QR Skewers

"Ian G Batten" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Reading all the discussions about disk brake ejection
forces, one thing is clear: QR levers matter. My FS bike
(Marin Mount Vision 2004) is one of the long-term test
bikes in one of the magazines, and the writer this month
complains about the QR levers not being very good and how
he replaced them with some he had lying around. Ergo, I'm
tempted to get some `better' QR skewers. Not light, trick,
exotic: solid. What's the shopping process? What's good?
My initial guess is Hope steel ones for 25 quid a pair, as
the hubs and brakes are Hope.

ian

The best QR's are the most common; most any Shimano or
Campy. Solid, no nonsense, and steel knurled nut provides
exceptional bite and they have proven themselves over many
years of use.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Ian G Batten
Reading all the discussions about disk brake ejection
forces, one thing is clear: QR levers matter. My FS bike
(Marin Mount Vision 2004) is one of the long-term test bikes
in one of the magazines, and the writer this month complains
about the QR levers not being very good and how he replaced
them with some he had lying around. Ergo, I'm tempted to get
some `better' QR skewers. Not light, trick, exotic: solid.
What's the shopping process? What's good? My initial guess
is Hope steel ones for 25 quid a pair, as the hubs and
brakes are Hope.

ian

Steel rod as thick as you can fit will help.
End caps and mechanism must also be as solid as possible.
The frame and fork are the starting points. If they are properly engineered and implemented it makes it possible.
Hope steel QR skewers look OK.

Ian G Batten said:

Quoted message said:

Reading all the discussions about disk brake ejection
forces, one thing is clear: QR levers matter. My FS bike
(Marin Mount Vision 2004) is one of the long-term test
bikes in one of the magazines, and the writer this month
complains about the QR levers not being very good and how
he replaced them with some he had lying around. Ergo, I'm
tempted to get some `better' QR skewers. Not light, trick,
exotic: solid. What's the shopping process? What's good?
My initial guess is Hope steel ones for 25 quid a pair, as
the hubs and brakes are Hope.

Nope, the Hope skewers are the bad exposed-cam style too.

Dave Thompson said:

The best QR's are the most common; most any Shimano or
Campy. Solid, no nonsense, and steel knurled nut provides
exceptional bite and they have proven themselves over many
years of use.

That's absolutely correct. I have a Web article that
explains why in detail, see: sheldonbrown.comskewersOpen ↗

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| penny, too: | They will rent out nuclear shelters, |
| We'll get one with an outside loo! | -- Oysterband |
| (The greatest band since the Beatles) |
+------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery,
West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-
1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped
Worldwide captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Ian G Batten said:

Reading all the discussions about disk brake ejection
forces, one thing is clear: QR levers matter. My FS bike
(Marin Mount Vision 2004) is one of the long-term test
bikes in one of the magazines, and the writer this month
complains about the QR levers not being very good and how
he replaced them with some he had lying around. Ergo, I'm
tempted to get some `better' QR skewers. Not light, trick,
exotic: solid. What's the shopping process? What's good?
My initial guess is Hope steel ones for 25 quid a pair, as
the hubs and brakes are Hope.

ian

I like the Salsa flipoffs in stainless steel. I think the
Hope ones are sweet as well.

Dave

Ian G Batten said:

Reading all the discussions about disk brake ejection
forces, one thing is clear: QR levers matter. My FS bike
(Marin Mount Vision 2004) is one of the long-term test
bikes in one of the magazines, and the writer this month
complains about the QR levers not being very good and how
he replaced them with some he had lying around. Ergo, I'm
tempted to get some `better' QR skewers. Not light, trick,
exotic: solid. What's the shopping process? What's good?
My initial guess is Hope steel ones for 25 quid a pair, as
the hubs and brakes are Hope.

Older Shimano skewers with the chromed steel levers are nuke-
proof. They're also heavier, but not seriously so. I must
have loads of them kicking about.

Ian G Batten said:

Reading all the discussions about disk brake ejection
forces, one thing is clear: QR levers matter. My FS bike
(Marin Mount Vision 2004) is one of the long-term test
bikes in one of the magazines, and the writer this month
complains about the QR levers not being very good

That is more than a little disingenuous. The reviewer
clearly and specifically described the skewer working loose,
precisely the phenomenon whose very existence is still
denied by some (including all the manufacturers):

marin.co.ukreviews.phpOpen ↗

"There has, of course, been the odd problem. Following a
ride round the Roc d'Azur race course a few months ago, I
was suffering a terrible 'loose headset' feeling and stopped
sharpish to investigate. The headset was fine, but the QR
had become spontaneously loosened. I shrugged it off, but
this wasn't the last time the QR fairy visited. Three or
four loosening later I finally got the hump and changed QRs
for a brand new set of the production models, just in case I
had a faulty batch. That was a few weeks ago now, and it has
happened twice since. Not good."

