Wheel direction..?

Schoie81

THis might be a really daft question, but does it matter which way round the front wheel goes? Never had the problem with my MTB cos it has disc brakes so there's only one way it can go - but no such indicator on the road bike? I can't see any difference so was going to go with putting the quick release lever so its on the same side as the rear wheel - but is there a difference? I can't remember which way round it was when I took it off!!

crankycrank

No difference. Unless you want the labels to match then just take out the quick release skewer and insert on the other side. 8)

smoggysteve

crankycrank wrote:

No difference. Unless you want the labels to match then just take out the quick release skewer and insert on the other side. 8)

Note - Does not work with rear wheel

Be careful though as some tyres have directional tread. Vittoria Corsa for example. Fine in the dry but in the wet it "could" be problematic.

cesco

QR on the left. But I'm very OCD, to the extend of that it's bugging me that my rims are installed the wrong way around (so labels in the wrong direction).

smoggysteve

You can just take the tyre off and swap the QR around you know, so it runs the proper way for you

CiB

crankycrank wrote:

No difference. Unless you want the labels to match then just take out the quick release skewer and insert on the other side. 8)

There is an argument which says that wheels with cones (as opposed to cartridge bearings) are prone to winding the cone into the hub if the locknut doesn't grip the cone tightly enough. It's easy to nip the locknut tight against the cone with the axle out but the business of getting the other side just perfect in situ means that the locknut may not be as secure as it could be. If that is the case, the better option is that if the rotation of the wheel does turn the cone on the thread it's better to unwind it rather than screw it into the bearings. Thus, the side that you adjusted to get the sewing-machine smooth rotation should be on the left. If you're confident that you adjusted the cone and nipped the locknut up properly, spin the wheel whichever side you want. If you didn't do it or you don't have a spanner thin enough to nip it up, play safe and go for the failsafe option that can't cause damage if it does go wrong. You don't want to discover that it is wrong on the way down a decent drop.

Schoie81

Smoggy - my tyres are smooth, without a 'tread' as such - so I assume no directional issues with the tyre??

cesco - I'm a bit OCD too - that's why I was planning to go down the QR lever on the same side as the rear wheel (obviously I can't get the rear wheel the wrong way around!) I wasn't worried about the stickers until you mentioned it - now I don't know what to do!! I either go with stickers right, and QR on the right, or I go with QR on the left and the stickers not matching. Or I swap the QR around...

CiB - I'm sure that's a very useful post, but I have to say it means absolutely nothing to me. Sorry. If i'm planning to swap the QR around, do I NEED to understand your post first??

smoggysteve

Well, you have dismissed all the advice given to you. We give you all the reasons it may be a problem so if you are not ready to listen then stick the wheel on any way you like. It will make no difference. If you want QRvon left take it out and put it in the way you want it. Daft question answered.

Schoie81

SmoggySteve wrote:

Well, you have dismissed all the advice given to you. We give you all the reasons it may be a problem so if you are not ready to listen then stick the wheel on any way you like. It will make no difference. If you want QRvon left take it out and put it in the way you want it. Daft question answered.

Erm.... What??? I haven't "dismissed" anything. I understand that post less than I understand CiB's!! What are you saying I'm not ready to listen to? All I was saying is I don't understand the advice and do I need to understand it before changing the QR? If I need to understand that before changing it then I'll just leave the QR as it is for fear of doing something I shouldn't until the times comes that I do understand what 'cones', 'cartridge bearings' and 'locknuts' are. Not sure how you got the impression I was just ignoring what I'd been told?

crankycrank

Schoie81, to make this very simple, quick release levers traditionally go on the left side front and rear. You can take them out and reverse insertion to suit whichever side of the wheel you want them on in order to line up labels or whatever. Install your wheels, go for a ride, done.

Schoie81

Well i've looked closer at my bike and if I put the front wheel on with the QR on the left, the wheel/rim matches the rear wheel, but the tyres are opposite.

