Quick Release Skewer Sizing 100 mm 130 mm and 135 mm Explained

Quick release skewers are returned more often than almost any other small component, and nearly always for the same reason: the buyer ordered on price and guessed the spacing.

Where the numbers come from

Hub spacing is the distance between the inner faces of the dropouts, measured across the axle. 100 mm is the near-universal front standard for quick release. At the rear, 130 mm is the road standard and 135 mm is the mountain bike standard. The 75 mm figure that appears in some skewer specifications refers to older and specialist front hubs.

How to measure yours

Take the wheel out and measure the axle locknut face to locknut face with a ruler or calipers. Do not measure the dropouts with the wheel in, because the frame can be sprung slightly. If you read 130 mm at the rear you have a road hub; 135 mm and you have a mountain hub.

What our three sets cover

VQR-01 and VQR-02 both cover 75 and 100 mm at the front and 130 and 135 mm at the rear, and both weigh 48 grams. They differ only in colour: three colours on VQR-01, five on VQR-02. VQR-03 weighs 66 grams per pair and covers 100 mm front and 130 or 135 mm rear only. If your front hub is 75 mm, VQR-03 is not the right part.

Quick release is not thru-axle

None of these fit a thru-axle bike. A thru-axle passes through the hub and threads into the frame; a quick release passes through a hollow axle and clamps the dropouts from outside. If your dropouts are closed holes rather than open slots, you have thru-axles and need a different part entirely.

Closing the lever properly

The lever should start to take real hand pressure at about the halfway point of its travel and finish with firm pressure. If it closes with one finger, it is too loose. If you cannot close it with the heel of your hand, it is too tight. Adjust with the nut on the opposite side, not by forcing the lever. Finish with the lever tucked along the fork leg or seatstay, never pointing forward where it can catch.