Quoted message said:

Ergo, I'm tempted to get some `better' QR skewers. Not
light, trick, exotic: solid. What's the shopping process?
What's good? My initial guess is Hope steel ones for 25
quid a pair, as the hubs and brakes are Hope.

Hope are hopeless, Shimano are probabbly better but far from
infallible.

James

RE/

Quoted message said:

That's absolutely correct. I have a Web article that
explains why in detail, see:
sheldonbrown.comskewersOpen ↗

I've tried A/B-ing a hex-key type seat post collar with a
cam-type and it seemed to me like I got a *lot* more grip
with less effort via the hex-key implementation.

OTOH, there's nothing trying to unscrew the seat bolt
clamp....

But still, I wonder if a hex-key-tightened skewer would
work...although, I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig...
--
PeteCresswell

james, it is possible for this to sound critical - please
don't take it as that.

it's interesting to see how this and the disk brake thread
have evolved from being a fork design flaw to a skewer
design flaw. in respect to fork design, there is no real
problem with the current design because the pull-out force
necessary to break away with serrated hub axle faces /far/
exceeds the pull-out force generated by braking. we've
discussed this before.

with respect to skewer design however, you are raising a
very interesting point - there's a lot to be said for
abandoning the open cam designs and sticking with the
closed designs.

first reason is that they're hard to keep clean, and clean
allows smoother stronger closing action.

the second is that some open cam designs have a kind of
floaty washer thing that is easy to mislocate on closure. if
this shifts, suddenly the skewer is not tight any more.

if /i/ wanted to make my mark on the public safety
landscape, i would devote my energy in this
direction, not fork design. taking this concept to
its extreme, i think the new super-thick skewer of
the shimano saint rear axle is a practical and useful
model on which to build in the future.

jb

James Annan said:

Ian G Batten said:

Reading all the discussions about disk brake ejection
forces, one thing is clear: QR levers matter. My FS bike
(Marin Mount Vision 2004) is one of the long-term test
bikes in one of the magazines, and the writer this month
complains about the QR levers not being very good

That is more than a little disingenuous. The reviewer
clearly and specifically described the skewer working
loose, precisely the phenomenon whose very existence is
still denied by some (including all the manufacturers):

marin.co.ukreviews.phpOpen ↗

"There has, of course, been the odd problem. Following a
ride round the Roc d'Azur race course a few months ago, I
was suffering a terrible 'loose headset' feeling and
stopped sharpish to investigate. The headset was fine, but
the QR had become spontaneously loosened. I shrugged it
off, but this wasn't the last time the QR fairy visited.
Three or four loosening later I finally got the hump and
changed QRs for a brand new set of the production models,
just in case I had a faulty batch. That was a few weeks
ago now, and it has happened twice since. Not good."

Quoted message said:

Ergo, I'm tempted to get some `better' QR skewers.
Not light, trick, exotic: solid. What's the
shopping process? What's good? My initial guess is
Hope steel ones for 25 quid a pair, as the hubs and
brakes are Hope.

Hope are hopeless, Shimano are probabbly better but far
from infallible.

James

"(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

RE/

Quoted message said:

That's absolutely correct. I have a Web article that
explains why in detail, see:
sheldonbrown.comskewersOpen ↗

I've tried A/B-ing a hex-key type seat post collar with a
cam-type and it

seemed

Quoted message said:

to me like I got a *lot* more grip with less effort via
the hex-key implementation.

OTOH, there's nothing trying to unscrew the seat bolt
clamp....

But still, I wonder if a hex-key-tightened skewer would
work...although, I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig...
--
PeteCresswell

I have Control Tech race skewers that tighten with a hex
key. They work just fine. Never had a problem.

--Jens

Ian G Batten said:

Not light, trick, exotic: solid. What's the shopping
process? What's good?

The skewers supplied with current Shimano LX hubs are superb
- very good cam action with large levers. See if you can get
some separately.

~PB

Pete Biggs said:

Ian G Batten said:

Not light, trick, exotic: solid. What's the shopping
process? What's good?

The skewers supplied with current Shimano LX hubs are
superb - very good cam action with large levers. See if
you can get some separately.

Awhile back a local shop had boxes of XT QRs for $2.00 each,
I bought several, and resold and used them along the way.
They must have been takeoffs where they put [censored] QRs on
the bikes to replace the good ones.

Greg

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Reading all the discussions about disk brake ejection
forces, one thing is clear: QR levers matter. My FS bike
(Marin Mount Vision 2004) is one of the long-term test
bikes in one of the magazines, and the writer this month
complains about the QR levers not being very good and how
he replaced them with some he had lying around. Ergo, I'm
tempted to get some `better' QR skewers. Not light, trick,
exotic: solid. What's the shopping process? What's good? My
initial guess is Hope steel ones for 25 quid a pair, as the
hubs and brakes are Hope.

Get some old shimano all steel ones. They will cost you very
little and work really well.
--------------
Alex