the cam and the pin it pivots on) ditch them for a set with an enclosed cam mechanism, such as those made by Shimano. The external type do not exert sufficient force on the dropouts. Also make sure that you have the skewer set tight enough; the handle should leave an impression in your palm when you push it home. If you can close it with your thumb it is not tight enough.

One more thing, make sure that the centering springs (cone-shaped springs on the QR shaft) are in the right position (cones pointing inward) and are not perhaps both on the same end of the axle.

Pull the QR assembly out, inspect everything, lube it up and adjust it so the lever starts seeing resistance about when it flips past the straight-out position.

I've also observed such slipping problem when a locknut was installed backwards, teeth-side in. Another slipping axle had a slippery brass locknut, which was one of Viscount/Lambert's poor ideas.

If the axle extends to or beyond the outer side of either dropout the skewer will tighten against the axle instead of the dropout.
Both ends of the axle must be within the dropouts.

Check your rear spacing and if it's 130 or under, get a set of Shimano Ultegra skewers (If it's > 130, go with XT). But most important, remove all the paint from the inside and outside of both drop-outs. Good luck!

Thanks. Some of these have been checked but i'll check again. Gruppo, is that the spacing from dropout to dropout?

The springs seem so insignificant compared to the forces involved with this connection. What is their role?

The springs are there to facilitate wheel changes. Without them the QR skewer slides side-to-side and can get in the way...this is not normally a problem for the average cyclist who is not changing wheels under pressure but for race team mechanics who are trying to get their riders moving in as little time as possible the skewer getting hungup on the frame can be a source of frustration and a slower wheel change.

Since you mentioned you are riding a rear wheel with freewheel as opposed to a freehub/cassette...check to see if your real axle is broken as this could be a possibility for the problem.

-j

Greenfieldja explained the role of the springs well..

The reason I mentioned them is that they need to be installed in the right orientation so that the QR nut doesn't bottom on the compressed spring against the tip of the axle, or the QR's force won't go toward clamping the dropout but may instead simply compress against the axle directly.
This is why AL1943 mentioned the length of the axle protruding into the dropout, if it's too long then ther may not be enough room for the spring and the QR nut starts compressing the fully-compressed spring against the end of the hollow axle itself, so the QR won't exert full clamping force on the dropout.

Yes, measure the distance between the insides of the drop-outs, or the outside of the lock-nuts on the hub. Depending on the era of your bike, the distance could be anywhere from around 124 to 130 mm. Again, good luck!

Continuing on the same theme, make sure the both springs are not on the same size. There have been numerous times I have removed rear wheels (and fronts for that matter) and found both the springs on the non drive side (no, not on my own bikes). I surmise that when the last person removed the skewer they placed the spring and QR (acorn) nut back on the skewer. Then when they replaced the skewer they un-threaded the acorn nut but forgot to slide the spring off also. Anyway something to check..

Also, to state the obvious as it needs to be asked; you do know how to work the cam of the QR; open and closed? This is a much more common issue then you'd think..

Update. Checked and re-checked all the great suggestions provided here. Nothing found. Spent a good amount of time on the issue yesterday - ride hill outside house, wheel shifts, walk it back to garage, inspect. Repeat many times with wheel shifting EVERY time. For the life of me I do not see how the wheel can shift with it clamped down so hard! Then tried measuring whether wheel was centered and parallel to frame. My thought was that maybe the wheel is cocked when fully inserted into the dropout and it's just trying to right itself. Determined (don't ask how) that the non-cog side could be out from the bottom of the dropout a couple mm. Clamped it in and tested. No movement. Retested and retested - no movement. Went for a 30-mile ride trying to really work up hills - no movement. I have no reason to believe the frame or wheel is bent. As an engineer, this is bugging the heck out of me.

Another thing to check is the knurled locknut at the ends of the axle. I believe your Raleigh Technium is aluminum and knurls may have filled up with aluminum. Keep in mind that what holds the axle in the dropout is not as much the knurls of the QR, but the knurled locknut at the end of the axle digging into the inside of the dropouts..

Just to make sure, you ARE tightening the skewer by flipping the lever over once you get the skewer just barely snug so that the lever flipping action is what actually locks it down, correct>? I have seen people who don't know how to use skewers try spinning it like a wing nut. Skewer handles are NOT wing nuts.

could it be the hub bearings? The only time I've had a wheel that moved was when the locknuts on my hub bearings weren't adjusted properly, albeit on a freehub bicycle.

Both the QR and the locking nuts need to be clean (or replace ) so the knurled edges of both can bite into the frame and hold the wheel .

Looks like pretty much everything has been covered, but I would note that bearing adjustment has no impact on the wheel shifting in the frame.

If the dropouts are worn, possibly there is some taper to their thickness that favors the axle and QR nut slipping foreward onto a slightly thinner portion of the dropout.

I've cleaned everything and ensured the QR lever is being operated correctly. Tried another skewer with QR with no effect. I examined the dropout area pretty closely, but will look again for any unusual wear. Maybe need a roll of duct tape. Thanks.

Just for grins, try removing a mm of axle on either end with a grinder, cut off wheel, etc. It really is beginning to sound like the axle may be a bit long and that although you are closing the QR skewer fully and tightly, it is contacting the end of the axle partially and the frame partially. Fit the wheel without the skewer through the axle and try to use a clamp to make sure drop outs are tight on the lock nuts on the axle and see if any axle is protruding past the face of the drop out. If so, you QR is clamping on the axle and not the frame.

Everyone's advice is conjecture because we are not there to see what is going on and nothing you are doing has worked to resolve your issue. At this point I recommend taking your rig to a biike shop and have them take a look at it. I can't imagine they would charge much if anything to have look and advise you.

-j

+1, Good call! I don't have any aluminum bikes, but it makes sense that the QR and axle lock nuts have removed enough material from the dropout so the axle end is now just a little too long (If you are not following this, the amount of axle that extends beyond the locknut must be shorter than the thickness of the dropout or QR will not be able to hold the axle in place). However, rather than grinding the axle, I would remove the lock nut at the end of the drive side axle and insert a .5mm spacer under the locknut. BTW, one way to check this is to move the axle forward a bit so you are clamping the axle on a different spot of the dropout that hasn't been ground down.

doh! skimmed it and only saw the part about the wheel rubbing, didn't see that the wheel was actually slipping in the dropouts, hence the bearing adjustment comment.