Can quick release be too tight?

[mjremijan]

I want to know if it is possible to clamp a quick release tire too tight so that it squeezes the wheel so much it prevents the wheel from turning as freely as it should? I know it is a silly question but on my last few rides it seems like the bike is not rolling as easy as it should and when I coast it slows down very quickly.

Thanks!

 

[alienator]

It is possible, with some setups, to bind the bearings, but those "some" setups are very few. If you pull a wheel out, you'll see that the part of the hub assembly which abuts the inside of your dropout is actually attached to the hub axle, so when pressure from the QR is applied, it's applied axially on the ends of the axles. This causes compression in the axle, which will result in an increase in diameter of the axle (described by Poisson's Ratio). The increase in diameter, if large enough, can start to bind bearings. As I mentioned though, this rarely a problem. More accurately stated, it shouldn't be a problem at all.

New cyclists (and some experienced cyclists) tend to make one of two errors with their QR's: they either tighten them too much or don't tighten them enough. The amount of pressure applied by the QR doesn't have to be a lot. Fastening the QR properly should leave a slight impression on your hand.

If you've been closing your QR's properly and you're still experiencing excessive drag, it may be that the bearings in the hub are either in need of service or are crapped out.

 

[jhuskey]

I never had that experience. Maybe check your brake adjustments.

 

[mjremijan]

Brakes are good, not rubbing against the wheel. I think I'll get the hub bearings checked out as @alienator suggested.

 

[An old Guy]

Tightening the quick release applies pressure to the cup/cone pieces. That pressure will tighten the bearings.

 

[alienator]

Originally Posted by An old Guy .

Tightening the quick release applies pressure to the cup/cone pieces. That pressure will tighten the bearings.

Not if the hub doesn't have cups and cones, which the majority do not have today. And even if the hub has cups and cones, those preloading of bearings is usually done via locknuts or other threaded adjustment. Then, as with hubs without cups and cones, the only way that over tightening the QRs tightens the bearings is by increasing the radial diameter of the axle via axial compression of the axle.

 

[swampy1970]

NASA called. They ran this solution through their 25 Cray supercomputers:

Pick one end of the bike up and spin that wheel. If the bearings are "that" tight that you can tell while you're riding, it'll be immediately obvious when you just spin the wheel.

 

[alienator]

Cray is so yesterday. When the big boys at NASA want to play, they reach out to Pleiades or Columbia. As it happens, the Ultimate Quick Release Induced Hub Bearing Drag Simulation has been running on Pleiades for 8 months and includes not only the pedestrian relationships for bearing drag, fluid dynamics, and mechanical deformation but also accounts for variations in forces due to variations in gravity due to turbulent flow in Earth's core and errors due to electromagnetic field dependencies in a rotating hub as analyzed in the Lorenz Gauge.

 

[Eichers]

Not if the hub doesn't have cups and cones, which the majority do not have today.  And even if the hub has cups and cones, those preloading of bearings is usually done via locknuts or other threaded adjustment.  Then, as with hubs without cups and cones, the only way that over tightening the QRs tightens the bearings is by increasing the radial diameter of the axle via axial compression of the axle.
 

... Pick one end of the bike up and spin that wheel. If the bearings are "that" tight that you can tell while you're riding, it'll be immediately obvious when you just spin the wheel.

Brakes are good, not rubbing against the wheel. I think I'll get the hub bearings checked out as @alienator suggested.

Hi mjremijan, as suggested the answer is 'no'. It sounds like if your hub has sealed bearings then it it time to replace the sealed bearings or if your hubs are ball & cone then it is time to regrease them. If you cannot do this yourself then have them checked out, as you suggested

 

[aest-bicycle]

Can you adjust the Quick Release ,to make it a little loose ?