My solution, i've taken the front tyre off and swapped it around - two problems solved, the front and rear now match, and I haven't had to fiddle with the QR so assuming it was correct when the bike was put together, it still is, and i've also practiced removing and refitting a trye for the first time - so now when my first puncture arrives, I know how to fix it!

I still have no idea whether my tyres should be spinning in a particular direction or not, there is nothing on them to suggest they should, but the front and rear are the same now, so they're either both wrong, or both right...?

CiB

Schoie81 wrote:

CiB - I'm sure that's a very useful post, but I have to say it means absolutely nothing to me. Sorry. If i'm planning to swap the QR around, do I NEED to understand your post first??

Well you did ask initially if it mattered which way the wheel went, and now it's just which side the QR goes apparently. To answer this question it doesn't matter which side the QR goes but it's normally the same as the rear wheel, on the left. Surely though you can't be serious in claiming that my earlier post means nothing? Granted it was a bit verbose but the simplest engineering concept of a threaded bar (the axle) having a cone-shaped nut that might be screwed into the bearings by the wheel turning can't be difficult to understand? Not having a go at you personally but there does seem to be a lack of knowledge these days, like the woman not so long back who claimed to be a mathematician but couldn't grasp gear ratios on the big / small ring until someone spelt it out for her - you go down a couple of cogs at the back if you up one at the front, to get a similar ratio, or someone asking how to centre the brakes to stop them rubbing. Not having a go, just wondering how such simple concepts can be thought too complex to grasp.

Carry on.

Schoie81

CiB - When I said "i'm going for the QR on the left" I was just using that as a point of reference for the wheel - other than the stickers and the QR skewer - the wheel looks the same to me both sides (possibly my ignorance...?). The skewer is already in the wheel and has been there since I picked the bike up, so if people say the QR normally goes on the left, I was working on the assumption that whoever put the bike together, did so with the QR lever on the left, and therefore if I put the wheel back on the bike with the QR lever on the left, then it would be back how it was originally, which I hope and assume was correct?

I think maybe people have misinterpreted what I've done here. I haven't disassembled the wheel, nor am I fitting new wheels, all i've done is take the wheel, tyre, and QR lever, all as one, out of the forks in order to put my bike in my car, and on going to put the wheel back on the forks, it struck me it could go either way and I wasn't sure which was correct - a problem I don't have with my MTB as the brake disc means it can only go back on one way. I had no intention of removing the QR skewer until crankycrank suggested that was an option so that stickers etc matched, and indeed, I haven't swapped the QR axle.

I understand what you're saying about the turning of the wheel possibly tightening or loosening things, but I'm afraid I don't know if my wheels have 'cones' or cartridge bearings, nor do I know how to tell the difference. I totally agree with you about lack of knowledge but have to admit, I do lack it (although i'm ok with gear ratios and brake caliper centre-ing! ). I've only had a road bike for a couple of months and I've already learnt a lot - I don't intend to be someone who just rides a bike and can't manage anything more complicated than adjusting the saddle height and pumping up the tyres. I'm keen to learn it all, which is why i asked if I NEED to know what you were talking about. If I SHOULD know what you're talking about, then i'll ask for more explanation or tootle off and do some research!

Monty Dog

If your hub has a label/logo on the shell, protocol is that it faces the rider, and QR will be on the LHS. Wheels are built with leading / trailing spokes, with the spokes being laced heads-in or out on the flanges depending on the intended rotating direction of the wheel. TBH it's more an issue with rear and disc brake wheels - functionally it makes little difference

keef66

My QR lever has to go on the left because that means that the spoke magnet is on the right where the speed sensor is mounted on the fork.

I have never considered anything bordering on OCD like matching tyres, labels, wheel stickers etc

oldwelshman

I always have qr on rhs on my front as I find it easier to get off leaning over the bike and using right hand to release. Seems I am the odd one out

smidsy

oldwelshman wrote:

I always have qr on rhs on my front as I find it easier to get off leaning over the bike and using right hand to release. Seems I am the odd one out

Just odd.

You would achieve the same if you had it on the left and stood the other side of the bike to remove it.

Sort it!