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8. Technical Information
It’s important to your safety, performance and enjoyment to understand how things work on your
bicycle. We urge you to ask your dealer or local bike shop how to do the things described in this
section before you attempt them yourself, and that you have your dealer or local bike shop check
your work before you ride the bike. If you have even the slightest doubt as to whether you understand
something in this section of the Manual, talk to your dealer or local bike shop.
A. Wheels
NOTE: If you have a mountain bike equipped with through axle front or rear wheels, make sure
that your dealer or local bike shop has given you the manufacturer’s instructions, and follow
those when installing or removing a through axle wheel. If you don’t know what a through axle
is, ask your dealer or local bike shop.
1. Wheel Quick Release
WARNING
: Riding with an improperly adjusted wheel quick release can allow the wheel to
wobble or fall off the bicycle, which can cause serious injury or death. Therefore, it is
essential that you:
1. Ask your dealer or local bike shop to help you make sure you know how to install and
remove your wheels safely.
2. Understand and apply the correct technique for clamping your wheel in place with a quick
release.
3. Each time, before you ride the bike, check that the wheel is securely clamped.
The wheel quick release uses a cam action to clamp the bike’s wheel in place. Because of its
adjustable nature, it is critical that you understand how it works, how to use it properly, and how much
force you need to apply to secure the wheel.
WARNING
: The full force of the cam action is needed to clamp the wheel securely. Holding
the nut with one hand and turning the lever like a wing nut with the other hand until everything
is as tight as you can get it will not clamp the wheel safely in the dropouts.
a. Adjusting the quick release mechanism
The wheel hub is clamped in place by the force of the quick release cam pushing against one dropout
and pulling the tension-adjusting nut, by way of the skewer, against the other dropout. The tension-
adjusting nut controls the amount of clamping force. Turning the tension-adjusting nut clockwise while
keeping the cam lever from rotating increases clamping force; turning it counterclockwise while
keeping the cam lever from rotating reduces clamping force. Less than half a turn of the tension-
adjusting nut can make the difference between safe clamping force and unsafe clamping force.
b. Front Wheel Secondary Retention Devices
Most bicycles have front forks that utilize a secondary wheel retention device to keep the wheel from
disengaging if the quick release is incorrectly adjusted. Secondary retention devices are not a
substitute for correct quick release adjustment.
Secondary retention devices fall into two basic categories:
(1) The clip-on type is a part that the manufacturer adds to the front wheel hub or front fork.
(2) The integral type is molded, cast or machined into the outer faces of the front fork dropouts.
Ask your dealer or local bike shop to explain the particular secondary retention device on your bike.
WARNING
: Do not remove or disable the secondary retention device.
