Removing the front wheel with Thorn low rider rack

[diliff]

Hi there. I'm actually a little embarrassed to even ask this question because it seems like it should be obvious.. but... I don't seem to be able to remove the wheel without actually removing the rack too. Is this right? Am I missing something? I have a Thorn Raven Tour. The skewer and nut get in the way of the rack...

At this stage I have no need to remove the wheel, I'm just familiarising myself with the bike, but when I actually did need to fix a flat, it would be really annoying to not be able to get the wheel off in the pouring rain so I need to know what I'm doing wrong.  

[rualexander]

I don't have a Thorn rack but this is common with a lot of front racks, you can usually get away with springing the rack apart to allow the wheel out somehow, the easiest bit to spring/remove might not be initially obvious though, i.e. it might not be at the bottom of the rack where the wheel naturally drops to when undone. Otherwise you just have to remove the QR skewer and the wheel will drop out.

[JimK]

The skewer and nut get in the way of the rack...

I managed to change tires on my Nomad MkII without removing the rack. I remember that it was a bit of a puzzle, but I don't remember exactly what I did to untangle the bits. At the very least, I should think that removing the skewer would be easier than removing the rack. But I'm pretty sure I didn't even have to go that far.

Surely a good idea to get a feel for the operation before you have to try it under difficult circumstances!

I just got myself a Pezl LED headlamp to carry on the bike, so if I get stuck with a roadside repair in the dark, maybe I can still manage!

[ThousandYardStare]

You may be able to loosen the QR just a touch then fully unscrew using the nut alone. That's what I need to do on my non-Thorn bike. A tiny bit fiddly, but no real problem.

Not being able to remove the wheel without taking off one of Thorn's own racks would be an extraordinary design oversight. I suspect it won't be as difficult as it looks. Give it a go and see how you get on.

[strictnaturist]

I remember having the same thoughts trying to remove front wheel. Is it trapped in the bloomin front rack!
Easy though! Just remove the skewer right out - wheel pulls away. To replace- drop in wheel-replace skewer- tighten- remember brakes!

[lewis noble]

. . . . and remember not to lose / drop skewer nut and spring!!  Easily done if fingers cold, dark etc. . . . .

[ThousandYardStare]

. . . . and remember not to lose / drop skewer nut and spring!!  Easily done if fingers cold, dark etc. . . . .

Bloody pesky little parts... I once had to do a 100 mile return hitch to a bike shop because I dropped half a powerlink for a SRAM chain in the snow, and couldn't find it despite a couple of hours of trying. Incredible that such a tiny thing can stop you in your tracks.

And I spent all yesterday afternoon crawling around the garage hunting for a cable barrel adjustor that pinged off whilst I was changing the cable.....

[neil_p]

I thought exactly the same.... even with my Pitlock Skewers which are very slimline compared to QRs.  However the rack does spring apart very slightly and allow the wheel out.

[diliff]

I tried and tried and tried to get the wheel off by springing the forks outwards but to no avail, it was just too tight. I ended up removing the skewer completely which did the job, but as mentioned above, you run the risk of losing something in the grass/dirt. Not ideal, but what can you do?

[JimK]

with my Pitlock Skewers

Last week I put my Supremes back on, removing the studded Winter tires. I have pitlock skewers & found I just needed to stretch the fork blades a few mm and the skewers pulled through with little trouble. I can imagine that quick release skewers could be significantly more difficult.

Wouldn't you know, it snowed Monday and it's snowing again today. Yesterday I did get out though, about 35 miles hauling books and groceries up and down our rolling hills. Sturdy bike, easy shifting hub, the right tool for the job!