No, but I'm sure they are WalMart bikes.

I have seen 24" wheel bikes in Walmart with QR.
Kids bikes don't need them, nor do most adult bikes. They are most handy for us in the shop, little bit quicker off and not as much fiddling to keep the wheel straight when putting them back on.

I replaced my front wheel for two reasons: 1) I wanted a sealed hub to ride in all kinds of weather, 2) I wanted to switch from quick release to axle nuts to deter thieves.

I do not have any kids so I do not follow any of this. This seems like a lawyers wet dream. I do not think a child could be responsible for a quick release accident. So that means someone else is liable....

I called my LBS and asked them. They stated that all of their 24" wheels did not have QR and they only did it under special request. They also said that they instruct people how to use QR when they sell a bike that has them. They also said that they did not know of any law that prevented QR on childrens bikes it just seemed like common sense.

I personally think QR are awesome and they are on all my rides. I take the responsibility associated with using them. I know that QR take an outside force to come loose, not some supernatural act. I know that if I lock my bike up on the street there is a chance for someone to **** with it and I need to check it before I ride it.

I have never had an acident from a QR. The closest was when I was mtb'ing and a branch had caught my front lever and opened it. I noticed play in my front wheel and looked down and saw the open lever, stopped and closed it.
I had dremmeled of the lawyer lips and I still had time to reclose the lever.

Although I love QR I am in a dilema about them being on childrens bikes. This seems like an accident waiting to happen. I do not want people telling me what to put on my bike but when it comes to children, I do not think that most of them are ready for QR. A child is someone under 13, for me at least.


Just my opinion....

When I lost my front wheel, I was 12 and had not tightened the QR enough. About that time (mid 80s), I noticed the bikes at the local Schwinn shops had safety tabs on the axle that clipped into nubs on the inside of the fork blades. The result was that you could not remove the wheel without disengaging each of the safety tabs from the fork blades.

Are these still common? They would seem to solve bike companies’ fear of litigation since only removal or wanton disregard would render them ineffective.

But I really think we're missing the point. No one makes a QR, or in the case of my new VD wheel a 5mm allen wrench, that opens bottles of beer. I think there are several 15mm wrenches out there that can crack a brew. If that's not reason enough to eschew QRs, I don't know what is.

Time pedals work good for that too.

Sorry to have detoured the thread onto this quick release topic!

I will leave it alone after these comments:

I think they are a really clever invention, but more risky than they are practical for most non-racers.

As far as a time saver: Shortly after they were introduced for front wheels, the locking up ritual became removing the wheel and locking it to the frame around something vertical, whereas before a quick frame lock up would suffice. Definately lost time there, plus alot of scratched drop-outs with the frame resting on the forks rather than the rubber. Of course, we can't go back; the money invested in wheels is too great.
As far as quick release seat posts, you in the moutain bike fraternity would have to enlighten me as to their practicality. I know the chair I am sitting on works on the same fundamental principle, but I find that I don't change the height after the original setting.
The most visable effect of this as I mentioned, is some poor sole walking through the mall with a seat and post in one hand. I guess we're lucky that toilets don't come with quick releases, that would really be a burdon.

I appreciate quick release front wheels when I want to pop the front wheel to put the car on the roof rack.

I appreciate that they are a little faster to change a flat, and do not require a tool.

They have almost no value if your or your group are riding with no tools or pumps. This is the situation with most of the younger riders out there; but they are so influenced by market trends that they wouldn't consider the old school alternative. After all, they seem to be willing to spend hundreds of dollars to get a fork with one inch more travel.

The seat post QR usefullness depends on the kind of riding you do. I like trials, so I have my seat up to get to the spot without blowing a knee, then I drop it to get it out of my way when throwing the bike around. On my competition bike I have a allen clamp because I never move the seat.

The guys that assemble the bikes at my local Wal-Mart are trained by someone who attended Barnett's. Many, I won't say all cause I don't know that, of the people who assemble bikes at Walmart are trained by or are certified mechanics because Walmart has a highly paid legal staff that understands liability issues. Much of Walmarts bike assembly and repair work is contracted out to trained professionals for the same reasons. Of course, if they're just trained monkeys, then what does that make the other people that work at Walmart? Probably no Lutherans (just to pick a group at random) work at Walmart, cause then we would have to call all Lutherans trained monkeys. It's a slippery slope. This thread is about sermonizing, isn't it?!? So it is good to hear that you're at least showing someone the right way to do it, RegularGuy.

..."I've showed"...? Is that kinda like..."I done did"...?

I've been catching up on some old threads, and I have to say, this is the best thread yet.

Don, you may have an exceptional Wal-mart in your neighborhood. A quick stroll through the toy section in my local Wal-mart will reveal many bicycle assembly errors. (Yes, I've looked). "Trained monkeys" may have been a bit harsh, but I was speaking strongly to make a point. Certainly it is no harsher than "penis head" a perjorative that seems to cause you great mirth.

After some three months time you caught me in a grammatical error. Congratulations.