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Quick-release Wheels
Quick-Release wheels use a cam mechanism to allow the wheels to be removed quickly, and without any tools. In 1927, Tullio Campagnolo was unable to reverse the rear wheel of his bicycle to change gears while racing over the Croce d'Aune pass in the Italian Alps. His frozen fingers were unable to loosen the wingnuts used to hold his wheels in place. This incident led to his invention of the quick release, first marketed in the early 1930s.
When quick-release wheels started being supplied on bicycles intended for the general consumer market, ignorant users caused a rash of accidents due to front wheels falling off. The resulting lawsuits led to the addition of "lawyer lips" to most front forks, greatly reducing the convenience of quick-release wheels.
It is important to realize that there are good and bad quick-release mechanisms, and the bad ones outnumber the good ones!
See my Article on Quick-Release Skewers for details on this.
Recently there have been concerns about the safety of front disc brakes, in conjunction with lightweight quick-release skewers. See James Annan's article on this topic.
