Disc brakes: the ins and outs of axles

Disc brakes are much more powerful than rim brakes and exert their forces in a different way. The braking force can remove any wheel that is not securely clamped within the frame or fork, with potentially lethal consequences. This is obviously something to be avoided at all costs!

There are now several different axle standards, each with their own benefits. Quick-release hubs are still very common despite evidence that they lack the clamping power to resist the forces created by powerful brakes with large rotors and at the speeds which longer travel bikes allow riders to attain. If you’re running quick-release skewers with disc brakes, use robust, good-quality skewers. Shimano and Mavic are both excellent – and ensure that the mechanism is clean and well lubricated. ’Lawyer tabs’ are now standard on quick release forks, and though the little protruding lips below the drop-out mean you have to undo your quick release that much further to get the wheel in and out, they make it harder for the wheel to be accidentally removed if the quick release is…

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