A quick release skewer is a cam operated lever system used with a hollow axle for securing the wheels on a bicycle. Wheels equipped with quick release skewers can be removed from the bicycle frame and replaced more quickly than wheels with solid axles and hex nuts. On the negative side, quick release axles are inherently weaker than solid axles and render the wheel more vulnerable to theft. Also, care must be taken to ensure that they are properly tightened. Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Albanian ria), a province in northwestern Greece (a Greek periphery) bounded by West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, by the Ambracian Gulf and the province of West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and Albania to the north. ... An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. ... This racing bicycle is built using lightweight, shaped aluminum tubing and carbon fiber stays and forks. ... A bicycle frame is the main component of a bicycle, onto which wheels and other components are fitted. ...

The mechanism was invented in 1927 by Tullio Campagnolo, an Italian bicycle racer, when he was frustrated by having to stop and get off his bicycle in order to change gears. His invention was a rear wheel quick release lever with a mechanical extension that placed the lever itself near the bicycle's saddle, combined with a fork that served as a primitive version of a rear derailleur (without idler pulleys to take up slack), that also had a control lever near the bicycle saddle. This innovation enabled bicycle riders to quickly change gears while in motion by releasing the axle, moving the rear wheel slightly forward by applying tension to the chain, actuating the fork to change to the larger cog, and tightening the quick release again; or else releasing the axle, actuating the fork to change to the smaller cog, moving the wheel slightly rearward by braking, and tightening the quick release again. This invention revolutionized bicycle design and as a result, Campagnolo became a leading road cycling and track cycling component manufacturer. 1927 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Campagnolo is a Italian manufacturer of bicycle components with headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. ... Road bicycle racing is a popular bicycle racing sport held on the road (following the geography of the area), using racing bicycles. ... Track cycling is a form of bicycle racing usually held on specially-built banked tracks or velodromes (but many events are held at older velodromes where the track banking is relatively shallow). ...

External links

• Sheldon Brown on Quick release skewers (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/skewers.html)]