Solid rear axle or quick release axle

Have finally managed to get the rear gear cluster off son's rear wheel
(finally got a freewheel remover/puller/tool: I had been trying to use a
cassette remover/puller/tool)he'd snapped the axle on same so thought it
will make life easier if I could remove the rear cluster myself (jings
aren't they tight). Now I have got the freewheel off have noticed the
wheel is slightly buckled and a couple of the spokes look like they have
a kink in them (fairly sure the wheel was like that not made that way by
my removal attempts). So have decided to buy a new wheel rather than
just try and fix the axle of this one. The actual point to this
question is should he go for a solid rear axle or should he go for a QR one.
He says he wasn't hashing the bike, so does the rear axle 'go' a lot
with normal use or was it a case of this must have been a 'Friday' axle,
and they tend not to snap, and the chances are the rear axle will never
snap again.
He doesn't race this bike, so apart from 'fashion' and not having
to carry a bike key to get the wheel off (yes I know you can fix a
puncture without taking the wheel off but...)he has no requirement for a
QR axle.

Picture of the snapped axle along with the snapped skewer.

http://www.sidtech.co.uk/iu/soup810266626955.JPG

soup wrote:

Have finally managed to get the rear gear cluster off son's rear wheel
(finally got a freewheel remover/puller/tool: I had been trying to use a
cassette remover/puller/tool)he'd snapped the axle on same so thought it
will make life easier if I could remove the rear cluster myself (jings
aren't they tight). Now I have got the freewheel off have noticed the
wheel is slightly buckled and a couple of the spokes look like they have
a kink in them (fairly sure the wheel was like that not made that way by
my removal attempts). So have decided to buy a new wheel rather than
just try and fix the axle of this one. The actual point to this
question is should he go for a solid rear axle or should he go for a QR one.

I've had top of the range Campagnolo axles break on a freewheel hub.
The way that design evolved is just a recipe for broken axles. Solid
or quick release makes no difference, a bending load puts a strain on
the axle at the recessed bearing and failure is likely.

The way to go is to get a freehub wheel rather than one that takes a
screw on freewheel because the bearing setup on a freehub axle is a
better design. Of course this will mean getting a cassette and chain
and possibly chainrings too depending on the wear of the chain.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:31:56 +0100, Phil Cook
wrote:

The way to go is to get a freehub wheel rather than one that takes a
screw on freewheel because the bearing setup on a freehub axle is a
better design. Of course this will mean getting a cassette and chain
and possibly chainrings too depending on the wear of the chain.

+1. I have bent and broken axles on freewheel bikes, never on a bike
with a cassette. Cassettes are so cheap these days it's not really
worth trying to save the difference. And yes, get a QR version, if
school is an issue then fit allen key skewers. Tool-free removal is a
boon if you're out for a ride and get a visit from the p*nct*r* f**ry.

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/urc | http://www.nohelmetlaw.org.uk/
"Nullius in Verba" - take no man's word for it.
- attr. Horace, chosen by John Evelyn for the Royal Society

On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:17:48 GMT, soup wrote:

Have finally managed to get the rear gear cluster off son's rear wheel
(finally got a freewheel remover/puller/tool: I had been trying to use a
cassette remover/puller/tool)he'd snapped the axle on same so thought it
will make life easier if I could remove the rear cluster myself (jings
aren't they tight). Now I have got the freewheel off have noticed the
wheel is slightly buckled and a couple of the spokes look like they have
a kink in them (fairly sure the wheel was like that not made that way by
my removal attempts). So have decided to buy a new wheel rather than
just try and fix the axle of this one. The actual point to this
question is should he go for a solid rear axle or should he go for a QR one.
He says he wasn't hashing the bike, so does the rear axle 'go' a lot
with normal use or was it a case of this must have been a 'Friday' axle,
and they tend not to snap, and the chances are the rear axle will never
snap again.
He doesn't race this bike, so apart from 'fashion' and not having
to carry a bike key to get the wheel off (yes I know you can fix a
puncture without taking the wheel off but...)he has no requirement for a
QR axle.



All else being equal, solid axles are stronger - but not much. The
difference is due in part to the extra material in the centre, and in part
due to the fact that the compression due to a qr spindle tends to increase
the bending moment on a hollow axle. Both effects are quite small; the
extra material is not far enough from the centre-line to be of much help,
and qr's are not usually done up tight enough to add much bending force.

But usually, all else is not equal - axles of the highest quality will be
be made of better steel, with better tooling and methods. The strongest
axle is probably something like an old Campagnolo track hub, but you'd pay
a pretty price for one of those. Get a good quality hub on your new wheel -
no boutique stuff, just a solid japanese name-brand 36-hole variety and you
will probably be fine.

On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:17:48 GMT
soup wrote:

The actual point to this question is should he go for a solid rear
axle or should he go for a QR one. He says he wasn't hashing the
bike, so does the rear axle 'go' a lot with normal use or was it a
case of this must have been a 'Friday' axle, and they tend not to
snap, and the chances are the rear axle will never snap again.


Traditionally hollow axles snap and solid axles bend (knackering the
bearings as they do so) but since freehubs have become common the
problem has pretty much gone away because the design places less stress
on the drive side of the axle. So get a freehub wheel and avoid the
dilemma. :-)

In the referenced article, writes:

....

The way to go is to get a freehub wheel rather than one that takes a
screw on freewheel because the bearing setup on a freehub axle is a
better design. Of course this will mean getting a cassette and chain
and possibly chainrings too depending on the wear of the chain.

Sheldon Brown's article on Shimano freehubs is well worth a read:

http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

He points out that the Shimano freehub bearings are closer to the
axle ends than freewheel bearings. This makes bent/broken axles far
less common.

Also see Jobst Brandt's take on this:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/free-k7.html

I believe[1] Campagnolo axles are made larger to withstand the
stresses and help compensate for the inboard bearing. This is an
engineering compromise which may be effective.

[1] Hey, this is Usenet. No room for solid facts here! Feel free
to correct me and tell me I'm an idiot.
--
Dennis Davis, BUCS, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK