# Only Ti/Titanium bolt on skewers 31g



## sergio_pt (Jan 29, 2007)

Probably some of you weenies have been using this Taiwanese bolt on skewers.
Superlightweight at 31g! but what feedback can you give about them?
Are they strong enough for aggressive XC racing? Will the small alu bolts or the axle snap under power?

available at ebay if someone is interested...


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

Order a set and try them... I will say the QR skewers that are included with Rotaz hubs (64g) and are sometimes sold seperately under other brand names are NOT up to the task of holding the wheels in place. My rear slipped trying to climb a couple stairs.


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## trek551 (Mar 28, 2009)

I have a blue set at home. I have used them in short Cat2 xc races and they have held up so far. Make sure you order the MTB rods as both front and rear need to be wider than the road version. The hold tight. The rods are a bit smaller in diameter than the Salsa ti rods. I replaced the front twist end cap with one of my Salsa's because the small knobs are difficult to grab. Total weight is 38gr with Salsa cap. 33gr original. I weigh 175lbs.


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## 411898 (Nov 5, 2008)

*I've got a red set*

I tried these and then took them off. They seemed a little too skiiny for the high speed downhill bombs I do. Not that I jump and slam my ride around but I do hit some ruts pretty hard at high speed.

An issue I do have is that the front axle is a little too short. I could not get the end bolt to thread completely onto the axle. Perhaps the shipper accidentally sent a road set? The rear shaft was perfect in legnth and fit. Neither the front nor the rear ever came loose in the half dozen rides I used them on....

Beware of what you order from overseas!!!

'hawg


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## ginsu2k (Jul 28, 2006)

You should not use Ti Skewers on Full suspension bikes! And technically, you shouldn't use them on Front Suspension either. 

I just ordered a Chris King hub and it will void your warranty if you use Ti Skewers, so if CK warns against it, I wouldn't use it on any bike you downhill with. 

I now use my Ti-Skewers on my commuter bikes instead.


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## facelessfools (Aug 30, 2008)

got mine from torontocycles and he gave me a longer front bolt. and they weighed in at 32g
http://torontocycles.com/Selling/Hubs-Skewers.html


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## cavry (Jun 5, 2010)

Bad idea to use flimsy skewers the front if you have a disc brake or do any serious riding. Skewers are one of the few parts where shaving weight is not the smartest thing imho.

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

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/disk_and_quick_release/index.html


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## mmmaaaiiikkk (Aug 10, 2009)

I've been using KCNC titanium skewers for a year or so now without problems. Have used them for riding in pretty rough terrain 4 or 5 days a weeks (with Fox F100 RLC FIT fork) and for a season's racing. My friend has a set too and he weighs 75kg and has had no problems. I have not used these particular ones, but I have no problem with titanium skewers per se.


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## culturesponge (Aug 15, 2007)

have a couple of 24g Tune Skylines on our XC bikes, hundreds of miles without any probs (touch wood) there's a tab on the skewer end caps that stops them for unwinding & they can be torqued up almost as much as RWS Titan (nino posted a German bike mag skewer test that confirms that sometime ago)

this style skewer seems fine for our local mild trails - but probably not so clever in the ruff - no comparison to thru bolt

the OP's skewers look to need just an allen key to tighten, having to carry the Tune skewer key takes some of the shine off weight savings - great if Tune re-designed the key to also be a bottle opener

:thumbsup:
.

(edit to add pic)


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## 92gli (Sep 28, 2006)

I bought a set only to use the rear on on my ti. hardtail. No way I'd use the front one with a suspension fork. The rear one has been working fine.


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## jordanrosenbach3 (Jan 6, 2007)

http://cgi.ebay.com/EXTRA-LIGHT-F-R..._Accessories&hash=item43a068b806#ht_532wt_913

I use these and have a good 2500 miles on them without them slipping once. I wont use any ti skewers, the tune skylines I had came loose after about 2 miles of downhill, so I sold them. I also like these because it feels like i can torque them down super tight. i havent tried the ones the op wants


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## culturesponge (Aug 15, 2007)

jordanrosenbach3 said:


> I wont use any ti skewers, the tune skylines I had came loose after about 2 miles of downhill, so I sold them


like most bike componants - headset bolts/skewers ect tightness/torques need re-checking after the 1st few rides

mine too were slightly looser after a testride, but after re-torquing them (plus blue loctite) they haven't slackened at all after 700 miles of jolty trails + steep downhills

they are not as convenient as levered skewers + better weight saving with lighter tires

(hope i'm not setting myself up for an incident on my next ride!)

:thumbsup:


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## pp-tso (Oct 21, 2009)

I have a set that after about 50 miles the front is bent and I cant take off will have to break it....I bought the red pictured by OP, but is more like PINK.

Also, as suggested above the front is really short, need to take it apart to remove front tire.

Will switch back to Halo bolt on skewers...strong and reliable


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## sergio_pt (Jan 29, 2007)

The skewers I posted are probably good for road bikes only. 
They have no torque settings, this is also something I've never seen on any skewers and I think that's important.



pp-tso said:


> I have a set that after about 50 miles the front is bent and I cant take off will have to break it....I bought the red pictured by OP, but is more like PINK.
> 
> Also, as suggested above the front is really short, need to take it apart to remove front tire.
> 
> Will switch back to Halo bolt on skewers...strong and reliable


How have you bent the front skewer pp-tso?

