Hi Everyone:

I have discovered that my front skewer is slightly bent. I don't know how. Is this common or fatal? Are the skewers from nashbar a good alternative to spending 40 on a name brand pair?

GG

When you tighten the skewer, you put the rod in tension, which should straighten it out. If it doesn't show any particular signs of damage or major corrosion and it is still working, then it should be good to use.

You need to first figure out why it bent. Nearly any old skewer will work in it's place, so how much you spend is up to you. Nashbar ones would be fine, as in most cases, spending more money only gets you less weight. Keep in mind that it does keep your wheel on.

I am curious - can you describe the bend? For example, is the entire skewer bowed in a gentle curve or is only the end bent. I assume you can remove the skewer from the axle.

The skewer itelf only experiences a pure tension force when it's in service. I should not experiece any other forces which could cause it to bend.

Expatriate gave the correct anwser. Unless you are concerned about a a couple of ounces get a cheap one, throw the bent one away and ride on!!

I took an extra smarty pill this morning.

I was scratching my head too as to how it was bent. The bike is second hand 2001 - overall in good condition, no obvious crash signs. The skewer is straight until you get to the threads where it makes a little tight bend. Normally I would not hesitate to straighten such a simple bend, but there is no way I'm going to experiment on my front skewer.

I will probably replace the skewers any how. I don't think you can have a minor when your front skewer fails. LOL

I had a rear wheel that kept falling off, the problem was a skewer that had a slight bend at the threads. The bend didn't allow the skewer to tighten properly (evenly) on the dropouts.
Adam