Probability that my front QR skewer disappeared while cycling and i didnt notice?

[missmily]

Hive mind question. Is it possible for you to cycle 3 miles up and down kerbs and breaking etc, WITHOUT a front wheel quick release skewer, and not notice that it fell out and not have your wheel come out? I ask due to the unfortunate fact that i put my bike in my shared flat hall last night after cycling perfectly fine all day. Then had a strong disagreement with a flatmate where he was knowingly peed off with me. This morning as i was taking my bike out the door, the slightest movement of pulling it backwards, and my front wheel glided off like a feather and fell on the floor. There is no quick release lever, skewer or bolt to be seen lying in my hallway. So it either fell off whilst riding the busy streets of London yesterday and i didnt notice (or die in the process)....or my flatmates basically attempting to do me serious harm. Any experienced knowledge on this most welcome.....i dont want to think the worst, but i also want to know if he is that way inclined so i can protect myself. Thanks in advance.

[Cyril Haearn]

It is possible that the hub was tight and stayed jammed in place even without the skewer
Maybe you could lock your bike in your room and seek a new place to live

[jezer]

It is possible that the lugs at the base of the forks would keep the wheel in place to some extent, but I would fear the worst regarding sabotage. Time to move residence I think.

[Bugsbunny]

On the balance of probability I suspect sabotage.

And moreover, riding without a quick release can result in serious injury or death.

[thirdcrank]

I don't think a quick release skewer would simply fall off. Over the years, I've had one break shortly after being closed because it was over-tightened. It came out like a bullet. I doubt you could ride far without a front q/r and not notice, especially if you were going up and down kerbs. The obvious clue to me here is that you noticed nothing taking the bike into your flat but the wheel came straight out when you were leaving. That must point to removal indoors. Whether it was a practical joke or an attempt to cause injury is a matter for concern.

[rfryer]

I'd have been tempted to stay out very late. If it was your flatmate, and he's lashing out rather than trying to murder you, a few hours worrying about whether he'd caused you serious injury or death might have been a powerful lesson.

[hamster]

Most unlikely I would say.

[Vorpal]

It is plausible but unlikely.

I have had a couple of occasions where my front QR was not done up (I absent mindedly left it that way after taking a wheel out). And I noticed straight away that the front wheel was loose. The wheel was held in by the lawyers lips (that little ridge on the forks to keep a loose QR from coming out altogether).

If the QR was merely loose, you could potentially have cycled around like that, then lost it when you were near home.

If a QR were loose like that, I doubt that losing it would be particularly noticeable.

Do you need to pick the bike up to take it in? Or even the front wheel? Over the door sill? If you had lost the QR on your way home, I would have thought that's the point where you would notice it.

[foxyrider]

It has been removed, there is no question of that.

[gregoryoftours]

It's been removed. If the wheel came out so easily in your flat it would have at least made a horrible clattering noise as you hopped up and down kerbs, let alone cone out entirely.

[David9694]

Slightly surprised the wheel immediately dropped out when minus the skewer (glad it did) as there’s usually “lawyer lugs” to prevent this. It’s possible you lost the skewer on one of your kerb hops, e.g. if it snapped in the middle inside the hub, but I’ve never heard of this before and you’re more likely to have broken the axle itself - and as others have said, your wheel would have come out pretty immediately, had the skewer failed in some other way.

If it is a human intervention, they may have been trying to steal the wheel. Skewer theft is the work of someone somewhat bike savvy, but tool-less; letting tyres down makes a sound. Trying to kill you, ok putting you at serious risk of injury seems out of proportion - what was it - milk, washing up, rubbish, noise, a boy?

[gaz]

Slightly surprised the wheel immediately dropped out when minus the skewer (glad it did) as there’s usually “lawyer lugs” to prevent this.

Lawyers lips are intended to retain a front wheel if the q/r has not been fastened correctly. If the skewer is missing either by mechanical failure or theft there's nothing for the lips to grab.

[pwa]

QRs don't disappear completely by themselves. That involves unscrewing the nut. It has been tampered with.

Many years ago my Missus cycled miles with her front QR loose and only found out when parking the bike. As she lifted the front wheel off the ground the wheel dropped out.

[reohn2]

On the balance of probability I suspect sabotage.....

That about sums it up IMO

[thirdcrank]

You can easily test for yourself how much the wheel wobbles without the q/r by wheeling the bike or perhaps riding it slowly somewhere completely private. It may vary a bit from bike to bike but I still think it would be very obvious something was wrong. Remember, you're not just talking about it being loose, but having the screw-on bit so loose that it dropped off unless it was previously so tight that it snapped under tension.