Blast it! '78 Motobecane--you can scrunch the skewer down so tight that the lever handle bends, but eventually you'll find yourself panting up a hill you know is not that steep--and sure enough, the new Marathon is rubbing the left chain stay, so hot it has melted off the surface. Second one I've burned up, dangit.

tried a number of skewers, too--old Spidels, Campy's, even a new Quanta. I read a warning you can actually bend an axel if you overtighten the skewer...

...and it's not like I have legs like Gino Bartali, either. Any suggestions?