Quick release touching spokes when folded

[Wesley Brooks]

Ive just received a (very?) old Bike Friday. Not certain which model because the decals only say Bike Friday. Anyway, I have some work to do getting it to fit me out my wife and just reviewing the condition and doing maintenance. For instance, the seat mast has a bottle mount on bosses that stand proud by about half an inch but one has snapped off. Not sure why or what to do there.

Main issue for this email is that the two wheels touch each other during the fold. With some care I can get the bike fully folded but the spokes of the rear wheel touch the quick release of the front wheel. I worry about damaging a spike if I transport the bike this way so I wonder if there should be a special low-profile QR or a special technique I’m not getting or…?

Any input is welcome!
-Wes

[John Thurston]

Is it the nut or the lever of the front quick release which is catching the rear spoke? Can you avoid the problem by putting the quick release in the other way around? There is nothing magical about the quick releases used on the Friday wheels. Feel free to fit lower-profile levers (or nuts) if you like.

I know on one of my Fridays, I see a similar interference when doing the ‘quick fold’. {shrug} it doesn’t bother me, and it hasn’t caused any problems with my spokes in the last 20 years.

John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska

[Wesley Brooks]

There is contact whether the wheel is turned toward the skewer's lever side or the nut side. Pretty solid contact, to the point that I do worry about damage if the bike is jarred while folded. Sounds like maybe it's normal.

-Wes

[John Thurston]

I can’t picture what kind of wheel turning we’re talking about here. If I do a ‘quick fold’, I unlatch the rear triangle behind the seat, fold the mast forward, and swing the rear triangle under and forward. The stem riser and front wheel remain pointed forward.

Can you can provide a photo of the fold which is producing the spoke/QR interference?

John Thurston

Juneau, Alaska

On Apr 14, 2026, at 4:33 PM, Wesley Brooks <brooks...@gmail.com> wrote:

There is contact whether the wheel is turned toward the skewer's lever side or the nut side. Pretty solid contact, to the point that I do worry about damage if the bike is jarred while folded. Sounds like maybe it's normal.

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[Wesley Brooks]

The turn I mentioned just means that the front wheel can be turned around 180 degrees. BF recommends this in their documentation of a "Quick Fold" because it shrinks the folded package by a bit. It also switches the QR lever/nut between port/starboard. Here are two photos showing the issue: the first is with the handlebars facing forward and the second is with them turned backward. In the second picture, the front QR nut is fully resting on a spoke of the rear wheel. It's possible to manually spin the rear wheel a little bit to get past this point but that doesn't allow an effortless fold like you might want to do as you step onto a bus or whatever. Anyway, now that I have a little bit of practice, I believe this is normal and won't be a serious problem. I am still going to explore cutting some millimeters off the skewer and finding QR nuts with a slimmer profile.

-Wes

 

[robert clark]

I Opt for Bolt Skewers rather than Lever QR...  gaining inconvenience wheel security ...  and no lever to interfere.
Halo 100 front 135 rear  standard for steel xl for thicker aluminum frame ends..

[robert clark]

SON Dynamo hubs are  also QR Axle they Ship with a bolt Skewer..   7.4 & 10cm versions

the folding bike ones the ends are stainless  & relatively smaller than the aluminum....

[John Thurston]

Thanks for the pictures, they help.

There are a couple of things to do here. The simplest is to replace that quick-release nut with a thinner version, while also trimming the excess length off the skewer. The skewer only HAS to be long enough to engage all of the threads in the steel layer of the nut. Being long enough to run into the nylon is nice, as it helps keep the nut from falling off when the skewer is out of the fork, but it is not a requirement.

The interference you see with the lever is avoided by swapping the lever to the other side of the fork. I’m right handed, so I prefer having the lever on the left side of the fork, but it works equally well on the right side. You may also gain a bit of clearance by ‘clocking’ the handle along the upper side of the fork leg instead of the lower.


John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska

> On Apr 15, 2026, at 2:03 PM, Wesley Brooks <brooks...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The turn I mentioned just means that the front wheel can be turned around 180 degrees. BF recommends this in their documentation of a "Quick Fold" because it shrinks the folded package by a bit. It also switches the QR lever/nut between port/starboard. Here are two photos showing the issue: the first is with the handlebars facing forward and the second is with them turned backward. In the second picture, the front QR nut is fully resting on a spoke of the rear wheel. It's possible to manually spin the rear wheel a little bit to get past this point but that doesn't allow an effortless fold like you might want to do as you step onto a bus or whatever. Anyway, now that I have a little bit of practice, I believe this is normal and won't be a serious problem. I am still going to explore cutting some millimeters off the skewer and finding QR nuts with a slimmer profile.
> -Wes

[robert clark]

The bolt skewer is a simple swap with the lever QR...  one came as such with my Schmidt disc brake dynamo hub

Ive been using my Llama as transportation for several years now..hub dynamo lighting my way through a typically rainy Oregon Coast evening return Home.. 

[robert clark]

The nut on the short folding bike SON XS skewer, stainless stee, is quite small but not 5mm/0.8mm pitch   a   re threading is possible . opposite end for the bolt head is stainless steel too...    I got a new XS hub  it uses straight pull spokes  in a slot.

 the previous XS used J bend head spokes  & flanges with holes..  for 24 spoke pack It wheels that would be the one to use.

new semi radial hubs in 28 & 20 spoke..