rear tire came off

[li10up]

Last night before my ride I picked up my bike to turn it around and the back tire came off! The weird thing was that the quick release was still engaged. Is it possible for that to happen or has someone been messing with my bike while it was on my rack? I know I should check that before every ride - but how many of us really do. I probably will from now on though.

I posted about a week ago that when I jumped the railroad track I heard this loud cracking sound - maybe it was the tire coming loose and then going back in place? It's kind of scary to think I may have ridden with the tire being like that for awhile.

Has this happend to anyone else?

[DebW]

Last night before my ride I picked up my bike to turn it around and the back tire came off!

Excuse me for being a stickler on terminology, but apparently you mean your back wheel came off? "tire came off" would imply the tire bead slipping off the rim and the tube exploding. Wheel and tire are not at all the same thing.

The weird thing was that the quick release was still engaged. Is it possible for that to happen or has someone been messing with my bike while it was on my rack? I know I should check that before every ride - but how many of us really do. I probably will from now on though.

I posted about a week ago that when I jumped the railroad track I heard this loud cracking sound - maybe it was the tire coming loose and then going back in place? It's kind of scary to think I may have ridden with the tire being like that for awhile.

The bike was on your car? Was the wheel in its correct place when you picked up the bike? Was the QR tight or loose? Is the QR broken? Does it now appear to work correctly? If a rear wheel loosens while you are riding, it will slide forward until it wedges against the chainstays. It will never slide back where it should be. As long as the bike is on the ground when this happens, the wheel will just jamb in the frame and the consequences won't be too dramatic. If you were airborne, however...

[Grog]

If your tire came off, it probably looked like this:



This is a photo by photojournalist Francis Vachon: "Australian Craig Woodhead having some wheel problem at the Montain bike world cup at le Mont Ste-Anne, in Quebec city. He manage to finish the race, but with a modest 75th place."

Here is his blog: http://blog.francis.vachon.net/

Scary!!!

[SadieKate]

Was the QR tight or loose?

A QR may appear to be tight, but it isn't latched, locked and loaded for use until the lever goes over the cam.

http://www.bicyclinglife.com/HowTo/UseAQuickRelease.htm

[SadieKate]

Grog, one of our mtb videos has a guy finishing out a rocky downhill with his front tire looped over the bars. Amazing handling skills that he could slowly tool along through the rocks on his front rim.

[li10up]

You all are absolutely correct...I should have, and meant to say wheel. Irregardless..... I keep my bike on my bike rack during work. I drove to our meeting spot for the ride and took my bike off the rack - didn't notice anything wrong. Then I picked up the bike to swing it around to head out of the parking lot and when I did the wheel came off. When I checked the quick release it was still closed but opened easily when I went to put the wheel back on. I put the wheel on and rode without incident. I was just wondering if they can loosen that much on their own or is it more likely that someone messed with the bike?

[DebW]

You all are absolutely correct...I should have, and meant to say wheel. Irregardless..... I keep my bike on my bike rack during work. I drove to our meeting spot for the ride and took my bike off the rack - didn't notice anything wrong. Then I picked up the bike to swing it around to head out of the parking lot and when I did the wheel came off. When I checked the quick release it was still closed but opened easily when I went to put the wheel back on. I put the wheel on and rode without incident. I was just wondering if they can loosen that much on their own or is it more likely that someone messed with the bike?

Never heard of a QR loosening on its own. So I'd assume someone messed with your bike. If it happened again I'd get suspicious though, and maybe replace the QR.