OK, I'm an idiot. . .what tabs?

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Other than the fact that it'll probably void the warranty, I can't think of any reason not to.

Vitus, In the old days, you could just open your quick release and take your wheel straight off. Now forks have these "lawyer tabs" on them so you have to unscrew the quick release a little in order to get the wheel off. It's to idiot proof the front wheel from coming off by accident. My youngest brother has a great scar on his chin from his front wheel coming off on his way home from school, because someone opened up the quick release and he didn't notice.

Neil

<<OK, I'm an idiot. . .what tabs?>>

Little raised section around the fork dropouts that keeps your wheel from spontaneously comming out should the user not properly tighten the QR skewer. Before their advent, my buddies and I would sometimes find out we FUBAR'd a front wheel install during a big-air jump on our MTB's. Man do I miss those days...

Brett

Just don't sell the forks to someone else - they may go after you if they turn out to be idiots who can't properly tighten a quick release...

"It's to idiot proof the front wheel from coming off by accident."

There's no such thing as Idiot Proof, only Idiot Resistant. They're building bigger and better idiots every day.

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Mr Ed
Triathlete with one horsepower

http://lgonzalez.net/wheelOff.mpeg - only 476kb, and worth every second of download time...

-Zo

Had a 16 year old kid on a Walmart special mtn bike do that on my front sidewalk right as I walked out the front door to unload groceries from the car. He had transported it in his dad's car trunk the day before and no one tightened the wheel nuts on the front wheel (no q.r.). The sound of his skull hitting the concrete was the most sickening sound I've ever heard. I made him stay down until the parametics arrived, luckily the worst damage was a couple of broken teeth and a severe case of road rash and swelling on his face. His dad stopped by later to pick up the bike and while he was very appreciative that I helped his son he didn't say anything when I mentioned the lack of a helmet. The kid was lucky he wasn't killed.

The video is special to me because it happened to me (well, the faceplant part) when I was an idiotic pre-teen. No helmet, on concrete. Concussion. A couple years later I broke my collarbone on the BMX track, clearing 14 car tires in a row in a full "reverse tabletop". A year after that, my ankle, freestyling in a parking lot. Amazingly, it wasn't until I graduated to road bikes that I "discovered" helmets. And I've crushed a couple since, one of them against a tree, and another against a moving trunk lid...

But I've NEVER had a wheel fall off! (where's some wood to knock on...)

-Zo

If you're looking to keep an excuse in your back pocket in case of a slow wheel change, keep 'em. Otherwise file those mofos and save yourself some time and frustration.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
Get your FIX today?

I still have mine on ... speed is not my issue.

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

When I get a new fork I first take it out of the package...then I get my file. If you trust yourself and your QR...file em. Makes neutral support wheel changes allot faster.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

As Record10ti says, there are those who grind the safety tabs off.

As a retailer, I must point out that this voids all warranties (seriously) and puts you at risk. I do not recommend doing it.

I also don't recommend you look at the forks on my bike(s)...

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Dont ever remove the tabs on a mountain bike with disc brakes. The braking forces can pull the front hub out of the drop outs, It has even occured on forks with intact tabs. Poor bugger in England ended up as a quadraplegic as a result.

KR

File off the Lawyer Lips. Colnago forks and Easton forks don't have them. They are only there to protect the stupid. In theory, you can "forget" to tighten your QR skewer and not lose your wheel. In US, you forgeting to tighten your skewer and smashing your face is your ticket to sue "fill in bike manufacturer here" and ride the gravy train to fame and fortune.

If you are reading this forum, you don't need them. Removing them make flat fixes or wheel swaps quick and easy.

Cheers

W

One word: DREMEL

I have an '03 Felt S-22. My fork doesn't fit on my Yakima fork-mounted roof rack (can't close the cam). I don't think this is due to the tabs, but due to the width of the dropouts. Anyone else have this? I called Yakima and they referred me to a small company that makes an "insert" primarily for wide downhill mountain bike forks, but that seems a bit overkill - surely the dropouts on my aero tri-bike aren't so wide that they won't fit on a standard rack. My other bikes (including mtbs) fit just fine. Please don't respond by telling me your horror stories about crashing into drive-throughs, garages, etc. I like my roof rack.