Skewers

[znfdl]

I was just wondering what type of skewers people use on their bike(s)? I do not mean shish kabob skewers :rolleyes:

[zap]

Salsa (2)
Specialized (3)
American Classic (1)
USE (1)

All are ti. The USE is really nice when used with forks that have "lawyer" tabs on them. "Unscrewing" the skewer takes it past these tabs quickly. Springs help keep the nut in place long enough. Almost as light as Bold's design.

[Dekonick]

Campy

[bluesea]

I was just wondering what type of skewers people use on their bike(s)? I do not mean shish kabob skewers :rolleyes:


I need to order a couple of sets of '05 Campy skewers before they run out.

[CT Rider]

Mavic...

But thinking of a set of Titanium Salsas for the new Serotta.

[Tailwinds]

I have used:

1. Dura-Ace
2. Record
3. American Classic
4. Control Tech
5. Topolino

Thinking of trying something different for my new wheels from Jeremy at Alchemy. They will be here TODAY!!!! :banana: But they will sit awhile... waiting for the new Kirk to arrive next year.

[dirtdigger88]

dura ace- 4X

salsa- 1x

cheap steel- 1x

Jason

[Tom Kellogg]

Most powerful:
Record
Dura-Ace

Lightest fully functional real quick release (49gr. pr.)
Bold

[CalfeeFly]

Most powerful:
Record
Dura-Ace

Lightest fully functional real quick release (49gr. pr.)
Bold

I was trying to decide to get flamed or not by saying the same thing. A top notch bike person pointed the shortcomings of Salsa out to me. That night I did a search and Sheldon says the same. I switched all my bikes to Shimano. I wiould have done Campy but I got a better price on the Shimano skewers.

Also (at least with Shimano) their directions say to tighten the not and not to "spin" the lever. The directions say that this is how they are designed to work.

Here is what Sheldon Brown has to say. If you feel you must flame...flame him or Tom :beer:

"When you close the skewer, your hand strength is accomplishing two things: It's applying a clamping force to the skewer, and it's overcoming the mechanical friction of the mechanism.
Quick Release skewers come in two distinct types: Enclosed cam and Exposed cam designs.

Enclosed cam:
The original type of quick release skewer, invented by Tullio Campagnolo features a steel cam, surrounded by a solid metal body. The body is the part that moves back and forth as you flip the lever, usually has teeth to press against the left dropout.
The cam is well shielded against contamination, can be lubricated by applying a couple of drops of oil every couple of years.


Exposed cam:
Sometime in the '80s, a variant type of skewer was introduced, one that is less expensive to manufacture, and is sometimes a bit lighter. This type uses a split external cam that straddles the end of the skewer. External cam skewers use a curved plastic washer between the cam and the toothed metal washer that presses against the dropout.
This type was originally marketed as an "upgrade" because they could be made a little bit lighter.

Despite the marketing hype associated with these "boutique" skewers, they are actually considerably inferior in functionality to the traditional type. They are often seen under rather prestigious names, as was the one photographed here. (I photoshopped the logo off, so as not to pick on one particular brand.)

The exposed cam can not be kept as clean and well lubricated as the shielded one can.

In addition, the exposed cam is a larger diameter, (typically 16 mm vs 7 mm for an eclosed cam) so the friction is acting on a longer moment arm (the radius of the cam.)

The result is that the exposed cam type provides very much less clamping force for a given amount of hand force on the lever.

Fortunately, the move toward "boutique" skewers happened after the industry had mostly moved to frames with vertical dropouts and forks with "lawyer lips."

The exposed-cam skewers are generally OK for vertical dropouts in back, and for forks with "lawyer lips", but should not be relied on with horizontal dropouts or plain forks.


Acorn Nuts
General practice is to install the skewer so the handle is on the bicycle's left side. Thus, the right side is secured by the acorn nut that threads onto the opposite end of the skewer.
Good quality skewers have acorn nuts with steel serrations that can bite into the face of the dropout, so the wheel won't slip forward. Good skewers have a serrated steel surface to bear against the outside surface of the frame, but most of the "boutique" skewers have soft aluminum parts in this position, presumably to save weight.

