JMT114

I just got a new wheelset.
Is there a certain type of lube I should use on the skewers before I install them?

Jed19

I was taught by an old wrench to use a really light film ( I mean really light) of grease on skewers. It helps to keep rust away.

Regards,

Jed19

Are you by any means an Iowa Hawkeye? I went to school there many many years ago!

Regards,

JMT114

Yep, I went to school there ten years ago. Following school I stayed in Iowa City for a few Years until Moving back to my home town.

Jed19

I left Iowa City a day after graduation for a job in Colorado, now live in Southern California. And I have also been in your hometown of Rock Island. I use to have friends at Augustana College, and visited them often while I was living in Iowa City.

Well, I hope my answer about greasing your new skewers help. Just rub a little pinch of lubing grease between your fore-finger and thumb, and quickly run same over the skewers.

Regards,

HillRider

Sorry to interrupt the Alumni Association meeting but back to our originally scheduled program:

I use a drop of light oil on the flag pivot points and, as Lucas mentioned, a light film of grease on the shaft to keep it from rusting.

jgedwa

I rarely see skewers that are corroded in any serious way. I do, however, hit them lightly with grease just for the heck of it on a bike that I care about.

I am also an Iowa alum. I have not been back much since I graduated in 1991, but I still miss Iowa City. Wonderful town.

jim

thesuper

there is no need to use any kind of lubricant _at all_, if the inner diameter of the axle is not constant from end to end.

so the question is, what brand and model of hub are you using?

and what material is is the QR rod made of?

JMT114

The wheels are Mavic Ksyrium SL3's. So, I assume the hubs are Mavic hubs. A magnet will stick to the skewers, so they are not aluminum. I'm guessing they are just steel.

HillRider

The purpose of the grease isn't lubrication but rust prevention.

BTW, skewers that aren't steel are Ti, not Aluminum.

orange leader

Other than the quick release end of the skewer, there aren't any moving parts in there, There shouldn't be any movement while riding, so Lubrication isn't necessary on the actual skewer. Oil on the QR pivot, and a tad of grease on the threads. You can always wax and polish the skewers, so dirt doesn't stick to them if you get any in there, and the wax will prevent rust too.

Go BADGERS!!

vasracer

As HillRider stated before the grease is not used for lubrication purposes it is used to prevent rust or corrosion. I light film of grease is always recommended on the skewer and especially if the bike is ridden in an extremely humid or wet environment.

wroomwroomoops

It's been a long time since I've seen skewers that weren't made of stainless steel. I don't know, nowadays maybe some historic hubs (i.e. NOS from ancient times). Someone said, for the heck of it a little bit of grease, but I actually don't even bother anymore, all my skewers are stainless steel. At any rate, this is a non-issue nowadays.

Instead, I'd really love it if we had an in-depth discussion about keyed skewers and their deterrance against wheel theft. Also include bolt axels in the problematic.

thesuper

HillRider, trust me, grease is hardly enough to _prevent_ rust. i've removed more QRs that i can remember that were slathered with grease from the hubs of pre built mavic wheels to find them spotty with rust. they MIGHT have had more without the grease but grease won't _prevent_ rust.

at any rate...if we're talking about the mavic QRs that have a steel rod, they are usually plated or coated with something to help keep them in good shape.

also, there are QRs with alu. rods, check out the ones from the ES wheels or the R Sys set.

RockyMtnMerlin

Topolino hubs (which have CroMo axles) and USE Ti Spin Stix. Guess I could be concerned about galling or pitting response between the Ti rods and the Al nut and "bolt." But, has not been a problem over the past 5 years.

kenhill3

Aluminum rods? No thanks.

RockyMtnMerlin

Hmm, the Mavic website indicates that that the R-Sys come with BR-601 series skewers which have steel rods. Various BR-601 series have either Al or composite levers but, apparently not rods..

Wino Ryder

OHH GAAWD.......just grease the skewer like the other poster said!!

You ride that bike in the rain, or get it wet just once, you'll be glad you did.

HillRider

That's right. Some of the boutique skewers come with Al nuts and/or flags but the rods themselves are either steel or Ti.

Note to wroomwroomoops:

Who provides stainless steel skewers? My new Campy Chorus hubs have skewers that appear to be plated but are not stainless steel.

Retro Grouch 

That's a "doesn't blip my radar" question. In 40+ years of bicycling I've greased some, not greased others and haven't been able to tell any difference. I've certainly never had a QR failure or problem that I could attribute to not greasing. Then again, how can it hurt?

HillRider

Ever notice how the most seemingly trivial questions can generate the most contentious threads?

RockyMtnMerlin

That same PDF on the Mavic site seems to indicate that the high end skewer may have a stainless steel rod. But, the way its worded, it is hard to tell. In the spec page it says, "Safety Material - High resistance steel and high resistance stainless steel," Then under that it says "Other Parts - Composite material."

OLDYELLR

A thick layer will also keep water out. There's no harm in it.

thesuper

Wino Ryder, yes, let's just go with whatever old knowledge is still kicking around, even though it holds no benefit for the majority of QR rod/hub axle combinations.


HillRider, trivial, yes. contentious, no. just trying to be accurate.

there is too much outdated knowledge still being pushed on new riders. people still talk about cable stretch even though it takes about 80 lbs. to stretch a shift cable 1 mm. i'm not sure anyone is dropping 80 lbs. on a shift lever these days.

chain stretch, discussing wheel dish, judging weld quality based simply on outward appearance, revolution spokes are too thin, brass nipples don't seize to spokes........ridiculous!

wroomwroomoops

Fair question. To be honest, I have been using exclusively this kind of skewers on all my bikes:

All have stainless steel axles, even the cheapest among them (the ones that use normal hexagonal keying).