Danno claims that if a parent does not know how to correctly use a quick release, they are too dumb to be a parent.

The instructions for the quick release that comes with the Shimano Dura-Ace front hub lists ten steps for correctly and safely installing a wheel using a Dura-Ace quick release.

My guess: Danno can NOT correctly list five out of those ten steps without referring to Shimano's instructions or to some other reference material. Not a single member of these Forum's could correctly recite and carry out those ten steps without the use of a written guide. I guess WE ALL are "too dumb to be parents".

Even if you sold your bike assembled perfectly, and with QRs closed perfectly, the basic problem does not go away. E.g.: The kid looks puzzled at this lever-thingie at the front wheel, operates it, and closes it incorrectly. Rides, falls, dies. the parents will want some sort of justice.

The problem lies with humankind in general: Reluctance to accept responsibility. And lawyers have exploited this.

quick question, and I'm tired so maybe I'm just dense - but how do you put a part on backwards that rotates 360 degrees?


Also, as far as operating a QR - there may be 10 steps in the Dura-Ace manual, but you don't need to read it to know how to install one, or work one.

Install & Work, by me:

1. unscrew end of QR without little wingarm on it.
2. Stick the long part through the little hole in your wheel.
3. screw that first thingie you unscrewed back on, just a tiny bit.
4. put wheel on, make sure to set it in fully.
5. put lever (wing thingie) in open position, tighten other end until there's a little resistance.
6. close wing thingie.

look, 6 steps, i didn't even have to look at a bike, let alone a manual. If you can't do that, you shouldn't be riding a bike with QR.

I was surprised when I learned this also.

Bike builder Don Walker hangs out in the Fixed Gear part of BikeForums. I'll PM him and ask for his opinion about the liability concerns of filing off lawyer tabs.

RFM

Fit the handlebars facing forwards while the forks face backwards. Very common, when parents don't read the instructions...

I suggest that you teach your daughter how to close QRs properly and easily. My six year old neighbor has no problems, after I showed him how.

No reason WHY NOT, but it seems to be a 'storm in a teacup'. Used correctly (as with most things in life), a QR is safe, reliable and appropriate technology.

Perhaps America could consider incorrect use of a QR as 'Darwin in action'.

I am still sh1tty from 10 years back when the shop owner I bought my Giant from attempted to file off the tabs on my forks without consulting me.
I know, I know, I have to learn to let go.

It's easy to assemble many bikes with the fork backwards. The bikes come with the stem uninstalled. The fork (threaded) is already mounted to the frame but is turned around backwards so the bike fits into as small a box as possible. Most of the walmart bikes have straight forks and with no curve at the end. You have to look carefully to see which way is forward. When the bike is assembled, the fork must be turned 180 degrees before the stem is inserted. It's easy to forget to turn the fork. Many of the bikes have a sticker with an arrow pointing forward, but it's easy to miss that as well if you are in a hurry.

The small kids bikes are the easiest to do incorrectly. The forks are so short that the rake is not very apparent regardless of orientation.

There already are laws against selling unsafe products, civily. So, what you're talking about is making it a criminal act and mainly you want Presidents, VPs, CFOs, direcors and etc. in jail. Right? But, am I to assume that you have no particular grudge or vested interest in suggesting something like this? And, why just "products to children?" And, why just "executives?" Can't we throw you in jail if a bike you sell on E-bay is determined by a jury of your peers to have been unsafe? Just a thought.

What was it that Ibis-founder Scot Nicol said the other day? Here it is: "Cycling is still too exclusive. And I mean that in the truest meaning of that word: we exclude people. I don’t have a solution to this problem. It’s more of an observation. I think the new incarnation of Ibis will be a lot less exclusive than the old Ibis."

RFM

I am not sure this thread really has much to do with cycling. When you get people together that are lynx-eyed against evil corporations, Wal-Mart or whatever, you can expect something like, e.g., "you're hurting the children with your criminal conduct you evil executive and should go to jail for it." Like fresh peanut butter, the nuts rise to the top. :)

Are corporations are evil to some degree. That's what making money is. Taking from someone to have more, thereby "robbing" the other people of a fair share.

But some, as wall-mart, are evil-er. They use unfair/illegal tactics to get rid of competition/unions.

