Lawyer tabs

[ifticjdp]

I have a bike with an Edge 2.0 fork. It's full carbon construction, including dropouts.

I'd love love love to get rid of the lawyer tabs-- ok to dremel them down as if they were aluminum?

[Blue Jays]

Too bad there isn't an "enthusiast clause" to allow one to obtain forks without those annoying tabs.
Curious to hear of the dremel results. It would be sweet if it could be done as an option at the factory! :beer:

[TAW]

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[avalonracing]

I don't know why it is that people hate lawyer tabs. There is no reason to ditch the tabs unless you do races with a wheel van or wheel pit.

[Blue Jays]

"...I don't know why it is that people hate lawyer tabs..."Because the tabs are annoying and slow wheel changes.

[Elefantino]

Too bad there isn't an "enthusiast clause" to allow one to obtain forks without those annoying tabs.
There is. It's called "buy a Serotta fork" :D

[Blue Jays]

Excellent point!

[palincss]

I don't know why it is that people hate lawyer tabs. There is no reason to ditch the tabs unless you do races with a wheel van or wheel pit.

One reason is that they turn the phrase "quick release" into a sick joke.

Anyone who removes a front wheel can benefit from a QR's working like it was designed to, permitting a one-handed wheel removal. There are many reasons to remove a front wheel, I doubt I have to enumerate them.

[Sam in VA]

I don't know why it is that people hate lawyer tabs. There is no reason to ditch the tabs unless you do races with a wheel van or wheel pit.
At least older ones like mine that don't have a bunch of skewer travel. You have to balance the bike up there while you adjust the skewer so the racks quick release will hold, then you need to adjust down the wheel skewer that you just opened to clear the lips down for the wheel fork. Reverse the process for removing the bike and reuniting with the front wheel.

[Peter P.]

There should be no reason why you couldn't Dremel the tabs off as they don't provide any strength to the fork. If doing so directly exposes the carbon fibers, I"d merely add a little epoxy to seal things up.

You could try e-mailing Edge directly about this. I expect they'll cover their butts with the answer.

http://208.109.28.106/contact.asp

Also, try contacting Craig Calfee at Calfee Designs, the experts at repairing carbon bicycles.

http://calfeedesign.com/contactinfor.htm

Third, you could also try dropping a line to Lennard Zinn, technical editor at VeloNews and longtime framebuilder.

http://www.velonews.com/lennard-zinn

[gemship]

I don't know why it is that people hate lawyer tabs. There is no reason to ditch the tabs unless you do races with a wheel van or wheel pit.


I agree and I would recommend to live with the tabs as they are and as far as I can see the quick release is still just that be definition because you simply open the lever and loosen the threaded end rather than using nuts and washers to secure the axle. A nice feature to the lawyer tabs is that it forces one to correctly torque the quick release. Make fun of the design calling it a lawyer tab but you wouldn't want your wheel to fall off during a ride :rolleyes:

[05Fierte TI]

No reason for a properly secured QR to cause a wheel to fall off in a ride. QR's properly tightened do not just come undone by themselves and I do not think that having the tabs makes someone more or less likely to properly tighten the QR.

I might be inclined to to take off the tab with a file rather than a Dremel. A hand file will go slower and, I would think, less chance to get into trouble with a "run away" bit taking off too much.

[John M]

No reason for a properly secured QR to cause a wheel to fall off in a ride. QR's properly tightened do not just come undone by themselves and I do not think that having the tabs makes someone more or less likely to properly tighten the QR.

+1

Agree that the presence of tabs has nothing to do with adjustment of the QR. Only there to protect against the ignorance of riders who do not know how to adjust it correctly. Unfortunately that is probably pretty common in the world, though I doubt that anyone on this forum has a problem installing their front wheel properly.

[Ahneida Ride]

Big Brother always know best ! ;)

[thinpin]

I'm not sure what those things would do for you should your QR come loose at 70km/hr on a descent! Deposit you in the ditch 3 seconds later after a hideous wobble? Not that I've ever heard of it happening.

[zap]

Tabs are a pain in the azz.

Wait until those mandatory speed check brakes hit the market.

[sg8357]

One reason is that they turn the phrase "quick release" into a sick joke.
.

I got some wingnuts from VO, they work great and make your wheels look
like they came off a Ben-Hur chariot. Carbon lawyer lip friendly.

Scott G.
Dept. of obsolete technology.

ps. I guess you aren't enjoying the 24mph crosswinds on TOSRV.

[RPS]

Agree that the presence of tabs has nothing to do with adjustment of the QR. Only there to protect against the ignorance of riders who do not know how to adjust it correctly. Unfortunately that is probably pretty common in the world, though I doubt that anyone on this forum has a problem installing their front wheel properly.In that case, what about all others riding around you that may be bigger morons than anticipated? :)

Last year a guy’s bike in a group ride was making noise, so we stopped to check. It was a loose front QR. :crap: Not sure the tabs helped – not sure they ever do with QRs. I tend to think they do more good for entry-level bikes with nuts that can loosen gradually.

[dogdriver]

A cautionary tale:

A few years ago, a riding buddy woke up in the middle of the road with a bunch of people around him, bike clothes on, and most of a helmet draped around his neck. Situational amnesia apparently prevented him from remembering the crash, but the evidence indicates that he attempted to bunny hop a pavement transition (Tucson, AZ-- lots of cement covered wash bottoms with asphalt roads, the transition between the two surfaces is usually uneven). When he left the ground, the front wheel continued on, and the next two things that hit the ground were 1) the bike fork, and 2) Mac's head. The helmet worked as advertised, broken into 10+ pieces, but the head inside remained intact.

