Quick release lever for Pace 500

[Doggyman1202]

I had a blast on my maiden Pace 500 voyages over the weekend, but hoisting and manipulating the bike in and out of my 2019 VW Tiguan is already growing old fast. I've come to realize that just removing the front wheel would be much easier. According to this Aventon instructional video (link below) some of the bikes were shipped with a quick release lever. I looked at after market axles/levers on Amazon but I'm a bit baffled by sizes. Since my bike wasn't shipped that way I'm wondering if there's a down side to installing one of these in the first place. Thanks in advance for any advice or thoughts on this.

 

[theemartymac]

The only big thing with inside-vehicle storage is that you don't want to press the disc brake lever while handling it or it can pop out the pads, and/or close up and prevent you from reinstalling the wheel. There is a little plastic shim you can get to pop in there once the wheel is out, or the cheapo option is an old credit card. Pretty minor inconvenience to do each time, until you forget and then it's a pain the royal rump to press those pads back into place. ;-)

 

[AdamT]

A downside to installing a quick release is that it makes it easier to steal the front wheel.

 

[Doggyman1202]

A downside to installing a quick release is that it makes it easier to steal the front wheel.

Good point, although not something I would be overly concerned about in my rural neck of the woods.

The guy at the local bike shop dissuaded me from the whole notion of swapping the lug nuts for a quick release, given the axle modification that would be required. The idea would not have popped into my head altogether, except for the matter-of-fact way it was shown on the video, which gives the impression that some units are routinely shipped with the quick release.

Going forward I will need to: A) Just get the hang of angling the bike into the SUV more easily. B) Perhaps loosening the handlebar before loading the bike into the cargo area, or C) Ratcheting off the front wheel, which seems like the most likely scenario. (The lug nut is 15mm by the way, in case anyone else is dealing with same issue).

 

[slimsocal]

Good point, although not something I would be overly concerned about in my rural neck of the woods.

The guy at the local bike shop dissuaded me from the whole notion of swapping the lug nuts for a quick release, given the axle modification that would be required. The idea would not have popped into my head altogether, except for the matter-of-fact way it was shown on the video, which gives the impression that some units are routinely shipped with the quick release.

Going forward I will need to: A) Just get the hang of angling the bike into the SUV more easily. B) Perhaps loosening the handlebar before loading the bike into the cargo area, or C) Ratcheting off the front wheel, which seems like the most likely scenario. (The lug nut is 15mm by the way, in case anyone else is dealing with same issue)

Did you end up converting it to quick release? How difficult/complicated is axle modification? I really need this feature for transporting it and their product pictures show quick release but after chatting with Aventon, it is not a quick release.

 

[Doggyman1202]

I wound up selling the bike. Nothing at all wrong with it, but I had an anxious buyer for it, and I expected to be out of commission for a while with elbow surgery.

With that said, I learned to take the wheel on and off with a ratchet wrench. Easy and fast. ( I don't remember the size, but that should be simple to ascertain). I would strongly suggest you have a small bag handy so you don't misplace the nut or washer. It turned out to be about as simple as a quick release would be, except you need to use an external tool, which you could buy at any local hardware store or Amazon.