How do you position your quick release skewers? Let us know 👇

Many people laughing at the simplicity of the video, but overlooking the fact that many viewers are complete beginners. 14 months ago I would've had no idea how to remove a qr wheel. Thanks Jon!!

Hi all, There are a number of comments regarding the "simplicity" of a quick release skewer. To clarify, not every viewer has a wealth of experience or knowledge. At GCN we cater for all cyclists, regardless of age or ability. Not every video can be "how to dissect and reprogramme di2". I hope that clears it up. Keep riding. Jon

Just bought my first bike online and having to put it together from a box. I was getting super frustrated with the crappy instructions it came with and this video was exactly what I needed! Never heard of a quick release skewer in my life, so thank you for this!!

I would never point the levers forward, especially true on gravel and MTB, but also true for road bikes. The reason is that forward facing levers are a hook for branches and other obstacles. A branch can get caught between the frame and the lever and do all sorts of mischief. Worse still if it happens to be fencing wire.

Fantastic video as usual! The quick release skewer is one of the most overlooked and incorrectly used parts in a bike. Knowing how to use a quick release skewer can ensure a safe ride. Hats off to Jon.

You are my favorite bike mechanic. You have great skills, knowledge and also a good personality.

Good video Jon . . . as always. I used to get all my equipment from an ex-Italian road racer called Paolo Garbini who used to run the Soho Cycle Shop in Gt. Pulteney Street, London W1. When he built me up a Colnago frame (branded Paolo Garbini) with a Campagnolo 50th Anniversary groupset back in 1984 (when I worked in Soho . . . happy days!), he told me to always have the quick release levers pointing backwards and slightly up (at 2 o'clock) as otherwise they could be accidentally opened by encountering something coming from the front, i.e. the way you are travelling. I can certainly see the reasoning for positioning them as you were told to but I will still keep mine pointing backwards . . . as I have done for 34 years!

I just bought my first bike in 15 years today. Removed the front wheel to put the bike in my Honda Accord and now trying to put it back. This video was amazing at showing me the proper way of doing this. Wish I had stumbled on this video an hour ago. Lol thank you!

Informative. I have been doing it wrong, although not the wrong way you showed, for 40 years. Your way is much easier to get correct. Thanks for another great video lesson Jon.

The procedure that I learned many years ago is this: Move the skewer lever 90° from the closed position, snug the nut, then close the lever. Another consideration: If your hubs use cup and cone bearings with loose ball bearings, the skewer pressure must be factored into the cup and cone bearing adjustment. Why? Because the skewer will add additional pressure to the bearings. Here's how to do it: First, adjust your hub bearings so they are just a tiny bit loose. Don't tighten them to perfection because the added pressure of the skewer will make them too tight and you'll increase the resistance and shorten their life. However, if the bearing adjustment is stopped just short of perfection, so they feel a tiny bit loose, the added pressure of the skewer will make them perfect. For this reason, you should not judge your bearing adjustment without the skewer pressure. One trick to aid this is to install the skewer with the wheel off the bike, adding a couple of nuts to take up the space that the fork would occupy. Then you can tighten the skewer with the wheel off the bike and simulate the pressure, helping you get your bearing adjustment quickly.

Such a good guide and easy to follow. Thank you

Helped me today on my first road bike install. Thanks so much!

Hey John.... The quick release should be in the tech Hall of Fame. While originally developed for wheels and hubs, the quick release can be found in lots of places now.

I need to take my front wheel off to get the bike in the back of my Focus estate. This video was detailed and I now feel confident to buy and fit a 'skewer'. Thanks.

Thank you that was a very informative video and it helped me a lot with the quick release.

Thank you, kind sir. Had to remove front wheel to get in trunk (pardon me - boot) of car and friend mucked it up on reassembly. Plus I never knew about determining the correct tightness. Indentation on palm - check. 😅

I’ve ridden BMX as a kid, & then Road & MTB together over the past 30 years or so. I find it’s still good to go back to look at the fundamentals for both beginners & old veterans as well. Nice video - keep them coming!

VERY good video and explanation, newbies will know how to use this facility. Safety aspects explained well, not so with some 'professional' videos. Thanks.

Thank you so much for the very in depth explanation, this is so helpful!!

Awesome. Thats how I've been using the skewers hoping I was doing it right. Now I know.

okay first that is the most beautiful road bike i've ever seen second i want to thank you i actually complicated by putting the wheel on the bike first and those bouncy things were rotated in the wrong way lol

You should update the video with instructions where to place QR when you have disc brakes.

It's a "cam", is the word you're looking for at the beginning. An offset-axle wheel, usually used to move something perpendicular to the rotating shaft in and out.

Cheers Jon,, nice to see you guys are thinking of everyone.

