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#1
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Big Mechanical Failure....again
Was riding home tonight on the 'good' roadie. As I was riding along
Wellington Parade not far up from Fed Square I was in the left hand lane coming up to lights and the line of traffic in this lane was backing up to turn left. I slowed down quite a bit, checked behind in the right lane and saw that there was a decent gap and so I got up out of the saddle to accelerate around the traffic and get back in the left lane without holding up any of the cars in the right lane. As I started to do this there was a 'funny' feeling from the back wheel and suddenly I wasn't going anywhere. My right foot came unclipped and I sort of fell onto the seat and managed to graze my right knee on the end of the handlebars in the process. I was slowing down quickly and ended up just managing to avoid falling off but stopped in the middle of the right lane. I quickly unclipped and thankfully someone in the left lane let me scoot back across to the footpath. Quickly checked the bike thinking that my chain had somehow sucked up on itself but found that I had actually managed to pull the back wheel out of the dropouts. This is not the first time this has happened to me nor is it the first bike that it has happened on. I am running older styled steel frame roadies with the dropouts that are sort-of inbetween vertical and horizontal. As this has happened before, I always make sure that I do up my rear quick release skewer to the point that I am worried it is going to break when I am actuating the lever to do it up.......not sure what else I can do to prevent this from happening??? Now I am a fairly big guy but surely I shouldn't be able to do this on a semi-regular basis??? I am thinking that I might have to come up with some sort of engineering solution to this problem that introduces some sort of positive mechanical lock on the dropouts (I am sure that someone is going to tell me to try vertical dropouts.....rolls eyes). The only other solution I can think of is to take to the surface of the dropouts where the skewer sits with some sandpaper or a file in order to rough it up some. Anyone had this problem and, more importantly, anyone know how to fix it??? Gags |
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#2
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Big Mechanical Failure....again
"Gags" gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au wrote in message ... Was riding home tonight on the 'good' roadie. As I was riding along Wellington Parade not far up from Fed Square I was in the left hand lane coming up to lights and the line of traffic in this lane was backing up to turn left. I slowed down quite a bit, checked behind in the right lane and saw that there was a decent gap and so I got up out of the saddle to accelerate around the traffic and get back in the left lane without holding up any of the cars in the right lane. As I started to do this there was a 'funny' feeling from the back wheel and suddenly I wasn't going anywhere. My right foot came unclipped and I sort of fell onto the seat and managed to graze my right knee on the end of the handlebars in the process. I was slowing down quickly and ended up just managing to avoid falling off but stopped in the middle of the right lane. I quickly unclipped and thankfully someone in the left lane let me scoot back across to the footpath. Quickly checked the bike thinking that my chain had somehow sucked up on itself but found that I had actually managed to pull the back wheel out of the dropouts. This is not the first time this has happened to me nor is it the first bike that it has happened on. I am running older styled steel frame roadies with the dropouts that are sort-of inbetween vertical and horizontal. As this has happened before, I always make sure that I do up my rear quick release skewer to the point that I am worried it is going to break when I am actuating the lever to do it up.......not sure what else I can do to prevent this from happening??? Now I am a fairly big guy but surely I shouldn't be able to do this on a semi-regular basis??? I am thinking that I might have to come up with some sort of engineering solution to this problem that introduces some sort of positive mechanical lock on the dropouts (I am sure that someone is going to tell me to try vertical dropouts.....rolls eyes). The only other solution I can think of is to take to the surface of the dropouts where the skewer sits with some sandpaper or a file in order to rough it up some. Anyone had this problem and, more importantly, anyone know how to fix it??? Gags Are the dropouts deformed in anyway? |
#3
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Big Mechanical Failure....again
"Resound" wrote in message ... Are the dropouts deformed in anyway? Not as far as I can see. The only thing that was a bit deformed was my knee when it cracked the handlebars. |
#4
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Big Mechanical Failure....again
"Gags" wrote: Now I am a fairly big guy but surely I shouldn't be able to do this on a semi-regular basis??? I am thinking that I might have to come up with some sort of engineering solution to this problem that introduces some sort of positive mechanical lock on the dropouts (I am sure that someone is going to tell me to try vertical dropouts.....rolls eyes). The only other solution I can think of is to take to the surface of the dropouts where the skewer sits with some sandpaper or a file in order to rough it up some. Anyone had this problem and, more importantly, anyone know how to fix it??? Are you using quick releases with an 'open-style' lever (http://tinyurl.com/efo6k) or the older covered type (http://tinyurl.com/h7u6j) ? Recently an item I read in a magazine (Australian Cyclist?) pointed out two aspects of the open-style that makes them more prone to pulling out. The cam in them is larger, giving you less leverage when you close them. And the inner surface of the QR is fairly smooth alloy. The better closed-mech QRs have an inner surface that is knurled and made of steel, to give it much more grip. If yours are the open-style, change over to the older style. It'll give you a more retro look anyway. -- Cheers Peter ~~~ ~ _@ ~~ ~ _- \, ~~ (*)/ (*) |
#5
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Big Mechanical Failure....again
