Ever wonder why your "serious" cyclist buddy -- the one with the disk brakes -- insists on switching out his quick release skewers and reversing them so the lever is opposite the rotor? It's not because he's an anglophile (well, not
only because he's an anglophile and insists that right is left and that, you know, we mount horses from the left, and the drive train is on the right, and when jolly olde Englishmen jousted, you know, they did it with their right hands, thus needing to pass to the left, and Oy! I want beans with my breakfast, mate!, etc.)
It's because that way the lever stays well out of the way of the busyworks -- on the front side with the rotor, on the back side with the derailler.
Simply turning the skewer around would be easier, of course, than participating in the 1-million bike recall issued by Trek today for a QR that might occasionally, you know, make your front wheel stop turning suddenly.
For me, though, the main takeaway is this: The constant upgrading of low-end bikes for low-end riders is probably a bad idea. Ironically, a lot of lifelong riders have given up on disk brakes and are perfectly happy with what my 6-year-old son calls "pinchers" -- cantis or standard side-pulls are fine, when properly adjusted, for just about any bike going anywhere. (Yes, even wet conditions. Just start braking early enough for the rims to heat and dry, duh! Friction! Hello!)
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