I know these are very commonly used, as they come by default with almost all Yakima fork-mount racks, which are everywhere. I rarely hear anyone complain about/have issues with the Yakima Universal Locking Skewer. However, they've been nothing but trouble for me! Am I missing something?

I find that they are extremely difficult to adjust (tighten/loosen to fit different fork sizes), need to be adjusted every few days even for the same fork size (despite only opening and closing them to put the bike on/off, not turning anything, etc.) and just generally being unreliable. I've had one break (the piece that springs back no longer springs because the little ring holding it all together let go.) Mine also randomly stop locking (the core will not turn the little tab) unless I open it up fully, wiggle it around, press on it, then try again. In general these things just seem to be very poorly engineered, and a huge pain to deal with.

Am I just using these incorrectly, or did I happen to get two duds? Or is everyone else having the same issues but not talking about it because they figure that's just the way it is?

I'm looking at alternatives, and so far have the following list. I'm not sure which will work with the Yakima system (I have two Copperheads specifically), but perhaps we can start a discussion.

• SlickFit Locking Long Throw Skewer - looks good, but not much info on the company, and no reviews other than two mentions here on BFs (which seem fairly positive at least) - it for sure looks like these will work with the Yakima.
• Topper Loc Locking Skewer - I don't like the seperate lock; I prefer one built in. Not sure if it will work with the Yakima system?
• Saris Locking Skewer - not sure if this would work with Yakima?

Other options I am missing? Thoughts? The RockyMounts system looks to be a way better design, but I'm fairly certain it will not work on a Yakima.