Dropout spacer help

Quoted message said:

Sheldon Brown said:

On a Shimano or other typical threaded-axle hub, it can easily be
re-centered to provide 3 mm of protrusion on each side, which is way
more than enough. (I don't think this works on Campagnolo cassette

hubs.)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Actually, for a couple of years one of my fixed-gear mtbs was running with the axle cut off
flush with the nuts! I did this on purpose to gain a bit more wiggle room in the vertical
dropouts to adjust the chain tension.

This system never gave me a lick of trouble, and I weighed 265-270 most of the time I used that
setup.

"Bluto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Something tells me that there was a _manly_ quick-release skewer involved.

I have used many different QR skewers over the years, though I've now largely switched to
solid axles.

I was almost always able to get enough clamping force at the dropouts for my purposes, but I often
bent or broke the cam heads of skewers in doing so.

Recently I've managed to rupture the cam bore on the 9mm QRs that came with a car roof rack. More
often with 5mm QRs, it's been bent or broken at the root of the shaft, where it joins the
cross-bored cylindrical end.

I already know not to use QRs with aluminum levers; those I have broken off at the lever when I've
tried them.

I generally set QRs such that they pull out the slack when they are parallel to the axle, then I
shove 'em down the remaining 90 degrees.

Is there a particularly robust skewer out there that I could use on my remaining hollow axles? Or
should I simply leave my QRs a bit looser than seems prudent to me?

I prefer classic steel ones to aluminum myself and they all work _much_ better with some lube on the
cam. We oil every one with every bike/wheel build and it makes a noticeable difference!

Among major brands I haven't noticed a difference but they all clamp better than the new visible cam
aluminum models. Skewers on car racks are very often ( not your own I'm sure) subject to
corrosion/crud and lack lubricant, making them unsafe when you consider there's a windshield on the
car right behind you. . .

I read a good consumer guideline in the Raleigh manual years ago. It said you should see the imprint
of the lever on your palm for a few seconds ( not a haematoma!) after closing the skewer. Not a bad
thing to tell newbies IMHO. I do not have a better gauge of the required force, though
--
Andrew Muzi yellowjersey.orgyellowjersey.orgOpen ↗ Open every day since 1 April 1971

I reported:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

On a Shimano or other typical threaded-axle hub, it can easily be=20
re-centered to provide 3 mm of protrusion on each side, which is way=20
more than enough. (I don't think this works on Campagnolo cassette hub=

s.)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Actually, for a couple of years one of my fixed-gear mtbs was running=20 with the axle cut off
flush with the nuts! I did this on purpose to=20 gain a bit more wiggle room in the vertical
dropouts to adjust the chai=

n=20

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

tension.

This system never gave me a lick of trouble, and I weighed 265-270 most=

=20

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of the time I used that setup.

Chalo Colina said:

Something tells me that there was a _manly_ quick-release skewer involved.
=20
I have used many different QR skewers over the years, though I've now largely switched to
solid axles.
=20
I was almost always able to get enough clamping force at the dropouts for my purposes, but I often
bent or broke the cam heads of skewers in doing so.
=20
Recently I've managed to rupture the cam bore on the 9mm QRs that came with a car roof rack. More
often with 5mm QRs, it's been bent or broken at the root of the shaft, where it joins the
cross-bored cylindrical end.
=20
I already know not to use QRs with aluminum levers; those I have broken off at the lever when I've
tried them.
=20
I generally set QRs such that they pull out the slack when they are parallel to the axle, then I
shove 'em down the remaining 90 degrees.
=20
Is there a particularly robust skewer out there that I could use on my remaining hollow axles? Or
should I simply leave my QRs a bit looser than seems prudent to me?

In my experience, Shimano skewers are pretty much in a class by=20 themselves, though more recent
Campagnolo ones are also quite good.=20 Nothing else comes close.

I used a garden-variety Shimano skewer for this, but just to be on the=20 save side I carried a
spare in my undersaddle wedge pack...I think that=20 was an old Campagnolo one, but I never needed
to use it.

I generally like to get skewers very tight, just about as tight as my=20 not-very-strong hands can
get them, but I've never broken one. Avoid=20 the Ringl=E9 type where the cam is exposed.

Sheldon "And They Come Free With The Hubs!" Brown +---------------------------------------------+
| Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and | smiles, with sniffles predominating. | --O. Henry |
+---------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
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