Methods and apparatus for releasably supporting a vehicle wheel assembly

1. An axle for removably retaining a wheel on a vehicle, said axle comprising:

a rotary-type connector at a first end thereof;

a cam assembly operatively connected to the second end, said cam assembly including a cam having an axis of rotation;

a lever operatively connected to a second end of said axle, said lever being rotatable about an axis substantially parallel said axis of rotation of said cam, between an open position in which said axle is removable from and mountable on said vehicle and a closed position in which said axle is retained on said vehicle, wherein said lever has a closed position in which a substantial portion of said lever occupies a position relative to an adjacent vehicle component such that a portion less than a whole of said lever protrudes laterally from said vehicle; and

a lever stop ensuring that an angle of maximum rotation for said lever is limited to ensure that said lever, in said open position, does not substantially interfere with said adjacent vehicle component when said axle is rotated.

2. The axle of claim 1 , wherein said adjacent vehicle component is a fork.

3. The axle of claim 2 , wherein said fork is a suspension cylinder.

4. The axle of claim 1 , wherein said lever stop is integral with said lever.

5. The axle of claim 1 , wherein said lever stop is integral with said cam assembly.

6. The axle of claim 1 , wherein said lever stop is integral in parts with said lever and said cam assembly.

7. The axle of claim 1 , wherein said angle of maximum rotation is between a range of 120 degrees and 165 degrees.

8. The axle of claim 1 , wherein said vehicle is a bicycle.

9. The axle of claim 1 , wherein said axle is configured to be operable with a component of a vehicle, wherein said adjacent vehicle component is selected from a group of adjacent vehicle components of a vehicle consisting of: a fork assembly, a frame, and a wheel.

10. A tension adjustment system for adjusting tension in an axle of a vehicle, said tension adjustment system comprising:

a component part of said vehicle comprising an axle nut receiving portion; and

an axle nut, wherein said axle nut includes an index contour surface and said axle nut receiving portion includes a mating contour surface whereby an inter-engaged index contour surface and mating contour surface maintain said axle nut and said receiving portion in a relative rotational orientation;

a positional retainer engaged between said receiving portion and said axle nut and restricting axial movement of said axle nut relative to said receiving portion, whereby upon moving said positional retainer said axle nut may be at least partly disengaged from said component part, rotated to a different rotational position of a plurality of predefined rotational positions, and re-engaged relative to said component part, whereby a resulting variable relative rotational orientation facilitates tension adjustment in said axle; and

a cam operating lever operatively connected to an end of said axle such that, said cam operating lever, when in an open position, is freely rotatable about an axle axis and relative to said component part and when said axle is engaged with said axle nut, closure of said cam operating lever completes said tension adjustment, and wherein when said cam operating lever is in a closed position, a substantial portion of said cam operating lever occupies a position within a recess of an adjacent vehicle component such that a portion less than a whole of said cam operating lever protrudes laterally from said vehicle.

11. The tension adjustment system of claim 10 , wherein said axle nut comprises an exterior surface configured to be flush with said component part while in use.

12. The tension adjustment system of claim 10 , wherein said positional retainer comprises:

an axial retainer member configured for controlling an engagement of said axle nut with said component part of said vehicle, said axial retainer member comprising a rotatable portion.

13. The tension adjustment system of claim 12 , wherein said rotatable portion of said axial retainer member is configured to be rotated between a first position and a second position, wherein at said first position a part of said axial retainer member retains said axle nut in said component part, and at said second position said part is rotated off said axle nut whereby said axle nut is releasable from said component part.

14. The tension adjustment system of claim 12 , wherein said axial retainer member comprises:

a flange configured for retaining said axle nut in said component part while said axle is being inserted into said axle nut.

15. The tension adjustment system of claim 12 , wherein said axial retainer member comprises:

a flange configured for being moveable to release at least a portion of said axle nut from said component part, thereby enabling changeable rotational positions of said axle nut.

16. The tension adjustment system of claim 12 , wherein said axial retainer member is releasably retained on said component part.

17. The tension adjustment system of claim 10 , wherein said component part of said vehicle comprises a recess configured for receiving said axle nut, said recess being shaped to receive one or more of a plurality of axle nut protrusions, whereby receipt prevents rotation of said axle nut while said axle nut is seated in said recess.

18. A method of fabricating an axle fork assembly comprising:

mounting a rotary-type connector at a first end of an axle, said rotary-type connector configured to be removably coupled with an axle nut, said axle nut configured to be received by an axle nut receiving portion of a vehicle, said axle nut comprising:

a plurality of protrusions on an external surface thereof, said plurality of protrusions indicating a plurality of predefined rotational positions corresponding to a plurality of predefined tensions, each of said predefined plurality of rotational positions being a position at which said axle nut is held in place in said component part of said vehicle;

a positional adjustment portion configured for enabling said axle nut to be at least partly withdrawn from said component part, rotated to a different rotational position of said plurality of predefined rotational positions, and re-inserted into said component part, whereby re-insertion into said component part causes tension adjustment in said axle; and

mounting on a second end of said axle a lever-operated cam assembly comprising a lever mounted on a second end of said axle, said lever being rotatable between an open position in which said axle is removable from or mountable on said vehicle and a closed position in which said axle is retained on said vehicle, wherein said lever has a closed position in which a substantial portion of said lever occupies a position within a recess of an adjacent vehicle component such that a portion less than a whole of said lever protrudes laterally from said vehicle, said lever-operated cam assembly comprising a lever stop ensuring that an angle of maximum rotation for said lever from said closed position is less than 180 degrees.