what is the point of a quick release wheel?
 

is that if you get a flat front tyre?

I think it started off as a race thing. To make fixing a flat faster.

Now it just makes things faster and easier on the low-life that would steal your wheels. Unless you get aftermarket locking skewers.

It's so you don't have to carry even more tools with you when you're out in the middle of nowhere and need to change your tire

It's so you can quickly and easily remove the wheel to load the bicycle into the car (very helpful if it is pouring rain)

It's so you can pop the wheels off quickly and easily when you are packing your bicycle into a box in a busy airport somewhere in the world to fly off to another part of the world ... and then it is so you can pop the wheels back on again in another busy airport so you can cycle off into the distance. :)

Quick release is also nice on the rare occasion you have a CBF (catastrophic bike failure), and the only buddy you can get to come pick you up 30 miles out of town drives a Geo Metro.

When do you mean? If now, then there really is no point to having a quick release. If several years ago in pre "lawyer lip" days, then it made disconnecting a wheel incredibly quick and easy.

Even with the lawyer lips it is easier than dragging a wrench along...FWIW I keep a small adjustable in all of my own bike tool kits....

Aaron:)

I had quick release wheels on my bike back in the early 70's, and while it might have been for a quick tire change, I always thought it was so I could take the front wheel with me while I was in class.

I find a quick release on the rear wheel a lot more useful actually, since it's the back tire that usually flats. However, for some reason cheaper bikes these days come with a quick release on the front wheel, but not the rear. It is still useful (e.g. when trying to transport the bike in a car) but you still need to carry a wrench with you on every ride to make sure you don't have to walk back...

I don't have a car and I rarely transport my bike by car. Considering how often I lock my bike up around the city, quick releases are a liability and a hassle. That is why I got rid of them on all my bikes. Given my circumstances, quick releases are serve no purpose when I can use the same multi tool I always carry to remove my wheels if I need to. Yes, theives can use the same tool, but so far after 2 1/2 years they haven't.

I think it was Sheldon Brown who said saddle theft wasn't a problem until the advent of the quick release seatpost.

QRs were invented by Tuillo Campagnolo as a way to remove wheels when the wing nuts froze during a race in winter. They do make wheel removal easy.

I love my lawyer free lipless bike!

Lawyer lips, that's real funny. I'm alway's learning something new everyday about bicycles or bicycling. I like quick release wheels and quick release brakes, and compared to my bikes of years past, those two features make getting a flat almost bearable.

the point of quick releases is to be able to quickly release the wheel.

I have locking skewers, just to prevent theft :) or make it harder (pray the dont cut my bike in half for my wheel.

QFT!

Who'da thunk it?? :eek: :D

I wouldn't want a bike without QRs on the front and rear wheels. Who wants to haul a couple of these around while riding?
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...C.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

Actually I find that these are a better choice:D

Aaron:)

http://stanleytools.com/catalog_imag...47_mid_res.jpg

how does it work with 1 side being tight n 1 side loose? like is the quick release lever on both sides like both nuts would be?

QR goes all the way thru the axle and pulls it tight on the non lever side. Kind of like a seatpost bolt...

Aaron:)

also useful to remove the wheel to lock it up w/ the rear

All ya do is jiggle the thing an the wheel pops right out.

Why would you need two?

This sawed off box wrench is what I've been carrying for umpteen years. 15mm fits all the front and rear nutted axles I have on my bikes, including old and new hub gears, fixed gears and front track axles. I'm not familiar with multi tools that include this size, but I guess that could be a better solution. I prefer to avoid "adjustable" wrenches as much as possible.

http://www.geocities.com/cyqlist/wrench1.jpg

^^^My replacement skewers use allen bolts. The same kind that my multi tool fits.

Maillard marketed their helicomatic system as a way of changing a gear cluster in less than 30 seconds. Skewers save time and storage space. Quicker and no heavy tools.