I also have a pair of these I bought from torontocycles: 








I have been using since February with no probs. Wait the only problem was having to grind the nuts down a bit because the axles were short.


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## sergio_pt (Jan 29, 2007)

jordanrosenbach3 said:


> http://cgi.ebay.com/EXTRA-LIGHT-F-R..._Accessories&hash=item43a068b806#ht_532wt_913
> 
> I use these and have a good 2500 miles on them without them slipping once. I wont use any ti skewers, the tune skylines I had came loose after about 2 miles of downhill, so I sold them. I also like these because it feels like i can torque them down super tight. i havent tried the ones the op wants


those skewers seem like a good choice. :thumbsup:


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## two-one (Aug 7, 2008)

DeeEight said:


> Order a set and try them... I will say the QR skewers that are included with Rotaz hubs (64g) and are sometimes sold seperately under other brand names are NOT up to the task of holding the wheels in place. My rear slipped trying to climb a couple stairs.


How do those Rotaz QR's look anyway? Can some-one post a pic?


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## Mads Peter (May 29, 2009)

culturesponge said:


> (nino posted a German bike mag skewer test that confirms that sometime ago)


Can someone please show me the link? I have looked, but cant find it. :madman:

My bike has horizontal dropsouts - the best skewer to hold the rear wheel would be a good ol' shimano skewer, right? (besides CK funbolts, and all that..)

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

"_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._"

Exposed cam < Enposed cam

I am also concerned about weight, but I'm afraid the only QR that will hold my rear wheel tight (enough), is shimano... Please correct me, if I'm wrong.


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## AnthemRider (Feb 7, 2007)

I think, generally, that ti bolt-ons are fine. Ti quick release skewers can be problematic for suspension but the only problems with bolt ons that I've heard of involve "stupid light" with very thin rods.


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## Broccoli (Jun 11, 2008)

Control Tech Race (not SL) bolt ons is as low as I would go on a skewer. Not much weight is left to save - but I feel it is getting sketchy. Control Techs served me well.


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## facelessfools (Aug 30, 2008)

Curmy said:


> Control Tech Race (not SL) bolt ons is as low as I would go on a skewer. Not much weight is left to save - but I feel it is getting sketchy. Control Techs served me well.


my sl's sucked, i couldnt clamp them hard enough so all i heard was a creaking... now i have

the above ones and they get tight enough, it really helped them to grease the rod so they loosened up easily.


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## Broccoli (Jun 11, 2008)

facelessfools said:


> my sl's sucked, i couldnt clamp them hard enough so all i heard was a creaking...


SL suck indeed. Regular Race do not.


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## pp-tso (Oct 21, 2009)

sergio_pt said:


> How have you bent the front skewer pp-tso?
> 
> From regular use...I ride the Northeast in the USA...nothing out of the ordinary. After a few rides I tried to removed the front tire and realized it was bent it took some force to get it out.
> 
> I replace it with regular Salsa QR skewers and now the front is more stable.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

two-one said:


> How do those Rotaz QR's look anyway? Can some-one post a pic?












You should be able to see it clear enough.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

They basically look like these... http://cgi.ebay.com/Titanium-QR-Whe...Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4aa313fe92 but instead of having metal pieces for the lever to cam against, the ones Rotaz uses have a white teflon plastic piece which tends to flex when a load is applied, like say the wheel being torqued to one side by the chain or disc brake.


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## Hardtailforever (Feb 11, 2004)

ginsu2k said:


> ... I wouldn't use it on any bike you downhill with.


I'm pretty sure if I were to "downhill", I wouldn't be using anything but thru-axles front and rear.

Semantics aside, if the bike and/or fork is stiff enough, I doubt very much you'll find too many people in the weight weenies forum who have any misgivings whatsoever about using Ti skewers on their light bikes.


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## culturesponge (Aug 15, 2007)

*bikesportnews (de) skewer torque test results*



Mads Peter said:


> Can someone please show me the link? I have looked, but cant find it. :madman:


one of nino's top finds - keep them coming nino :thumbsup:

There is just a new test on several high-end WW-skewers in the online magazine of german BikeSportNews. Look for that test on page 68-74

http://emag.bikesportnews.de/ausgabe_11-12_09/index.html

translated into english:

