Bontrager wheel skewers

[Neal]

I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over and the tire
will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says to tighten them to
45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on the skewer. I have
tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still moves. I have put my old
Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the Bontrager rear
skewer and found that on the side with the quick release the part that goes
against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how plastic can be used
instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other hub companies?

Neal

[Sheldon Brown]

Neal wrote:

> I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
> the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over and the tire
> will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says to tighten them to
> 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on the skewer.

"lbs" is not a unit of torque, it's a unit of force.

> I have
> tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still moves. I have put my old
> Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the Bontrager rear
> skewer and found that on the side with the quick release the part that goes
> against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how plastic can be used
> instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other hub companies?

There are a lot of expensive but very poor-performing skewers out there,
often with premium brand names.

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/skewers to tell the good ones from the bad
ones.

Sheldon "Enclosed Cam" Brown
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| You can fool some of the people all of the time, |
| and those are the ones we're after! --Anon. |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

[Sheldon Brown]

Neal wrote:

> I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
> the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over and the tire
> will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says to tighten them to
> 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on the skewer.

"lbs" is not a unit of torque, it's a unit of force.

> I have
> tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still moves. I have put my old
> Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the Bontrager rear
> skewer and found that on the side with the quick release the part that goes
> against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how plastic can be used
> instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other hub companies?

There are a lot of expensive but very poor-performing skewers out there,
often with premium brand names.

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/skewers to tell the good ones from the bad
ones.

Sheldon "Enclosed Cam" Brown
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| You can fool some of the people all of the time, |
| and those are the ones we're after! --Anon. |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

[Neal]

"Sheldon Brown" > wrote in message
...
> Neal wrote:
>
>> I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
>> the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over and the
>> tire will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says to tighten
>> them to 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on the skewer.
>
> "lbs" is not a unit of torque, it's a unit of force.
>
>> I have tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still moves. I have put
>> my old Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the
>> Bontrager rear skewer and found that on the side with the quick release the
>> part that goes against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how
>> plastic can be used instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other
>> hub companies?
>
> There are a lot of expensive but very poor-performing skewers out there, often
> with premium brand names.
>
> See: http://sheldonbrown.com/skewers to tell the good ones from the bad ones.
>
> Sheldon "Enclosed Cam" Brown
> +--------------------------------------------------------+
> | You can fool some of the people all of the time, |
> | and those are the ones we're after! --Anon. |
> +--------------------------------------------------------+
> Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
> Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
> http://harriscyclery.com
> Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
> http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com
>

Thanks for the information. The bike is a 1978 Gios Torino which has the
horizontal dropouts. I did not realize that the new type skewers do not work
well with this type of dropout. I'll just keep the Campy skewers. Does seem
strange that Bontrager does not even use any metal on the cam side of the
skewer. Even with vertical dropouts this does not seem like a good idea. I
have more than a few reservations about these wheels.

Neal

[Neal]

"Sheldon Brown" > wrote in message
...
> Neal wrote:
>
>> I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
>> the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over and the
>> tire will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says to tighten
>> them to 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on the skewer.
>
> "lbs" is not a unit of torque, it's a unit of force.
>
>> I have tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still moves. I have put
>> my old Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the
>> Bontrager rear skewer and found that on the side with the quick release the
>> part that goes against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how
>> plastic can be used instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other
>> hub companies?
>
> There are a lot of expensive but very poor-performing skewers out there, often
> with premium brand names.
>
> See: http://sheldonbrown.com/skewers to tell the good ones from the bad ones.
>
> Sheldon "Enclosed Cam" Brown
> +--------------------------------------------------------+
> | You can fool some of the people all of the time, |
> | and those are the ones we're after! --Anon. |
> +--------------------------------------------------------+
> Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
> Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
> http://harriscyclery.com
> Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
> http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com
>

Thanks for the information. The bike is a 1978 Gios Torino which has the
horizontal dropouts. I did not realize that the new type skewers do not work
well with this type of dropout. I'll just keep the Campy skewers. Does seem
strange that Bontrager does not even use any metal on the cam side of the
skewer. Even with vertical dropouts this does not seem like a good idea. I
have more than a few reservations about these wheels.

Neal

[dianne_1234]

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 20:15:02 -0400, "Neal" > wrote:

>I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
>the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over and the tire
>will rub against the chainstay.

I've had this problem with various skewers, especially with horizontal
dropouts, double especially if they're chromed.

