2

I've heard a lot of folks complaining about freewheel hubs getting bent axles.

I have a rigid BSO with a solid rear axle that I occasionally pound on local trails.

I've never gotten a bent axle. That said, I only weigh 145 so maybe that's not saying much.

Anyhow, I have a friend who doesn't weigh much more than me (maybe 160) who has gotten TWO bent axles. He never rides off-road, and his bike is nicer than mine.

He has a QR rear axle.

Is this a legitimate reason to avoid QR's on freewheel hubs? Has anyone bent a solid axle?

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    Bad luck? Low quality QR's? There isn't a general reason for avoiding QR's (even on fixies,despite common wisdom -- just use a good QR), and people have bent solid axles.
    – Batman
    Commented Mar 19, 2015 at 19:09
  • I've never had a bent axle (in perhaps 20K miles riding, much of it with bags, and I'm not a light person), though I once had a deformed front hub. Unclear whether the hub got bent on the road or was defective out of the Shimano factory.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Mar 19, 2015 at 19:46
  • Not tightening the QR enough can cause this.
    – mattnz
    Commented Mar 19, 2015 at 23:14
  • 1
    I've never bent an axle in my life, and I weigh 215 pounds. Your friend must be doing something wrong, or he's just really unlucky.
    – Mike Baranczak
    Commented Mar 22, 2015 at 17:51

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

This is not a 'legitimate' reason to avoid quick releases.

Just like anything in life, there are low and high quality offerings, and there is good and bad luck. Your friend either has a low quality wheel or bad luck. The bar for quality on a BSO is pretty low, so even if his is nicer than yours, it might still not be high quality.

All my wheels besides the coaster-braked wheels have QR axles. I weigh 200 pounds, beat up my bikes and I've never had one bend.

This collection of bikes includes a tandem. It has QR wheels. If anything is going to put a QR axle to a test of strength, the tandem is going to be it. And it is fine. Many vendors of tandems equip their bikes with QR wheels. They're all fine.

Improve this answer
2
  • @whatisname Your quality argument makes sense, but you didn't address the freewheel/cassette issue. Freewheel hubs are much harder on axles than cassettes are. What kind of hubs does your tandem have?
    – BSO rider
    Commented Mar 19, 2015 at 22:35
  • @OverOverUnderSkipAHole: I've had both on different tandems.
    – whatsisname
    Commented Mar 19, 2015 at 22:42
1

In my opinion, freewheel vs cassette is probably more relevant to axle issues than solid vs hollow.

Back in the 70's I weighed 150 pounds, and broke or bent a couple of solid axles on freewheel equipped rear wheels.

I spent many years without cycling.

Since 2003 I have been riding primarily cassette bikes, and I weigh over 300 pounds. I have not yet bent or broken a rear axle

Improve this answer
1
  • Part of that might just be changes in bike quality or bike type. Also, people have gotten heavier over the past 30 years, so most non-race bikes are rated for someone in the 250-300 lb rider+cargo range.
    – Batman
    Commented Apr 28, 2015 at 18:46

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.