# Skewers (The Good, The Bad, The Ugly)



## eastcoaststeve (Sep 19, 2007)

I like a nice set to finish off my builds, and lately I've gotten partial to the Sveltes.










What's in your stash?

Let's see some pics. 

Steve


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Ringle or Shimano. No good pics of the Salsa's I run.


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## Vlad (Feb 7, 2004)

Salsas are my favorites, followed by Cook Bros. I have a pair of black ano'd Ringle cam-twists like the ones Rumpfy posted that are awaiting a bike to go on.


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## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

Given a choice, American Classic all the way (though I have Ringle and the OEM on several builds).


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

Cunningham Applied Tech with extra milling









Cunningham Slo-Release









Titanium/Mavic mod









Suntour


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2010)

*Campagnolo*


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

Nice!


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## IF52 (Jan 10, 2004)

Swoopy bolts on Ringly Super Duper Bubbas, or bolts on TNT front 'suspension' hubs. Control Tech non-QR on everything else.

New bikes are either bolt-on or thru bolt.


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## sandmangts (Feb 16, 2004)

I scored a massive haul about a year ago that had some skewers in it. I run Salsa's on almost all my bikes with the exception of my older rigs which have a mix of Suntour, Shimano etc. Remember these?







The Tune skewers absolutely suck.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

I find the Salsa's closed position is too far inboard at the end of the lever so I don't like using them, especially on bikes with disc brakes. My favourite are a JD Components Spring-lock skewer (Tranz-X is one of their brand). The latest versions with thinned down CrMo rods are a bit lighter than the ones I started using 18 years ago (95g for wheels vs 100g original weight). They have a nice positive CLICK noise when you open/close them properly. I must own a dozen sets of them.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

sandmangts said:


> The Tune skewers absolutely suck.


I have a set of the Tune's as well. On a road bike they work okay, but aren't great. More of the design effort went into making the light weight than went into making them function well. I'd avoid using them on a mountain bike since they don't have a stop from preventing the lever arm from going into the spokes. They're not the worst that I've used, but I'd probably not buy another set.


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## misterdangerpants (Oct 10, 2007)

I really like Cook Bros. Racing and Nuke Proof Titanium Twist Tight skewers, the latter being my favorite. I have some Cook Bros. Racing on my Rhygin Metax CX and some Nuke Proof on my 953 650B SS as well as my Rhygin Ra.










View attachment 568531


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## eastcoaststeve (Sep 19, 2007)

some very cool stuff so far...keep 'em coming guys :thumbsup:

Bullseye?









???









Steve


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## muddybuddy (Jan 31, 2007)

eastcoaststeve said:


> ???
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm pretty sure those were GT


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

eastcoaststeve said:


> Bullseye?
> 
> Steve


American Classic


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## eastcoaststeve (Sep 19, 2007)

MB and BP,

Wow, you guys are quick. 

Thanks. 

I have a set of the GT's on the way. Not sure how well they'll work, but I like the way they look.






Steve


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## gm1230126 (Nov 4, 2005)

I can feel Tulio rolling in his grave.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tullio_Campagnolo


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

why? we have him covered.


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## lucifer (Sep 27, 2004)

Best functionally Shimano or Campy.
best compromise between looks and function Hopes.

Will never use again. Anything with a plastic bushing/cam thingy.


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## J Ro (Jan 13, 2004)

I have always wanted a set of Nuke Proof skewers.


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## 4mula1 (Oct 31, 2008)

eastcoaststeve said:


> I like a nice set to finish off my builds, and lately I've gotten partial to the Sveltes.


Mmmmm, purple Sveltes. I'm on my second set on my bike, bent the stainless loop on the rear to the point I couldn't close it securely anymore. Got a NOS set on Ebay.

Too bad the o-ring always cracked and fell off...


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2010)

*Dura Ace*



lucifer said:


> Best functionally Shimano or Campy.
> best compromise between looks and function Hopes.
> 
> Will never use again. Anything with a plastic bushing/cam thingy.


Dura Ace is nice if you go Shimano. Nice enough for my shelf


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## Guitar Ted (Jan 14, 2004)

These were nice, if you knew that the first time you tightened them down, they were not really tight.....yet.  These things I could tighten sometimes up to three times, clamp, and then find that they still were not tight. 

Why, I haven't a clue, but I know that they were a real pain, and dangerous, if you weren't careful to check, and re-check them. 

Once they reached the point that they weren't loose anymore, they would work fine. But I never really trusted these things!


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## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

shawnw said:


> Dura Ace is nice if you go Shimano. Nice enough for my shelf


Agreed


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## Veloculture (Dec 18, 2005)

I like the looks of the Cook skewers and since nobody has posted a photo yet..

























Another not mentioned or shown is the Campy Record OR

















Machine Tech


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## Veloculture (Dec 18, 2005)

My least favorite skewers is hands down the Fast Feather.


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## Schmitty (Sep 7, 2008)

Veloculture said:


> My least favorite skewers is hands down the Fast Feather.


Word to that. What a terrible company. Other terribles are American Classics, and Svelte/Odysey. Yuck.

Best: Salsa, and Shimano XTR/DA. Shimano's for cam action and being enclosed, Salsa's for cam action, looks, weight. Only the very early Salsa's had cam bushing issues.

All the twist QR's and wanna be cams are lame... couldn't figure out how to make a decent cam so make a rod with a arm welded to it?! That's so garage.

