Quick release skewer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A quick release skewer is a cam operated lever system used with a hollow axle for securing the wheels on a bicycle. Wheels equipped with quick release skewers can be removed from the bicycle frame and replaced more quickly than wheels with solid axles and hex nuts. On the negative side, quick release axles render the wheel more vulnerable to theft. Also, care must be taken to ensure that they are properly tightened.
Similar quick release skewers are also used to operate seatpost clamps.
[edit] History
The mechanism was invented in 1927 by Tullio Campagnolo, an Italian bicycle racer, He was frustrated when he needed to repair a flat tire during a race. The weather had turned cold, and his hands were numb, so he could not operate the wingnuts which retained the wheel. He had been well-placed prior to the puncture, but lost valuable time. Another invention was a rear wheel quick release lever with a mechanical extension that placed the lever itself near the bicycle's saddle, combined with a fork that served as a primitive version of a rear derailleur (without idler pulleys to take up slack), that also had a control lever near the bicycle saddle. This innovation enabled bicycle riders to quickly change gears while in motion by releasing the axle, moving the rear wheel slightly forward by applying tension to the chain, actuating the fork to change to the larger cog, and tightening the quick release again; or else releasing the axle, actuating the fork to change to the smaller cog, moving the wheel slightly rearward by braking, and tightening the quick release again. This invention revolutionized bicycle design and as a result, Campagnolo became a leading road cycling and track cycling component manufacturer.