I believe the words you needed in describing the tightening mechanism is eccentric cam. Great video, always something to learn.

Thank-you so much. I felt really stupid not knowing how to do this, but now I know what is going on and how to do it properly. :)

I am a beginner and this is really helpful. Thank you!

One of those simple things with as many proper uses as people using them. Good info to clear the air - remove doubt and worry. 👍

Extremely helpful. I couldn't figure out why you'd put two springs under high pressure but I see it now.

Great explanation Jon. It takes some attempts for the right pressure on the Skewer.

In case of QR replacement for repair or speed, something possibly worth mentioning is the variable dropout, and hence QR widths - Front wheels are almost always 100mm AFAIK. Rear wheels on rim-brake 9-11 speed road bikes are usually 130mm; road bikes with discs and MTBs 135mm. Measurement is the INNER width of the dropouts.

Biktrix sent me this link, I know how to do the quick release, what I wasn't sure of is how much thread on the axel needs to be in contact with the arms to be safe. Good video though.

Thank you so much for this video I have never road a bike with a quick release and the bike I have been looking at has them I was nervous about it thinking the bike set on the skewer itself so this video took a load off my mind thank you

Do the spring stay outside of the cycle fork or between?? Thanks.

Got to say i am not a fan of these quick release skewers. I understand the convenience of them. However they can be flimsy and can be problematic and my goodness me, anticycling vandals love to have a little medel with them given the opportunity. Great video and thanks!

Thank you,this has helped me out a few times now!

Best video explanation

I think I've been a little too variable on the tightness, but actually what worries me is that I might be missing a spring. Thanks for the important safety information!

Only John can make a quick release seem interesting, great video again!

Thanks Jon - I was told once that QRs should only be done up with finger pressure. This has worked fine for me for most of the year but in summer my QRs seem to loosen off really quickly - perhaps because the part between the washer and the lever is made of rubber and softens in the high temps. Anyhow, I’ll be giving it a firm palm to see if that does the trick! Cheers!

I'm a beginner. Thank you for the explanation, the close up visual of how the springs orientation should sit helped alot!

Many thanks for this

From watching your video Jon I placed them as you suggested. I just wanted to know with carbon frame how much pressure should be applied when closing skewer

Thanks! My front wheel came off 6 weeks ago and I got a bad concussion. No idea how the wheel came out but there is no damage or hardware failure and the bike was lifted down off a wall and into and out of a car on its side just before the ride. Why it came off while I was on it I don’t know! Thanks for this vid!

I’m so glad I looked this up bc I see these on the Wish app all the time and I kept wondering how you can lock a bike with that device. Lol. It’s not to lock it, it’s to take the wheel with you if you must lock your bike outside! Hahaha

I wish I knew the spring position before. I put the wide end of the spring in first and got it jammed in the dropout area. That was fun lol

For a novice like me this is the best form of teaching on the matter I could get. Am so terrified of me wheel falling off so the tips were really spot on for me

Great video now I can tie my wheels down properly thank you

Spend a whole night trying to figure the misaligned axis, this helped a lot

Great tutorial, thanks.

I lost the spring.. is it improtant? and can i just screw the wheel on without the spring and ride it?

Excellent video very informative thank you.

Ok so, I was following the instructions of the video and install my skewer to the bike, awesome. Only at the end you mention the information "Put some grease to the skewer".... Hello Bro? Now I gotta detach it,grease it and do it all over again?

Hey Jon, i wish the thru axle standard would come for rim brakes wheels too, it maybe a little bit slower to undo, but man it's simple, secure and you wont ever have any misalignement !

Should you have play in the axle so when you close the skewer, it takes the play out? Play is when the cones are not tight enough against the bearings.

AWESOME video. Thank you very much

Always learn something watching these videos. Mine point backwards👍🇦🇺

What happens to the springs as the wheel is mounted into the drop outs? Are the springs designed to move into place "intuitively"?

Awesome retro tech ... I remember back in the day when we used these primitive devices, the nostalgia! 👏

DT swiss ones are awesome, with their torque mechanism.

thank you so much

This may be a stupid question but does the QR lever need any lubricant or grease around the cam?

Thank you very much for this video for a noob like me.

I used to mount the quick release skewer too loosely and wondered why my disc brakes always went out of alignment.. lol I still do have a front brake that starts making a sound every now and then, but that's because the calipers won't go back properly for some reason...

Rear skewer pointing forward? I always thought the front tire could kick something up and release it? Your point about another bike hitting it from behind seems logical too. What to do?

how do you install the cassette on the rear skewer?

I usually drop my bike 1 inch off the ground to check for any sound and today my fromt wheel is loose side to side, yeah I tightened it and did everything I cant figure out to fix it, noticed not only by noise upon dropping but the bike is dangerous to take hands off anymore

What do you suggest for on-bike supplies to carry, tools?, tube, screws, which airpump, springs for skewer, etc.

