Skewers: How tight is tight enough ?

[Guest Hollow Man]

Question, O wise ones(I realise that this may be one of those "how long is a piece of string questions, or a plain dumb question) :

 

As a general rough rule, what angle of rotation on the skewer locking lever is enough(after the cam actually begins to "bite") to hold an axle in place without being an "axle auto release" danger ? Too great an angle of rotation from first tension to the locked position, coupled with a layman's torque setting(two grunts, one fart and a small squirt of urine. *Ok, this is an exaggeration) affects the wheel bearing adjustment(although I think that this should not be possible) on my bike, and jams up the wheel bearing.

 

What is the correct way of doing this simple procedure, and getting the right wheel bearing adjustment balanced with enough tension on the skewer to prevent a spectacular aerial disassembly of one's bike? What did I miss ?

 

* Give me a break : at least it's not a 26" vs 29" question

[Brent]

Depends if the bike is a 26" or 29"

[johannrissik]

....and all along I thought one held the knurl nut (aka acorn) betwixt left thumb and forefinger and cranked the skewer with the right hand. Until one could crank no more. I guess using a rock (I have seen that) is toooo tight?

[johannrissik]

Damn, I walked right into that....trick question obviously. Real cyclists stopped using QR when they shifted to 29 27.5 Older, slower, dommer.

[Lone Rider]

I've found that different skewers start resisting at different angles (probably due to different cam profiles), so this is not always a good indication.

 

The old school of thought is that the skewer lever should leave an indentation (...not a bruise) on your hand, when you push it closed.

[GaryvdM]

....

affects the wheel bearing adjustment(although I think that this should not be possible) on my bike, and jams up the wheel bearing.

....

 

If this is happening, I'm sure that something is wrong. For this to happen, the distance between the two cones is decreasing when you tighten the skewer. Are you sure the axel is in one piece? What model of hub/wheel is this?

[droo]

1. It should leave a mark on your hand, as Lone Rider said. Also, two grunts and a fart should be fine. Any staining of the trousers means you've put a bit too much effort in and you'll battle to get it open again on the trail.

 

2. Your bearings need to be set.

[Guest Hollow Man]

I've found that different skewers start resisting at different angles (probably due to different cam profiles), so this is not always a good indication.

 

The old school of thought is that the skewer lever should leave an indentation (...not a bruise) on your hand, when you push it closed.

 

Ok, both make sense.

 

 

If this is happening, I'm sure that something is wrong. For this to happen, the distance between the two cones is decreasing when you tighten the skewer. Are you sure the axel is in one piece? What model of hub/wheel is this?

 

Yes, it doesn't make sense. The axle is intact, and the threads on axle and cone nuts are not damaged. The hub is a Shimano FH-M525-SL VIAM.

 

1. It should leave a mark on your hand, as Lone Rider said. Also, two grunts and a fart should be fine. Any staining of the trousers means you've put a bit too much effort in and you'll battle to get it open again on the trail.

 

2. Your bearings need to be set.

 

Ok, agreed. The mark on the hand seems like a good rule of thumb; I need to back off on the skewer pressure for sure. If I can't yank the wheel out of the frame by hand, it probably won't let go by itself.

 

Gonna reset bearings accordingly. Maybe set just a whisker too tight at LBS.

 

Thanks for the input everyone; wasn't sure if I was just terminally dof or something else was amiss.

[droo]

QR wheel bearings should have a whisker of play in them since the clamping force of the skewer will compress the axle when tightened. It's a fine art to work out just how much play, but you'll work it out. I recommend patience and beer.

[Guest Hollow Man]

QR wheel bearings should have a whisker of play in them since the clamping force of the skewer will compress the axle when tightened. It's a fine art to work out just how much play, but you'll work it out. I recommend patience and beer.

 

Excellent advice !