For those who own a Cross Checks
 

If im running a geared bike do i need to use the stop screws for the drop outs?
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n.../FM7156-04.jpg

I bought mine used and I don't have them. So I guess it's okay!! Anyways, I pull my wheel all the way back. If you are running gears, you may need an old Shimano QR or DT Swiss RWS to keep from pulling the wheel forward, under heavy torquing.

Best as I've been able to figure out, those screws were used on older derailer bikes to fine tune the relationship between the cassette (or more likely freewheel) and the upper jockey wheel of the derailer.

Modern derailers have b tension screws that do it for us.

With horizontal drops they're more than just decoration. Aside from keeping the cassette in proper relation to the derailleur as fuzz mentioned, they also keep the rim aligned properly to the brake pads after pulling things apart to change a flat.

[QUOTE=ALLSTOTT;12176304]If im running a geared bike do i need to use the stop screws for the drop outs?

you don't have to, it only means you need to pay attention when putting the wheel in whether it's straight or not.

Thanks yall i'll just leave them there.

With horizontal dropouts, the slight slant takes care of brake pad alignment for you. That's one of the major advantages they have over track ends.

I still use mine just to make sure that I reinstall the wheel correctly after tinkering with whatever...

And I HAVE pulled the wheel almost out of the dropouts during a stupid assed sprint up a hill...

Like LeeG said. You don't NEED them even on a ss/fixed. They're just there to help you get the wheel in and aligned. If you have a derailleur, chain tensioner, or maybe some eccentric BBs, you can use the back end of the dropout. But they don't do any harm, I'd just leave them in.

I took mine out. One tended to get lose and back itself out, causing the wheel to not be aligned correctly. Without them, I just ensure the wheel is pulled all the way back before tightening down the QR.

As noted above, the wheel does want to pull out under heavy torque on this bike for some reason. I've gotta be careful to get the QR really tight. I thought my skewer was the culprit, but if others are seeing the same thing, there must be a different reason...

Have to have a steel QR to avoid the wheel pullout under torque. The teeth on AL QR won't "bite" into the steel frame enough.

Interesting. I have almost 7,000 mostly commuting miles on my 05 CrossCheck. I am on it's second set of wheels (stock replaced with Velo Orange's CR18/105 setup about 1,500 miles ago). I have never had the wheel pull out.

I've ridden up long, steep hills - steep enough where my 22t front ring combined with my 32t cog was just adequate. I've pulled 200lb loads in a trailer (that was attached to the skewer) for 6 miles. Again, I've never had the wheel pull out. I'm not sure why others have had different experiences...

Improperly secured skewer, poor quality skewer or the mating surfaces are compromised.