Overtightening the skewers not only makes it harder to open, it can also deform the aluminium dropouts that many bikes come with. Aluminium is not that hard and repeated overtightening will cause the aluminium to get "pushed" into the dropout where the axle is supposed to sit thus resulting in your wheel going off to one side at the seat/chain stays or fork. Even a small 0.25mm lip in the dropout will get amplified to a few millimetres at the rim/tyre.

Great Video, on some thing so simple on today bicycles, but as you had said many of us are doing wrong.. You could had started off about the history of this great and very important component. Maybe had talked a little about Tullio Campagnolo and that cold day in1927..

Are they all the same size even for a front Electric bike 4 inch wide wheel ?

Thanks for this! Good, straight forward video. At 5:38 the guy riding reminds me of the gremin in that busta rhymes film clip for gimme some more. haha He's really going for it! Impressive!

Hi I have a gravel bike with disk brakes tighten both side bolt axel. Can I convert to quick release axle

Tks bud!

great . Thanks

Thanks JonnyTech, simple stuff simplified!

hello, my rear skewer broke. It looks like the frame sliced it off. I bought a new one and same thing, it sliced it off. Should the tire be resting on the skewer? Or maybe my frames cricked

Great video.many thanks

can't believe i just watched that.....and enjoyed it!

cheers jon and mr campagnolo

My rear wheel gets off-center after some usage if I have the quick release adequately tight, I overtighten them and it prevented the wheel from going off center. Will overtightening damage anything? Like the hub axle or the bearings?

from my mtb days, I always faced it the other direction bc I always thought a twig would undo it as you're moving forward.

Thanks

Hi, GCN Tech. Great program. I would like to request you making a video featuring how to solve disc brake noise. I have been annoyed by hauling sound. It sounds like a violine but not pleasant at all.

Hi. Hope someone can help. The diameter of my original QR Shimano front skewer is 5.3mm. Can I replace it with a 5mm skewer?

I need to add a skewer to my 20+ year old ccm bike which has a thick threaded skewer. Does anyone know if this thin little skewer will work? I need it for a bike trainer stand.

Great video. Thanks. I learned alot.

I still didn't see which side of the forks the cone shaped springs go, do they go inside the fork or outside of the fork, apologies if its a silly question, I'm trying to put my bike, not used for a couple of years, onto an indoor trainer in my garage and didn't even know you had to change the skewer to fit into the trainer. Good video thankyou.

I need a skewer 245mm long for a fat tire bike I'm putting a rack on the front. Where can I find one

My question is I'm running 5mm QR axles, I've purchased some Mavic Ksyrium S rims and I believe they come with 9mm QR axles. Will the 9mm work on my 2016: Tarmac Specialized which is not axle through? I mean will 9 mm axles fit? I can see that the 5mm have wiggle room still... So really the question is 5mm to 9mm works?! Thx in advance! Thx in advance

If do not have installed either sprint is it dangerous? Can causes any problems? Thank you

Are QR skewers compatible with horizontal drop outs? Thanks

Hi folks! Last week I had a very annoying accident in which my derailleur hanger broke and suddenly the derailleur ended up between my rear spokes, blocking the wheel and sending me to the tarmac. I was riding my brand new Merida Scultura (only 172 km ridden) and haven’t been able to determine whether the broken hanger was actually the cause or a consequence of other mechanical problem. Could it be due to a super tight quick release? Could you shed some light at any other potential causes? Thanks! #torqueback

Wow, you explained the hell out of that. Good job

Can placing your rear skewer lever pointing twords the rear of your frame be wrong, like directly out the back, or should they flip closed forward facing like in this video? Only reason I ask is I keep having an issue with rest brake rub and I know it's not a bent rotor, or unaligned brakes (I've got new rotors and new xt brakes) and the rubbing only shows up sometimes, it's not constant. Anyway I'm going to give my rear quick release position a try to see if the brakes stop rubbing. Great video

I always misaligned the wheel while installing it on my fork... The accurate positioning without getting stuck on the brake was really hard to me...lol

Must admit only had QR wheels a year now, must admit good 'ol nuts seem so much more easy

I have a canyon ultimate and I have my rear quick release on the left side point to the back. It is the most logical way and i tell you why. I have disc brakes and in doing so, the rear quick release lever is actually protecting my brake disk from damage and risks of bending if the bike was to fall over on the left side... The chances of anyone opening with their front wheel from the back is very slim since I doubt anyone is stupid enough to try to damage their own bike in order to prove me wrong...

@4:19 I don't see the springs. Are they inside or outside the dropouts?