>Bontrager tech support says to tighten them to
>45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on the skewer.

I think that's 45 pounds of closing force on the end of the lever.

>I have
>tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still moves. I have put my old
>Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the Bontrager rear
>skewer and found that on the side with the quick release the part that goes
>against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how plastic can be used
>instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other hub companies?

My Bontrager skewers have metal, not plastic, touching the frame. The
plastic bit is just a cam follower. Maybe your skewer is missing a
part? Got a photo?

[dianne_1234]

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 20:15:02 -0400, "Neal" > wrote:

>I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
>the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over and the tire
>will rub against the chainstay.

I've had this problem with various skewers, especially with horizontal
dropouts, double especially if they're chromed.

>Bontrager tech support says to tighten them to
>45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on the skewer.

I think that's 45 pounds of closing force on the end of the lever.

>I have
>tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still moves. I have put my old
>Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the Bontrager rear
>skewer and found that on the side with the quick release the part that goes
>against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how plastic can be used
>instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other hub companies?

My Bontrager skewers have metal, not plastic, touching the frame. The
plastic bit is just a cam follower. Maybe your skewer is missing a
part? Got a photo?

[Dave Thompson]

> >
>
> Thanks for the information. The bike is a 1978 Gios Torino which has the
> horizontal dropouts. I did not realize that the new type skewers do not
work
> well with this type of dropout. I'll just keep the Campy skewers. Does
seem
> strange that Bontrager does not even use any metal on the cam side of the
> skewer. Even with vertical dropouts this does not seem like a good idea.
I
> have more than a few reservations about these wheels.
>
> Neal
>
The wheels are good, it's just the skewers suck. Same thing with my American
Classic 420's on my Serotta Ti. Replace their skewers with Shimano skewers
and zero movement.

[Dave Thompson]

> >
>
> Thanks for the information. The bike is a 1978 Gios Torino which has the
> horizontal dropouts. I did not realize that the new type skewers do not
work
> well with this type of dropout. I'll just keep the Campy skewers. Does
seem
> strange that Bontrager does not even use any metal on the cam side of the
> skewer. Even with vertical dropouts this does not seem like a good idea.
I
> have more than a few reservations about these wheels.
>
> Neal
>
The wheels are good, it's just the skewers suck. Same thing with my American
Classic 420's on my Serotta Ti. Replace their skewers with Shimano skewers
and zero movement.

[jim beam]

Neal wrote:
> I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
> the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over and the tire
> will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says to tighten them to
> 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on the skewer. I have
> tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still moves. I have put my old
> Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the Bontrager rear
> skewer and found that on the side with the quick release the part that goes
> against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how plastic can be used
> instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other hub companies?
>
> Neal
>

sheldon's right on target. enclosed cam is the [only] way to go.

[jim beam]

Neal wrote:
> I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
> the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over and the tire
> will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says to tighten them to
> 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on the skewer. I have
> tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still moves. I have put my old
> Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the Bontrager rear
> skewer and found that on the side with the quick release the part that goes
> against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how plastic can be used
> instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other hub companies?
>
> Neal
>

sheldon's right on target. enclosed cam is the [only] way to go.

[Mike Jacoubowsky]

>I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem
>with the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over
>and the tire will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says
>to tighten them to 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on
>the skewer. I have tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still
>moves. I have put my old Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I
>looked at the Bontrager rear skewer and found that on the side with the
>quick release the part that goes against the dropout is made of plastic. I
>don't see how plastic can be used instead of metal in this area. Is
>plastic used by other hub companies?
>
> Neal

Neal: There should not be any plastic part of the quick release against any
part of the frame. That part should be aluminum; if it's not, something is
screwy. As for clamping force, make sure you lubricate the external cam
(the parts that rub against each other as you open & close the quick
release). If this isn't lubricated, it can feel like you're putting a lot
of pressure on it when you're tightening it, but in reality there is very
little clamping action against the frame. And finally, the later versions
of Bontrager (and probably others) quick releases have a cam that actually
gets a bit looser during the final closing action. This is intentional, so
that, if the quick release were to be a bit looser than it should be, it
can't flip open because it will actually get a bit tighter first.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


"Neal" > wrote in message
...
>I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem
>with the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over
>and the tire will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says
>to tighten them to 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on
>the skewer. I have tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still
>moves. I have put my old Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I
>looked at the Bontrager rear skewer and found that on the side with the
>quick release the part that goes against the dropout is made of plastic. I
>don't see how plastic can be used instead of metal in this area. Is
>plastic used by other hub companies?
>
> Neal
>