-Schmitty-


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## Veloculture (Dec 18, 2005)

Schmitty said:


> Word to that. What a terrible company. Other terribles are American Classics, and Svelte/Odysey. Yuck.
> 
> Best: Salsa, and Shimano XTR/DA. Shimano's for cam action and being enclosed, Salsa's for cam action, looks, weight. Only the very early Salsa's had cam bushing issues.
> 
> ...


Didn't Fast Feather become Kore?


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## Schmitty (Sep 7, 2008)

No mention of that under 'history' at the Kore site.

-Schmitty-


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## AKamp (Jan 26, 2004)

Veloculture said:


> Didn't Fast Feather become Kore?


Not sure who they became but they started as Fat Feather, and yes they did suck.


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## Veloculture (Dec 18, 2005)

AKamp said:


> Not sure who they became but they started as Fat Feather, and yes they did suck.


I just found an obscure web site that said employee's from Fast Feather formed Kore.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

I have Kore and Fast Feather skewers. The Kores are much better. The Fast Feathers aren't that bad other than the skewer can unscrew from the rest of the QR and fall off in your hand - otherwise it's okay.


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## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

*Ringle with WTB Grease Guard*


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## Vlad (Feb 7, 2004)

Aha!


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

Was wondering what kind of skewers these are. Someone asked me the other day and I wasn't quite sure. Any ideas?

Probably a dumb question, but I was also wondering what makes a good skewer? I was under the impression that all skewers were functionally the same, and differed only in weight, looks and material. Do some actually clamp better than others?


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## gm1230126 (Nov 4, 2005)

Sizzler said:


> Was wondering what kind of skewers these are. Someone asked me the other day and I wasn't quite sure. Any ideas?


Looks to me like something made by JD Components of Taiwan who also sold similar product under the Tranz-X label. Although Many Taiwan manufactures had a similar looking skewers at the time.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

Well, that's not nearly as cool as I was hoping. Here's one that's a bit more vintage!


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Jeff,

I'd like to see the Vanilla.


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## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

*No propblem...*

Any excuse to show it off. Set up as a rough tour machine. No pics with the racks, fenders and 45's but you get the idea.

Edit. Bonus pic.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

That looks fun to ride.


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## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

Jeff, 
You stole the thread....
That bike is is a dream. 
T


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## Schmitty (Sep 7, 2008)

Sizzler said:


> I was under the impression that all skewers were functionally the same, and differed only in weight, looks and material. Do some actually clamp better than others?


Big difference. Some mag did a test way back.. if I recall correctly Salsa's 'won' with their combination of lever feel, and clamping forces.

Shimano and Campy's are always a strong choice, not so much bling factor.. Good cam geometry and fully enclosed as opposed to the Salsa's which are external cam and can be damaged though I think it's a moot issue.

Those Fast Feathers actually had spring back in the lever.. kinda scary.. try to clamp it down, and they want to pop open!

Buy Salsa or Shimano imo.

-Schmitty-


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/skewers.html


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## eastcoaststeve (Sep 19, 2007)

Couldn't resist these....

not sure how well they'll work, but they look cool.

Ti rods, seller thought they were made by Torelli (?):









Steve


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## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

These are pretty cool:

  










If you get this style, you need to also get a special tool to loosen/tighten them. Think the tool is called a Craftsman or something.


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## dvdgibson (Apr 26, 2008)

*skewers*

Here's a small collection of skewers I have. The green ones are Gravity Research, the black ones are Cook, and the gold ones are Ringle.


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## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

American Classic!


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## H_Tuttle (Feb 27, 2007)

these do well by me:


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Hmmm.


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## ICONCLS (Sep 17, 2010)

*The Unusual Weighing In.*


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## BadHabit (Jan 12, 2004)

hollister said:


> http://www.sheldonbrown.com/skewers.html


That changes my thinking, the disc ejection thing.


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## Retro Dude (Jun 7, 2010)

Hey yo-Nate-y,

What kind of fork is that with the King hub & American Classic skewer?


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## Stylus (Oct 9, 2008)

^probably something made by Groovy Cycleworks


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## 1978 (Sep 23, 2010)

ICONCLS said:


>


GONZO Ratchets! Very nice, you don't see many of those.........


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## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

Retro Dude said:


> Hey yo-Nate-y,
> 
> What kind of fork is that with the King hub & American Classic skewer?


Yep, Groovy Ho-Down.
http://groovycycleworks.com/CustomAccessories.aspx


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## KDXdog (Mar 15, 2007)

1st gen Ringle. Full threaded rods. I now carry these on big group rides, or long trips, as they will fit about anything in a pinch, mountain or road.


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## Mashimaro9 (Oct 15, 2010)

A set of Control Techs Ti skewers i have:









currently using the Mavic ones though









I love seeing the skewers posted...brings back a lot of memories!


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## 805MTB (Jul 4, 2010)




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## rogi_ns (Jul 22, 2008)

eastcoaststeve said:


> ...
> Let's see some pics.
> ...
> Steve


what could this be?

Steel rod, aluminium nut and lever.
Lever seems not to be cnc-ed, rather pressed or cast.
Came with an XT M737 wheelset.


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## one piece crank (Sep 29, 2008)

BITD all those trick skewers made our shop so much money - Ti this-n-that, purple, etc. But in reality, most suffered from poor design and eventual failure of the cup washer beneath the lever.

I'm liking my stock (matching hub or group) skewers on all my vintage rides.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

rogi_ns said:


> what could this be?
> 
> Steel rod, aluminium nut and lever.
> Lever seems not to be cnc-ed, rather pressed or cast.
> Came with an XT M737 wheelset.


I like how it doubles as a canti lever adjustment tool!


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