The aluminum "teeth" are too soft to get a good grip on the dropout. Since the chain pulls on the right side of the hub, where the acorn nut commonly resides, this type of skewer is almost always unsatisfactory for use with a frame that has horizontal dropouts. In addition, "boutique" skewers generally have (yuck!) aluminum threads, vs the steel threads of the two-piece acorn nuts. These are much easier to strip.


One-piece aluminum acorn nut.
Aluminum threads and teeth. Aluminum acorn nut
with steel insert.

As a result of these design flaws, "boutique" skewers should not be used on frames with horizontal dropouts, nor on older forks that don't have "lawyer lips."
Failure Issues with "boutique" skewers
There have been reports of a particularly nasty failure mode with the external-cam type skewer, related to the radiussed plastic washer. If the user isn't careful, sometimes this washer can get rotated 90 degrees, sothat the cam presses on the points, rather than sitting in the valley of the curved side of the washer. This creates a liklihood that the skewer can rotate in use, so that the cam falls into the "valley." When this happens, the skewer will suddenly open up, possibly causing the wheel to fall out.
Disc Brake Issues
James Annan has recently created something of a storm in the industry by pointing out a serious safety risk to users of front disc brakes with traditional forks. He has identified a mechanism whereby the forces generated by the disc brake can cause the skewer to loosen up in use!
This failure mode is possible even with the better skewer designs, but it's more likely with the external-cam type."

[William]

DA ShimanoKa-bobs on all wheel sets......even Campy's. :D



William ;)

[bluesea]

Also (at least with Shimano) their directions say to tighten the not and not to "spin" the lever. The directions say that this is how they are designed to work.

Campy has "open" and "closed" molded into the lever.:banana: :banana:

[flydhest]

Also (at least with Shimano) their directions say to tighten the not and not to "spin" the lever. The directions say that this is how they are designed to work.


anybody know why this would matter? I admit to going both ways (not that there's anything wrong with that) in this matter.

[CalfeeFly]

Campy has "open" and "closed" molded into the lever.:banana: :banana:

I did not mean that you don't close the lever...you just tighten from the nut side.

My guess flydhest...and it is just that...by tightening the nut when you close the lever (with the force to leave it marked in your hand) it causes the nut to "dig" into the dropout more. Other than that I have no idea but Shimano is emphatic to do it that way. I've never read Campy instructions.

Shimano has good instructions and I've found reading them can be very interesting.

[bluesea]

I did not mean that you don't close the lever...you just tighten from the nut side.



I know. I just thought it was common sense, like with tightening the nut and not the bolt--plus the serrations etc.

[IXXI]

DuraAce x2

DT Swiss X2

Salsa x1 (only cause they're *gold* baby!)

Record x1 (held the wheel in hor. dropouts even stonger than DA, in my experience)

[marle]

I switched the 'stock' skewer on my Topolino C19 for Campy Record.

[Jeff N.]

I use whatever skewer comes with the wheel/hub. But for aftermarket skewers, it's usuallly Salsa. And I'll pick whatever color goes best with the bike they're going on. I used to like Cook Bros. Dog Bones too, but they're OOP I believe. Ditto Syncros. A company called Hope makes some nice colored ones too, with seatpost collars to match. Jeff N.

[Serpico]

I just got some silver DT Swiss skewers... nice.

[cycleman_21]

I just got some silver DT Swiss skewers... nice.


OUI OUI, Those do look nice indeed, where from?
( Santa may be looking for some ) Merci pour ton temps

Ron C

[bluesea]

I like the Campys because they remind me of Simplex shifters.

[Serpico]

OUI OUI, Those do look nice indeed, where from?
( Santa may be looking for some ) Merci pour ton temps

Ron C

got 'em here, other places have them but this was the best price iirc

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=7249&category=

[djg]

For QR I've got:

Record, Dura Ace, and one set of Mavic skewers.

[soulspinner]

Record. Just ordered some Zipp ti skewers to replace the ones Mike Garcia sold me with my wheelset. The Odds and Endos front one rattles and drives me nuts(its a short drive,more like a putt).

[The Spider]

Tune x2
Mavic
Shimano

the Tune skewers are going quite well, they look very simple and elegant but don't have the 'open / close' feature.

what skewers do track cyclists use? bolt-on surely? wonder how much they weigh.

[Kevin]

Bold Precision.

Kevin

[Ahneida Ride]

I just installed Campy's due to Sheldon's sage advice. ;)

[Karbon]

WR Compositi