I don't buy from them but I hardly think that I make any difference compared to the masses.

This all goes back to my opinion: NO X-MART BIKE SHOULD EVER BE SOLD WITH QR SKEWERS. Nutted skewers only.

Reason for this is to allow safety to those who don't understand how a QR skewer works. Majority of these folks buy from discount/dept stores, NOT LBS's, who usually make it a point to explain how these things work.

We don't need laws about unsafe product, we just need the industry to get their heads out of their rectums long enough to realize the right answer....that not all people are mechanically inclined enough to use a wheelbarrow right, let alone a QR, so let's adapt the product to make it safer for those people at the market level they would be most likely to buy it from.

Even bikes coming from LBS have had problems with QRs. The QR is a red-herring, it's not the problem. However, I agree with the nutted-axles on low-end bikes. Simpler and most non-enthusiast bikers would be more familiar with them.

I say just nutted skewers....let the customer decide if they want QRs...that way they can actively be informed about the risks of mis-use of them, etc.

and I think any bike with smaller than a 26" wheel (pretty much covers all kids bikes) should be threaded axle only. Kids don't need this stuff....I grew up keeping a wrench in my backpack for taking off my wheel as a kid, and I think all kids who may have to remove a wheel should as well....kids understand the concept of tightening down a nut as hard as possible as opposed to finding the right tension to get a QR to close properly.

WOW, has this thread wandered from the original poster's topic! Wal Mart, giant corporate irresponsibility, personal responsibility, liability law, etc.

Back to the topic at hand: If a QR mechanism can be designed that is just as light, easy to operate, and foolproof - WHY NOT? I'd buy it!

Two kids are riding a bike. One of them is balanced on the handlebars. They go down a steep dirt driveway--it's bumpy, too fast--so, the kid on the bars jumps off but is now in front of the bike. The kid in the saddle applies the brakes as best as can be, but the nutted axles dig into ankles of the kid that is trying to outrun the bike. Lawsuit? Should have been acorn nuts? Should have had plastic covers on the axle? Should have had QRs? Should have had a warning sticker on the bars or bumps that make it uncomfortable to sit on them? If the bike comes with nuts on the axles, do you have to provide a wrench; otherwise, are you liable if the rider is stranded in a bad part of town because he cannot change out a bad tube?

According to the folks at Shimano, you have missed four or five essential steps. And, based only on what you SAY you are doing, your bike is not safe to ride.

OK, quit calling them "nutted axles" it's called a threaded axle.....what I was talking about is a "nutted skewer"....

this is a nutted skewer (or as nashbar calls them, bolt-on skewers) http://www.nashbar.com/profile_morei...ku=8197&brand=

I just don't see how anyone can get sued over this design...either the person tightening it done a good job, or not....and there's not enough protrusion to pose any risk that is greater than any other attatchment method.

Assembly done with an impact wrech?! . . . gotta love it: SNAP!

I've seen plenty of people riding nice bikes from LBSs that do not know how to correctly operate a quick release. There are lots of people with more money than brains.

yes, but my build-a-bookshelf came with a 4-page construction manual, too. :p my bike is rarely safe to ride, but what about my method makes it so?



ahh thanks. Of course, with wal-mart bikes you just have to get a firm grip on those handlebars, wedge the wheel between your legs, and twist - voila, everything is better.

I wonder why they put QR on those bikes - nuts are easier for the layperson to understand, and I would think cheaper. marketing scheme?

reason they do it is it's a "feature".

The way they make these bikes look comparable to the LBS bikes is they put in as many features as possible. This often works out since many people don't know what a quality part is from a basic part...so they end up buying based on features.

I use the bolt-on skewers on all of my front wheels and most of my rear wheels. Riding around the inner-city, I'm always looking for ways to frustrate crooks...or at least slow them down.

I lock my bikes with a U-lock around the rear wheel. However, that does not prevent someone from tampering with the quick release. Shimano's instructions included with their quick releases includes a warning to check your quick releases before riding if you have parked your bike in a public place.

I know of at least once in the past year that I discovered a quick release on my rear wheel had been opened while my bike was locked up downtown. So, if you live in a neighborhood where there are more crooks than bikes, the bolt-on skewers can be useful.