Tune Skyline MTB; 23,8g +Key 5,6g; 3100N; no limitation 
Tune DC 16+17: 36,6g; 3100N; no limitation, very skin lever
Carbon-Ti X-Lock: 38,9g; 2400N; recc use XC + Marathon
Funworks S-Light: 40,8g; 1700N; recc use XC + Marathon, sticky action
pop-products Titanium: 41,8g: 1400N; recc use XC und Marathon, sticky action
Pitwalk Force Flow MTB Ti: 43,8g; 2800N; recc use XC + Marathon
FRM SK-M Team Titanium: 44,9g + Key 13g; 3900N; recc use XC + Marathon, TT skewers
KCNC SKEWER MTB TI: 45,4g; 2800N; recc use XC + Marathon
Atik: AT1623; 46,1g; 4100N; no limitation 
Aerozine: 46,5g; 2500N; no limitation , lever bolt too fragile
Bikaavenue BA-LQR01: 53,7g; 3700N; no limitation
USE Spinstix Titanium: 57,6g; 6700N; no limitation
Mounty Lite-Axles: 69,6g: 8800N; recc use NO DH, 5mm-Allen
Leichtkraft Keil: 73,6g: 5800N; recc use XC + Marathon
USE Spinstix Steel: 77,8g; 6800N; no limitation
DT Swiss RWS Titanium: 82,9g: 7700N; no limitation
Salsa Flip-Offs Titanium: 83,7g; 6300N; no limitation 
Pitlock Set 03; 88,8g +Key 11,5g; 7000N; recc use NO DH, with Key SW14
DT Swiss RWS Steel: 99,2g: 7700N; no limitation
Mavic M40 141 MTB: 111,7g; 7500N; no limitation
Shimano XTR: 118,8g; 8000N; no limitation 
Hope QR SKEWER: 119,7g; 4900N; no limitation
NC-17 CC Chromo: 120,6g: 6800N; no limitation
Shimano XT: 123,7g; 7800N; no limitation 
Crank Brothers Split: 124,1g; 8100N; no limitation

.........edit to add pics/more info


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## nino (Jan 13, 2004)

culturesponge said:


> one of nino's top finds - keep them coming nino :thumbsup:
> 
> Atik: AT1623; 46,1g; 4100N; no limitation


Yup - especially looking at the Atiks makes me smile

Although it must be a missprint of the weight as they are definitely much lighter (just 40g without the springs!). But the clamping force of those "m2racer" copies is really high compared to other skewers of this weight.


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## Broccoli (Jun 11, 2008)

I have no idea why people keep using quick release skewers. Bolt-ons are always lighter and easier to setup and more secure.

In the comparison above:
Mounty Lite-Axles: 69,6g: 8800N;

Strongest clamping force for best stiffness and security.


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## nino (Jan 13, 2004)

Curmy said:


> I have no idea why people keep using quick release skewers. Bolt-ons are always lighter and easier to setup and more secure.
> 
> In the comparison above:
> Mounty Lite-Axles: 69,6g: 8800N;
> ...


Correct - BUT in that article they also say that you don't need that high clamping forces...and since we are in the WW forum there's obviously guys looking for lighter weight parts that still perform good enough.

Me too i'd say some generic steel bolt-ons that weigh around 60-65g are the best investment BUT there's lighter skewers with very good performance as well. To some beeing able to remove the wheels without needing a tool is also important as is saving weight. By looking at the chart you can easily see which clamping forces some of these uber-light skewers have so it's up to you to decide if you are willing to give up as much for a couple of grams.

I personally have found that while i can't tell the difference in the rear of my carbon hardtail. But i can feel a difference on my front. I used to ride a "old" SID which felt like a wet noodle if you tried to run it with any Ti-skewer....it definitely needed a steel axle to fight the flex. Now with the new generation of stiff forks i am able to run lighter Ti-axled skewers but again, the flimsier ones make for some added flex although this isn't nearly as noticeable as it was with a flexier forks before.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

Yeah, the wheel/fork is gonna flex compared to a thru-axle setup regardless of the clamping force, though the higher force skewers do tend to lead to fewer cases of wheel slippage because you didn't tighten the skewer properly. As I recall from one of the early british mag skewer tests in the 90s, the difference in movement of the wheel at the rim, with the forks of the day (which were much more flexy than even the lightest forks today... hubs haven't really advanced at all other than the thru-axle ones) from best to worst force was only 1mm (3.0 to 2.0). But using a shimano steel QR (the old campy patented cam design and lever shape) and closing it with your foot, the improvement was only 0.1mm and that's from a baseline of 1.9mm for a stock heavy skewer). I can only imagine how much force the foot they used applied but since opening then required slipping a handlebar over the lever, probably well past the 8800N of the best skewer above. The best of the wonderlight skewers in that test, was....

USE Spinstix Titaniums, recorded a deflection of 2.0mm in their test apparatus. Same exact skewer that got the 6700N score above.

Apparently none of the lightweight skewers in the test could match the score of the shimano skewer whether closed by hand or foot.


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## Broccoli (Jun 11, 2008)

DeeEight said:


> I can only imagine how much force the foot they used applied but since opening then required slipping a handlebar over the lever, probably well past the 8800N of the best skewer above.


I am not sure any cam can be stiffer then a bolt-on with the same axle. Just because the cam mechanism would have the highest tension not in the most closed position - otherwise it will just pop open, would not it?


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

Yep, most all QR levers employing a cam have an over-peak closed position to keep them from opening on their own or from a simple branch or something catching them. That's why the original Ringle skewers confused so many people as they had no cam at all. They were meant as a twist-close skewer completely, the lever shape was just to rotate it clear of fork legs.


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