Following on from the story last night first broken on our sister site Grit.cx here we’ve had a chat with TREK UK who have filled us in on more of the details behind this problem.
Firstly, the issue is with the type of Quick Release Skewer and NOT with any particular bike design. Indeed it is actually a particular design of QR that lies at the centre of this issue. The type of Skewer that opens beyond the 180 degree point is known as a QR11 type. This skewer is NOT made by Trek. It is in fact one of the most common types of skewer on the market and has been rebadged over the years by many bike brands including Shimano. It has been in production since 2000 and incredibly Trek have estimated that the number of TREK bikes that could potentially be affected in the EU alone is 692,000.
It’s also important to say that the QR11 type skewer is not defective in any way in of itself. It is simply the combination of this skewer with disc brakes that presents a danger. One simple solution, as we demonstrate in our video, is to simply clamp up your QR from the opposite side of your wheel, away from the disc and calliper.
https://vimeo.com/125677973
We demonstrated the problem with a mountain bike and you can see that to a certain extent the design of the suspension form limits the danger as the QR lever can’t swing round and make contact with the calliper and in most cases the worst that will happen is that you will get a wobbly wheel and hear the ching of the lever bouncing off the disc. However, the risk is much MUCH greater with rigid forks where the QR lever poses a risk (as shown in the illustration) of spinning round and actually jamming between the calliper and the disc. If that happens the outcome will undoubtedly be catastrophic.
The message is pretty clear though.
- This is not a problem restricted to TREK as many brands have used this QR11 over the years*
- Check any of your bikes that still use QR levers with discs and if you have one.
- Go buy a new QR that won’t kill you.
- Check you have done up your QR every ride because it’s a sensible thing to do anyway.
*Don’t be surprised if other companies start issuing recall notices very soon.
UPDATE! As pointed out by Brant below you should not rely on just swapping the QR round as that introduces a new risk of the QR undoing itself due to vibrations from riding. See this report here , written by long standing forumite and bike shop owner Ben Cooper of Kinetics, Glasgow.
UPDATE 2! According to the BIKEBIZ article here Trek have indicated that there have been three documented accidents with one ending in paralysis due to this particular model of QR making contact with a brake calliper.
Replies (38)
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Seems like the bike industry are stealthily trying to force everyone into new forks and wheels to me……
By offering over 1 million qr upgrades and £15 voucher? Really? I mean Really? As a conspiracy, how the hell does that work exactly?
In this case a company is offering to upgrade a component not just for free but also with a discount voucher off a future gear purchase. That is all 1) entirely optional and 2) completely free. Where is the downside?
Sometimes, a recall is just a recall.
Wait…. You are just joking aren’t you 🙂
Admittedly, I haven’t been through all the links in your article but all you seem to say, is that people should buy a new qr or risk certain death.
Point 3 I think it is……
Which is a good idea. But you said it was a conspiracy to get us to buy new forks and wheels. The issue is with a skewer, not forks or wheels.
much a do about nothing really. the QR could be on the opposite side to the disc, no be done up properly, come loose, rider goes over a bump and the wheel comes off….
It’s a safety recall – let’s not be cynics….and I work in the Car Trade.
I like turtles.
I was completely unaware that you shouldn’t fit a QR to the non disc side due to loosening, I have always fitted mine that way as it seemed obvious in case of a puncture during a long descent when the disc would be hot, no accidental burns when undoing QR, not had one loosen yet, maybe just been lucky I suppose then.
Unaware too. The kinetics article put it forward as a possible based on a small sample size (1). Anyone know if it has been researched further?
(Goes off to check which side qr is on bikes…..)
Shimano’s instructions have always recommended having the lever on the opposite side to the rotor. Or, to quote their tech doc:
“• If the quick release lever is on the same side as the rotor, there is the danger that it may
interfere with the rotor, so check that it does not interfere.”
Always read the instructions people 🙂
Hi all,
We are recommending against simply swapping the QR to the driveside. That doesn’t eliminate the risk of it at some point be changed back to the non-driveside.
We want to get as many of these QRs off the market as possible. Unfortunately, we can only control how we do that on our bikes, but if you have ANY disc brake QR bike we would urge you to check it for QRs with the QR11 design.
To be clear: this issue is not due to a malfunction of the QR, but rather a design flaw that, with improper use, can potentially lead to injury.
We’re happy to answer any questions.
Really interesting. Having fettled bikes with those levers quite a lot in the past, the back they close so ‘far in’ always gave me the heebie-jeebies. And despite the advice about which side they should go on I think my advice was on the drive side at the front for that reason (possible interference with disk).
AFAIK no one died.
It’s a bit of a battle of the losers though, QR and disks isn’t a great combination, but I take my own advice and only use Shimano Flat profile MTB series QRs (the ally ones).
And a Maxle 😉
Hi trekbikes – rather than a ‘design flaw’ (AFAIK these QRs were designed long before bikes had discs) – isn’t it more like ‘User Error’? ie. not doing up skewers properly…
Hi Dez,
You are right about the history of the design predating disc brakes. It also predates through axles and other alternatives, which is why we don’t want to suggest a Pound range of bikes this impacts. We were using this QR design on some quite high end bikes back in the day.
To your other point, it is fair to say that the design flaw of QR11s does present itself in the presence of improper installation. This is why we want to be clear that if the QR is done up properly, that the issue ISN’T that it can potentially fly open, but rather that the issue arises when people haven’t installed the QR in the correct way, according to instructions.
However, it’s easy for those of us with years of experience to minimise the seriousness of this recall, simply because we know how to properly use a QR. But, as Mark so rightly pointed out even those of us who would never imagine ourselves making a ‘rookie mistake’ like not doing up a QR are exposed. For example, what if someone puts your wheel on for you? Or what if you are simply distracted by car park banter and aren’t devoting your usual level of attention?
More than that, though, what if you sell your bike later on to someone not as well-versed in how to use a QR on a disc wheel?
We consider the safety of you, the experienced riders, to be just as important as the (likely) larger number of people who have never been taught the correct way to use a QR, and think the ‘handle’ is a wingnut. We want to reduce the risk for everyone.
Not if they work loose – which does, occasionally, very rarely, happen.
This is just one of several scenarios where this component could lead to an otherwise avoidable accident.
I personally have no bikes that this is an issue with as all of my bikes use through axles. However, I can think of several of my friends who would be affected by this – not because they are the sorts of people to forget how to use a QR properly but because their kids have bikes that have this QR on them. Most kids bikes also come with disc brakes now too. So do we also apply the argument that if you can’t do up a QR properly you shouldn’t be riding a bike to our kids?
Or do the manufacturers do the responsible thing and make us all aware that there is a risk factor that they can simply mitigate by changing a cheap component for a better one BEFORE three documented cases turns into four?
Of course there’s the added benefit that this recall and the publicity around it has got thousands of people checking their QRs. That’s a good thing yeah?
Or to abbreviate all of the above…. “Won’t somebody think of the children!*’ 🙂
*and other idiots
An abbreviation of the above: “it’s still user error”!!
It’s been the aim of engineers and designers the centuries over to eliminate user error wherever possible. Today that process took another step forward.
My wife has a Trek with the QR11 lever and discs – but it’s about a 3 hour round trip back to the Trek dealer it came from, so I doubt it’ll make it there. Is there an alternative offered by Trek for people quite happy to change there own QR lever but who aren’t near one of their dealers?