 In the News -
August 2008
ABC Quick Check – Quick Releases
(2 minutes:
35 seconds)
WMV (high speed video)
(2 minutes: 35 seconds)
WMV (dial-up
video)
(2 minutes:
35 seconds)
 WAV (audio
only)
Audio/Video Script:
Willa Williams
4-H Youth Associate
[Willa] I'm here with Frank from Community Bicyclists and he's helping me
pick out a new bike. So before I take this bike out for a test ride, I want to
make sure I do my ABC Quick Check. The "quick" in ABC Quick Check stands for
quick releases. And I want to make sure that the quick releases on my front
wheel and my back wheel are locked and either pointing up or pointing back to make
sure I don't pick up any road trash on my test ride. So those are the only quick
releases I need to check on this bike, right?
Frank: Well, no, there are some other release mechanisms on here. On your
seat post, you have a release mechanism, you want to make sure that's tight. And
on your brakes, these are linear pull brakes, sometimes these are a little
confusing, but you can just pull that cam out and it releases the brakes, so you
can take your tire on and off. Then when you put it back on, just reattach it.
[Willa] Now that might look kind of hard for beginners, so what are
problems that beginners might have in making sure their quick releases are
locked?
[Frank] Well, a lot of times we see them, they'll be locked in reverse, so
they're just finger tight, so there's really not enough pressure there.
[Willa] So maybe like, like that?
[Frank] Like that, and then we'll just hand tighten them. What you want is
the pressure to start right about at the middle here and then you're going to have
enough force to keep it locked in. Typically, also, some people when they put
the wheel on, it's really not straight and the wheel will tilt and it will rub
against their brakes. So you want to loosen it maybe a couple of turns even just
to ensure that it's in the drop outs before you tighten it.
[Willa] Now you did show me a different sort of quick release on the
brakes. So how do you pull this, do you pull it apart?
[Frank] Yeah, you just pull this little cam out the slot there and it opens
it right up.
[Willa] And so how do you lock it back?
[Frank] You just return that cam.
[Willa] Are there any other types of quick releases or release mechanisms
on a bike that we need to know about?
[Frank] Sure, on most road bikes they have caliper brakes, and there's a
little lever that actually opens the caliper so you can pull the tire out. It's
probably the easiest one of all of them.
[Willa] Well, all of my quick releases are locked and ready to go so I'm
ready to take my test ride.
Announcer
To learn more,
contact your county Extension agent, and follow the links in this section.
Related Links:
4-H Hot Wheels 100 Mile Bike Ride
League of American Bicyclists
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