I know it is common wisdom that clamping a wheel into a frame with a QR affects the adjustment of the bearings, causing them to move inward, and perhaps bind. Is there any proof of this? I find it kind of hard to believe. Is the idea that the axle compresses? I would have thought that a relatively short piece of steel would not respond to force this way. If it is not axle compression, what accounts for this supposed phenomenon?
If axles are in fact this flexible, wouldn't we observe the opposite effect with bolt-on wheels? It seems to me that tightening the nuts on bolt-on wheels would essentially be stretching the axle. I have never heard that track axles should be adjusted to bind just a bit because tightening the nuts would cause the wheel to loosen up.
Just wondering,
Marcus Helman
Huntington Woods, MI