[Mike Jacoubowsky]

>I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem
>with the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over
>and the tire will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says
>to tighten them to 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on
>the skewer. I have tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still
>moves. I have put my old Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I
>looked at the Bontrager rear skewer and found that on the side with the
>quick release the part that goes against the dropout is made of plastic. I
>don't see how plastic can be used instead of metal in this area. Is
>plastic used by other hub companies?
>
> Neal

Neal: There should not be any plastic part of the quick release against any
part of the frame. That part should be aluminum; if it's not, something is
screwy. As for clamping force, make sure you lubricate the external cam
(the parts that rub against each other as you open & close the quick
release). If this isn't lubricated, it can feel like you're putting a lot
of pressure on it when you're tightening it, but in reality there is very
little clamping action against the frame. And finally, the later versions
of Bontrager (and probably others) quick releases have a cam that actually
gets a bit looser during the final closing action. This is intentional, so
that, if the quick release were to be a bit looser than it should be, it
can't flip open because it will actually get a bit tighter first.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


"Neal" > wrote in message
...
>I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem
>with the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has shifted over
>and the tire will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager tech support says
>to tighten them to 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to put a torque wrench on
>the skewer. I have tightened them extremely tight and the wheel still
>moves. I have put my old Campy skewers on and the wheel holds fine now. I
>looked at the Bontrager rear skewer and found that on the side with the
>quick release the part that goes against the dropout is made of plastic. I
>don't see how plastic can be used instead of metal in this area. Is
>plastic used by other hub companies?
>
> Neal
>

[Donald Gillies]

"Neal" > writes:

>I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
>the rear wheel skewer not holding well.

Consider getting a REAL set of QR skewers, rather than tinfoil stuff
from your "far out, man" wheelset. joytech makes a good set that
works just great hill-climbing on my tandem for $7.90 a pair.

http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=70368556117&nr=11&b=&q=skewer

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

[Donald Gillies]

"Neal" > writes:

>I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a problem with
>the rear wheel skewer not holding well.

Consider getting a REAL set of QR skewers, rather than tinfoil stuff
from your "far out, man" wheelset. joytech makes a good set that
works just great hill-climbing on my tandem for $7.90 a pair.

http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=70368556117&nr=11&b=&q=skewer

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

[Diablo Scott]

jim beam wrote:
> Neal wrote:
>
>> I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a
>> problem with the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has
>> shifted over and the tire will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager
>> tech support says to tighten them to 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to
>> put a torque wrench on the skewer. I have tightened them extremely
>> tight and the wheel still moves. I have put my old Campy skewers on
>> and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the Bontrager rear skewer
>> and found that on the side with the quick release the part that goes
>> against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how plastic can
>> be used instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other hub
>> companies?
>>
>> Neal
>
>
> sheldon's right on target. enclosed cam is the [only] way to go.
>

There's a new Bontrager wheel ad I saw in ProCycling where they say they
call their R&D department "Mr. Armstrong" and there's a photo of Lance
riding in the yellow jersey and Bontrager wheels but the skewers
definitely don't look like Bontragers.

I just found that interesting.

--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/

[Diablo Scott]

jim beam wrote:
> Neal wrote:
>
>> I just got a set of Bontrager race lite wheels and I am having a
>> problem with the rear wheel skewer not holding well. The wheel has
>> shifted over and the tire will rub against the chainstay. Bontrager
>> tech support says to tighten them to 45 lbs. but I don't see anyway to
>> put a torque wrench on the skewer. I have tightened them extremely
>> tight and the wheel still moves. I have put my old Campy skewers on
>> and the wheel holds fine now. I looked at the Bontrager rear skewer
>> and found that on the side with the quick release the part that goes
>> against the dropout is made of plastic. I don't see how plastic can
>> be used instead of metal in this area. Is plastic used by other hub
>> companies?
>>
>> Neal
>
>
> sheldon's right on target. enclosed cam is the [only] way to go.
>

There's a new Bontrager wheel ad I saw in ProCycling where they say they
call their R&D department "Mr. Armstrong" and there's a photo of Lance
riding in the yellow jersey and Bontrager wheels but the skewers
definitely don't look like Bontragers.

I just found that interesting.

--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/