Weight Weenies

a friend of mine and i both ride Scott bikes and on his, the carbon dropout on the non-drive side seems to be eating in by the lightweight skewers he's been using which is the external type.

i have the skewers from Farsport, which are also external types and got me worried. so i checked mine... and lord and behold... http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/3407/dropout.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

it's not major right now, just seems the paint part got rubbed off and getting into the carbon.

so long story short.. my friend forward me this article...
http://m.bikeradar.com/gear/article/ang ... ers-36417/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

it talks about using internal mechanism type of skewer instead of external. perhaps this will prevent more rubbing into the carbon dropout by using skewers like these: http://www.starbike.com/en/tune-ac16-17/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

what do you guys think? am i too paranoid? or is this just another way of marketing a plain o'skewers?

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my preference is for internal cams, but i've been using a few different sets of cheap and not so cheap external cam skewers for a while with no complaints. if you want to sleep easy, the big 3 all sell very ordinary, heavy but time tested and reliable internal cam skewers for not much more than the super-light TI stuff that's coming out of china.

the big three you refer to are the same one listed in the angryasian article? also, how can you tell if it's internal cam or not? besides the weight.

They didn't happen to much before because dropouts were still aluminum. I've seen this happen recently with my teammate's new TCRs with carbon dropouts. Luckily reps from Giant were visiting the LBS that week, and promptly brought the frame back to Taiwan and vowed to do some R&D.

interesting.. I recently picked up a DA wheelset and have been using the heavy shimano skewers.. Having been used to ti skewers over the last few years, the action on these felt surprisingly solid and smooth.. however they're 130g and need to go.

What about the DTSwiss road Ti skewers? They've got some slightly different locking mechanism..

addictR1 wrote:the big three you refer to are the same one listed in the angryasian article? also, how can you tell if it's internal cam or not? besides the weight.

Just look at it. If it looks like a lever going into a pod, it's internal. If it looks like a lever pushing against a plate, its external.

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

Any recommendations for light-ish internal cam skewers, something lighter than the Shimano and Campy variety? I've pulled the rear wheel partway out of the NDS dropout a couple of times recently with the Ti skewers I've been using. They tend to loosen up while riding which makes things exciting.

If you want internal cams, you're going to have to live with the weight. You'll never find anything close to what you can get with external. If you need the security, you have to be willing to sacrifice the weight. I'll look around though, might surprise myself.

Edit: Velo-Orange has some very nicely priced ones that aren't complete boat anchors: http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/ ... ewers.html

Good topic. What is that one on Contador's wheel?

Wookieopolis wrote:I've pulled the rear wheel partway out of the NDS dropout a couple of times recently with the Ti skewers I've been using. They tend to loosen up while riding which makes things exciting.

What kind of rear dropout do you have? Horizontal or vertical? Material?

Which model/brand (or no name ebay cheapo) skewer? Has it gotten worse over time?

Several decades ago I managed to have a tire rub the chain stay due to slippage on a horizontal dropout, but I've never done it with a vertical dropout.

These are probably the lightest internal cam skewers. Tune AC14
http://www.starbike.com/en/tune-ac14/

@tinozee: they look like the tuned version.
@RussellS: what's the difference between teh ac14 vs. the ac16-17 i posted? they look nearly identical.

HammerTime, carbon, vertical dropouts. It has only happened twice, within the last month or so. They are the skewers on my tubs so they don't get used all the time, and I've been swapping the rear for a heavier skewer in races. Skewers are from Bike Hub Store, so the same ones you'll find on ebay. It is an issue when getting out of the saddle at low speeds, the rear wheel shifts towards the NDS chain stay and pulls part way out of the dropout. If I check them before every ride it is fine, so that is the simple solution.

The weight is right on the Tune skewers, but they ain't cheap!

@Wookieopolis: granted the tuned version aren't cheap for sure.. but if they provide internal cam locking mechanism and longer life for my frame.. it just might be worth it.

holy crap... even with the 10% off.. it's like $116.44.

One is MTB and the other is road, so the difference is probably about 5mm.

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