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So whenever I try a 180, I seem to put quite a bit of sideways force on the rear wheel when I land because I never make it the whole way. After the landing, it causes the wheel to come out of its slot. I’ve tried making the quick release more tight but the problem continues. Is the QR the problem or am I the problem?

FYI, I mean a jumping 180 not the one where you use the front brake and bring the rear wheel around.

It’s a Carrera Hellcat which is a hardtail bike and I currently don’t have any brakes on it either.

The bike still has derailleur gears, it is not a fixed gear or single speed.

It is a disk rear brake, with the caliper on top. Recently my brakes have broken and I’m getting new ones in a few days so I’m in a state of no brakes at the moment. All I’ve done to my bike is take off the brakes and the disk rotors.

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  • Three thoughts: make sure the clamping surfaces are clean; that your quick release is tight enough (it should be difficult to engage the quick release); and that your skewer is short enough (you might need to invest in spacers). I'm not an expert, though.
    – emi
    Commented Jun 21, 2019 at 0:31
  • You need to describe your bike better. All we know is that it has a QR rear hub.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Jun 21, 2019 at 0:31
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    But note that if you have a disk brake rear, and the caliper is mounted along the chain stay, hitting the brakes while going backwards will force the wheel down and out of the slot.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Jun 21, 2019 at 0:32
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    I have a Hellcat, make sure the QR is tight enough it leaves an imprint on your hand, this is general for all QR though not limited to the Hellcat. As for 180 jumps, I wouldn't, it's a sub £300 bike with basic front suspension and general use SRAM shifters and entry level brakes at best. Ideal for casual park runs and commutes but not ideal for fast trails and jumps
    – Dan K
    Commented Jun 21, 2019 at 8:07
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    I suspect this is basically a case of asking the bike to do something it's not designed for. Entry levels MTB's like this are designed for middle aged men taking their kids for a ride on a forest road, not doing 180 jumps.
    – Andy P
    Commented Jun 21, 2019 at 12:40

3 Answers 3

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The simple answer is that your bike is not fit for the purpose that you are using it for. If you intend to do stunts, jumps, etc. then you should really invest in a bike designed with this in mind. This is not only for your own safety but also the longevity of the bike itself. Continued abuse of a bike not designed for this sort of riding will result in broken components at the least and possibly broken bones if you are unlucky. I would recommend that you consider a decent bmx or jump bike, both are designed with this sort of riding in mind.

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  • Yeah I realised this when I discussed this with my friends and will soon try to get a frame that uses thru axles instead
    – William T
    Commented Jun 26, 2019 at 10:15
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If the rear wheel is moving in the dropouts, its because the forces applied to the axle are larger than the clamping force of the retention system.

You say its a Quick Release - the lever should require enough force to close that it leaves a mark on your skin. If you can't get it to tighten enough beforehand, the QR may have stretched and come to the end of its thread. If so, replace the whole QR and nuts.

Even then the QR's acorns may not be gripping the frame properly. Take the wheel out and clean all dirt and grease and oil off the dropouts, both inside and outside and in the slot. Then look closely at the serrations under the skewer nuts and make sure they are not smoothed off. I've repaired one using a small triangular rats-tail file and a lot of patient hand filing... its a hardened steel surface and takes effort.

For sheer holding power, nothing beats traditional hex nuts. If you're going to be exerting these forces on your bike then consider replacing the axle with a solid axle, and fitting some beefy wheel nuts. Sounds like you're stunting, you may consider fitting pegs at this time - Pegs don't work with QRs at all.

Finally - you mentioned in a comment that the brakes are both broken, which is why you removed them and are now riding brakeless. This suggests that your riding style is hard on the equipment, and you might be better off purchasing a more-robust stunt bike.

You should cease riding this bike until the brakes are fully operational again. It may be inconvenient, but too bad. Your safety, AND the safety of others in the roadway is not to be compromised for your convenience.

DON'T RIDE A BIKE WITHOUT WORKING BRAKES !

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    Pegs on this bike is a bad idea: even the 10mm bmx axles designed to take pegs bend after a while so I doubt a standard 10mm mtb axle is going to be any good on that front. As for grinding: pegs on the derailleur drive side are a disaster: unless you're so skilled you always land nicely on the peg it's a receipe for smashing the derailleur into a ledge instead of the peg. Likewise for the non-drive side: the bike has disc brakes (from the pictures I saw at least). Last but not least: will a cheap alu frame not designed for it withstand the forces the pegs apply to it? In my experience: no.
    – stijn
    Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 10:19
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    @stijn fair enough - I was looking for more positives about moving to solid axles with nuts vs a QR skewer with a hollow axle. Your points seem reasonable.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 11:00
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I have a hellcat with 27.5" wheels and a Kraken with 28.5" wheels and my brother has a hellcat 29er and all 3 of them have had the same problem even after changing from quick release to nuts and washers the rear wheels still pull out of the slots at times when pulling off fast in a low gear or riding very basic downhill tracks, it seems to be a design fault as the slots aren't deep enough too fully insert the spindle and the frame is also made of T6 alloy which seems to grind away very easily I made washers that look like a front door key 🔑 put them on the spindle and then bend them 90 degrees to fit into one of the holes in the frame and that solved it but it's a poor design

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  • Welcome to the site - that sounds like a good solution. Are you able to take a clear photo and edit that into your post? A photo is easier to understand than the text description.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Jul 22 at 21:11

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