Gags wrote: Was riding home tonight on the 'good' roadie. As I was riding along Wellington Parade not far up from Fed Square I was in the left hand lane coming up to lights and the line of traffic in this lane was backing up to turn left. I slowed down quite a bit, checked behind in the right lane and saw that there was a decent gap and so I got up out of the saddle to accelerate around the traffic and get back in the left lane without holding up any of the cars in the right lane. As I started to do this there was a 'funny' feeling from the back wheel and suddenly I wasn't going anywhere. My right foot came unclipped and I sort of fell onto the seat and managed to graze my right knee on the end of the handlebars in the process. I was slowing down quickly and ended up just managing to avoid falling off but stopped in the middle of the right lane. I quickly unclipped and thankfully someone in the left lane let me scoot back across to the footpath. Quickly checked the bike thinking that my chain had somehow sucked up on itself but found that I had actually managed to pull the back wheel out of the dropouts. This is not the first time this has happened to me nor is it the first bike that it has happened on. I am running older styled steel frame roadies with the dropouts that are sort-of inbetween vertical and horizontal. As this has happened before, I always make sure that I do up my rear quick release skewer to the point that I am worried it is going to break when I am actuating the lever to do it up.......not sure what else I can do to prevent this from happening??? Now I am a fairly big guy but surely I shouldn't be able to do this on a semi-regular basis??? I am thinking that I might have to come up with some sort of engineering solution to this problem that introduces some sort of positive mechanical lock on the dropouts (I am sure that someone is going to tell me to try vertical dropouts.....rolls eyes). The only other solution I can think of is to take to the surface of the dropouts where the skewer sits with some sandpaper or a file in order to rough it up some. Anyone had this problem and, more importantly, anyone know how to fix it??? Two choices that will be reliable : Ditch the QR and use a bolt or get out of the stoneage, and use a vertical dropout frame |
#6
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Big Mechanical Failure....again
make sure the axle ends aren't protruding the slightest bit past the outer edge of the dropouts. Have you tired another skewer? -- 531Aussie |
#7
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Big Mechanical Failure....again
Are you using old style Shimano or Campagnolo all-steel quick releases with
the internal cam? They have far better clamping power than a lot of modern skewers, and modern skewers also frequently have aluminium ends that don't bite into the dropouts as well. Stationary trainers often come with this sort of skewer - my Minoura trainer has one. You may be able to order one of these skewers as a trainer spare part. Failing that, you could swap the QR axle for a bolt-on axle. Two of our tandems have the axles held on with allen-head bolts. I just have to remember to keep a 6mm allen key with my puncture outfit. Nick "Gags" gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au wrote in message ... [snip] Quickly checked the bike thinking that my chain had somehow sucked up on itself but found that I had actually managed to pull the back wheel out of the dropouts. This is not the first time this has happened to me nor is it the first bike that it has happened on. I am running older styled steel frame roadies with the dropouts that are sort-of inbetween vertical and horizontal. As this has happened before, I always make sure that I do up my rear quick release skewer to the point that I am worried it is going to break when I am actuating the lever to do it up.......not sure what else I can do to prevent this from happening??? |
#8
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Big Mechanical Failure....again
Gags wrote: Anyone had this problem and, more importantly, anyone know how to fix it??? This sort of problem usually crops up because the dropouts are bent. Make sure your dropout faces are _perfectly_ parallel, and that the dropout spacing is appropriate for the wheel width (otherwise the dropouts won't be parallel when you put a wheel in). In addition, check the wheel. Many old steel roadies use relatively thin dropouts. Newer wheels often have more axle sticking out past the cone locknuts than older ones. If there's too much axle and not enough dropout thickness, then there's nowhere for the little QR springs, and the QR grips the axle rather than the dropout. Cheers, Suzy Gags -- suzyj |
#9
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Big Mechanical Failure....again
suzyj Wrote: Gags wrote: Anyone had this problem and, more importantly, anyone know how to fix it??? This sort of problem usually crops up because the dropouts are bent. Make sure your dropout faces are _perfectly_ parallel, and that the dropout spacing is appropriate for the wheel width (otherwise the dropouts won't be parallel when you put a wheel in). In addition, check the wheel. Many old steel roadies use relatively thin dropouts. Newer wheels often have more axle sticking out past the cone locknuts than older ones. If there's too much axle and not enough dropout thickness, then there's nowhere for the little QR springs, and the QR grips the axle rather than the dropout. Cheers, Suzy Gags ++1 I had the same problem and this was the cause. Older style steel frame - Peugeot - with thin (compared to alloy bikes) dropouts. No problems until I changed to Shimano skewers. The Shimano nuts have a more shallow rebate and the axles were bottoming out on the springs and preventing the nut faces from biting into the dropout. Solutions: 1. Grind off the axle ends (a pain if you have to replace the axle) 2. Use different skewers (also a pain, especially if you don't like the color!!) 3. Machine a deeper rebate into the skewer nuts - best permanent solution -- ozbiker2 |
#10
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Big Mechanical Failure....again
can you get a couple of dem thingies that 'fixified riders use? don't know the name (but i have em on my 'TB1' ) slip axle thru hole, adjust screws/threads from back which keep axle distance steady from rear of dropouts. -- flyingdutch |
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