Do quick releases wear out?

I have an older forged dropout bike with Sansin or Sunshine all metal QRs. I am running a modest 42x16t but from a stand still and going hard i still seem to pull my wheel sideways. I am wondering maybe if hte cam in my qr is worn or something. I guess i might need to try another one.

I have the thing horsed down really really good...meaning it takes almost everything i have to close it yet it still seems to allow that movement.

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...it's easier to give some speculation if you show a photo of the QR and the dropout with teh wheel installed, and the axle ends with the QR release in place but loose, with the wheel uninstalled. A cam action QR oiught to be able to hold a rear wheel in place in spite of your massive power output, but there is a reason they use bolt on track wheels. One common cause of this is too much axle end exposed on one side or the other.

The QR bottoms out on the axle end before it achieves full clamping pressure on the dropout in this case. But certainly there are other possibles.

Get a bolt-on or the DT Swiss quick release skewer.

cf: Are vintage dropouts a design flaw or hazard?

(Ignore the hater with the topless under-age girl avatar from the Pixies album.)

I have a friend who recently has had this same problem. Since I am a frame builder/machinest, I am going to take a fender washer and weld an extension/ with a hook edge that will curve around the back of his drop out to keep it from pulling forward. You should take care of this soon, I have pulled over a wheel before with such force that it bent the rim. (toast)

If it's not one of the issues 3alarmer raises, then a new Ultegra QR will likely solve your issue. A properly installed internal cam quick release should not slip in horizontal dropouts.
Since you mention 42x16 I assume are running a fixed gear. A lower gear is actually putting more torque on the wheel.

If you're just a monster of 275 lbs of solid muscle or something, there's always track hubs with nuts and solid axles.

Just to elaborate a wee bit, the "bolt-on" simply replaces the quick release mechanism with a simple hex-head bolt. Get steel. (The ones pictured come with aluminum alloy nuts. I replaced them with steel from an all-steel QR.) People use these primarily to prevent theft.



Just a few weeks ago, I purchased two of the DT Swiss skewers. I think these have all the advantages of the quick-release and the hex-head bolt, but are more user-friendly.



I also have Dura Ace skewers ($50 each) that are quite robust, but the above two options are even better for really locking your wheel in place.

Whatever you do, get steel rather than titanium or anything else.

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one skewer I have had this problem with on more than one bicycle is the Campag NT

first have heard of it coming up with a Sansin Matsumoto

my first guess is that the "teeth"/splines/knurling of the nut may be worn down


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Is the axle protruding too much on either side, probably the side that moves, then the qr will not work or clamp properly. It might feel really tight when you clamp the wheel into the drops but is still loose. I had this happen once and figured it out in short order. Just a thought.

The teeth can and do wear down and smooth out. And lets not sugarcoat it, Sansin made some cheap, er, low-priced stuff BITD.

The hub used can also play a role. If it is some modern hub with smooth locknuts, the QR needs to be that much more grabby. If the locknuts are smooth and replaceable, put some on there with more tooth.

Also, taking apart and regreasing QR skewer mechanisms was something we used to do BITD. If the current QR haven't been greased in 40 years, then they likely aren't optimal.

I went with one of the DT Swiss ratcheting skewers on one bike with frequent rear axle shifts. Mostly happened when attached to my Burley two-wheel trailer. The DT Swiss skewer stopped that from happening.

Good to know.

I've been skeptical of those since from what I can gather it's basically a warmed over wingnut. However, if they use a fine enough pitch thread, should get plenty tight. It'd be nice to see comparative data.

I’ve used wing nuts on old bikes, and the DT skewer has much more leverage. At any rate, it hasn’t slipped yet after multiple loaded trailer hauls.

Also check the knurles on the lock nuts. Unlikely they're worn, but not out of the question. Also make sure they, and the knurled surfaces on the QR, are clean.

Can happen, as can a bent axle or broken axle

Any Sanshin hub is likely to be 30-40 years old. Plenty of time to have have several bearing cleanings, perhaps new balls and cones (which may or may not match the old ones.. Likewise washers and locknuts. Quite possible that on assemble a little too much axle struck out one side or both. As several posters have pointed out, if this is the case, you will NEVER get you quick release tight enough to keep the axle from slipping. Add washers between the cone and the locknut. If you use thin ones on both sides, the wheel dish and brake pad settings won't change.

When you finish, the axle should not reach the outside of the dropout when in contact on the inside with the locknut. Now, all your QR clamping force is on the dropout, not the axle. (Actually the axle extension past the locknut isn't even needed once the QR is tight. It's function is primarily as a guide into the dropout.)

Another thought - it is possible the axle was replaced with a longer one or washers and spacers removed to use a narrower dropout spacing in a different bike. Again, a lot can happen in 40 years

Ben

right! or as i have found, check that locknuts were not put on backwards (so that the useful knurling is not-usefully facing inwards)

QUOTE=madpogue;21618984]Also check the knurles on the lock nuts. Unlikely they're worn, but not out of the question. Also make sure they, and the knurled surfaces on the QR, are clean.[/QUOTE]

+whatever on the DT skewers, which I've been using on all my rear wheels with horizontal dropouts. Mine are an earlier version of the ones pictured, with not quite as much meat in the handles. The ones pictured look like they'd be a little easier on my aging palms.

That's funny. I just got mine, and they do look different from that pic I found on the internet. Here is what mine look like:



They are pleasantly easy to work with and I can really crank them down. At first I was a skeptic, but I am now convinced they are ideal.

I posted a similar thread entitled
Wandering Rear Wheel.
Oops. Can't get it highlighted using phone. Similar ideas so perhaps threads can be associated??

The serations/knurls on the face of the skewer where it contacts the dropouts will wear out and flatten making the wheel slip when you really crank on the pedals. It happens.

my experience as well. I only have one bike with Nuovo Tipo hubs/ skewers and that is my 1977 Raleigh Competition GS and to keep the wheel tight I have to tighten the stuffing out of them . My Record skewers and hubs are no problem. All have horizontal Campy drops except the stamped vertical drops on my Kabuki.

I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but my thought is that the dropout might be worn. I've seen them so worn from abuse (tightening nutted axles with serrated nuts comes to mind) in such a way that they are varying thickness, which might cause a hub axle or QR skewer to fail to "bite in" and might have a sort of "favorite spot" that the axle/QR slides toward.