Being a young, lucky, studly type, he recovered with no permanent issues. As he was a serious rider and occasional racer, he had filed the tabs.

Obviously a poorly executed pre-ride bike check, and I think tabs are a pain in the a$$, but I think about his nearly disastrous crash every time I spin a QR to attach a front wheel...

FWIW, Chris

[palincss]

A nice feature to the lawyer tabs is that it forces one to correctly torque the quick release. Make fun of the design calling it a lawyer tab but you wouldn't want your wheel to fall off during a ride :rolleyes:

That's absurd. All too many people with lawyer lips use the QR as though it was some kind of wing nut, and forget all about closing the lever at all. I had to correct a guy on Friday's lunch ride about just that. Curiously, his back wheel was properly closed. Perhaps the LBS did it for him.

Properly closed quick releases do not let your wheel fall off during a ride.

[palincss]

I got some wingnuts from VO, they work great and make your wheels look
like they came off a Ben-Hur chariot. Carbon lawyer lip friendly.

Scott G.
Dept. of obsolete technology.

ps. I guess you aren't enjoying the 24mph crosswinds on TOSRV.

No, I was on a 55 mi ride up in the foothills of the Catoctins today. TOSRV's a long drive, my Ohio cycling pal from back home in the 1970s won't do it because it's Mothers' Day, and I'll be away at the Tour de Chesapeake next weekend. Hills, some wind, 86 degrees, what more could you want?

[palincss]

Obviously a poorly executed pre-ride bike check, and I think tabs are a pain in the a$$, but I think about his nearly disastrous crash every time I spin a QR to attach a front wheel...

FWIW, Chris

Chris, you aren't supposed to SPIN a quick release to close it! You must be a lawyer-lip owner. Nobody else would ever use that word.

[dogdriver]

Chris, you aren't supposed to SPIN a quick release to close it! You must be a lawyer-lip owner. Nobody else would ever use that word.

A victim of semantics am I. I, in fact, snug, flip, test, resnug, and re-flip to proper over-center tension. Never a mishap, knock wood.

[palincss]

I am heartily glad to hear it. Having wheels fall out or move forward in horizontal dropouts because the QRs were improperly closed can really spoil your day.

[dogdriver]

I am heartily glad to hear it. Having wheels fall out or move forward in horizontal dropouts because the QRs were improperly closed can really spoil your day.


If I replace the word "spin" with "adjust", are we OK?

Running a White SS drive train with a Salsa skewer and no issues, Chris

[gemship]

That's absurd. All too many people with lawyer lips use the QR as though it was some kind of wing nut, and forget all about closing the lever at all. I had to correct a guy on Friday's lunch ride about just that. Curiously, his back wheel was properly closed. Perhaps the LBS did it for him.

Properly closed quick releases do not let your wheel fall off during a ride.


Absurd?..... I'm sorry but you misunderstood what I wrote. I agree using the skewer as a wing nut is not only absurd but stupid and if one is going to do that then I would suggest a trip to the hardware store for a threaded axle,washers and nuts. :p To make myself clear prior to closing the skewer it needs to be properly tightened (same as torqued) to the point where one can feel the pressure or resistence when the quick release is in the halfway point of being open and closed. I actually like it slightly tighter than that to be safe and from what I have read regardless of material it's pretty much impossible to do any damage to the fork over tightening. The leverage of the skewer and human forces applied aren't enough, so that's nice to know.

Now I don't have any instances come to mind where the lawyer tabs help but I will say because of those tabs being there on my mtn. bike I'm forced to loosen the threaded knob of my QR enough to detach only the front wheel. I don't know how the lawyer tabs are on the OP's bike but I don't think this minor annoyance is worth the effort for me to file the dropouts so the surface is flush with no recessed area for the QR. As a result I tolerate and rather trust the dropout design and of course I always pay attention to properly closing the skewer.

On the subject of absurdity or perhaps irony I don't recall being enlightened one bit relating to bicycle maintenance from anything I read on this forum :rolleyes: That's not any ego talking just a whole lot of experience working in the machining field, riding and working on motorcycles, my truck, taking the time to read manuals for anything I buy new and using google search. :bike:

[Brian Smith]

There is. It's called "buy a Serotta fork" :D

FYI, All Serotta forks have come with the disaffectionately-termed "lawyer tabs" for a couple of years now, and continue to do so. Most older Serotta fork ends were lipless.
There is no fanfare needed in touting the P.R.D.* as a feature, since there are more compelling reasons to buy the Serotta forks.



*Positive Retention Device, the proper trade name for "lawyer tabs"

[Spud]

I say grind away and have fun doing it. just not too much fun.
Easton has had carbon dropouts for years and most tabs get worn down over time and use and I have never seen a problem.

make sure the width stays consistent with the rest of it.

[05Fierte TI]

Brian, are you saying that the current F3 has lawyer tabs on it. My F3 from two years ago (2007) does not have any tabs on it, thankfully. I think filing ti might be quite a job!

[Brian Smith]

Brian, are you saying that the current F3 has lawyer tabs on it. My F3 from two years ago (2007) does not have any tabs on it, thankfully. I think filing ti might be quite a job!

Yes, all current Serotta forks have the "tabs," your fork was probably made shortly before the changeover.
The F3 dropouts are made from a very high-strength alloy of titanium, and will resist filing efforts more robustly than, for example, aluminum.