Are titanium quick release axles safe/worth it?
 

I kissed the tarmac last Sunday. All good but a couple of scratches on my left cheek and knee, and a badly damaged rear quick release axle (my helmet saved my head once again, that's another story). The rough tarmac ate the aluminum locking handle of it.
I got to my LBA to get a new one and I had just two options, a cheap €3 one and a €15 titanium one. I opted for the titanium, but I have been reading now that steel is more durable than titanium. Is it worth replacing it again? How safe is it? I am riding a road bike.

I've been using mine successfully for over a year despite the Risk (yes, a hilarious name for a brand). Steel is stronger than Ti, but how strong do QRs really need to be?

Mine is an Ursus branded one. It looks nice and it is remarkably light. I bought it as the cheap one seemed just too badly machined and I felt safer with this one. Did you experience any issues like stretching or any deformation over use?

Not really, threads look like new, the clamping doesn't seem to deteriorate over time. I don't touch it much, but whenever I do, it's holding tight.

True as in general steel has a higher tensile yield strength. That said, the tensile strength of the most common titanium alloy, grade 5, is much higher than that of common mild or stainless steel bolts and so often used where the corrosion resistance and light weight are an advantage. Some grades of Titanium can be four times stronger than Stainless Steel. So without knowing all the details, when I have replaced a release it is titanium.

Received a pair as a gift 20 years ago. They've been solid, although they are noticeably more elastic than steel; with my set they have to be pretty snug before you cam them down.

I wouldn't run an expensive ti skewer, much less one as cheap as yours.

My take here is very simple. I ride only steel and titanium bikes; most with horizontal dropouts and I never want a front wheel to come out. So I want tight quick releases. For a given distance of pull when you clamp the QR lever, that tension is equal to the distance stretched times cross-section of the QR skewer times modulus of elasticity divided by the skewer length. Not that none of this can be changed except the modulus of the skewer material and that high modulus = greater QR clamping force. Well, steel's modulus is twice titanium's and three times aluminum's. So, in my book, a $12 Shimano QR from the family bike store down the street is better than a $50 state of the art ti skewer.

(I mention the bike material as I suspect steel skewers might be able to damage some of the non-steel or ti dropouts.)

Does pretty snug mean as snug as a steel QR?

I would not use cheap unknown TI QR skewers, or cheap unknown QR skewers (regardless of material) in general, but the Enve TI ones with internal cams have worked just as well as their Ultegra steel counterparts.

Enve Skewer Road 100/130 Ti (Rim Brake Frames) – Bike Closet

Those actually do look pretty good, and Enve is a great brand.

FWIW, my QR bikes all have Ultegra or XT skewers. Easy to find, inexpensive, and rock-solid reliable.

it's a DRAWBAR, not an "axle".

you'll be fine.
the tensions placed on a QR skewer are minimal, at the worst.( a Crash)

overtightening QRs is an invitation to a Damaged Hub...the Axle COMPRESSES when the QR is tightened onto the dropouts.
this is a tested and proven fact.

the Weight of rider/bike/bouncing is carried by the Axle contacting the dropouts, and the friction between the locknut and dropout face, not the skewer.
also tested and proven.

When (current) suspension was in its youth some claimed that the stretcher Ti skewers would allow more movement between the two sides of the frame/fork. As in more wheel twisting off plane. I only dabbled with suspension and even then with steel "internal cam" skewers I felt the front wheel moving about (brake pad rub being the audio part).

The vast majority of TI skewer users that I have serviced were on road bikes that with their far better braced wheel locations that seem to work just fine.

So, my take is that, when properly used, a Ti skewer is safe. I will say that most all the Ti skewers I have seen are of the lousy external can design, a type I refuse to use myself. Having said that I don't see the advantage in the Ti aspect of skewers and use "quality name" steel skewers of internal cam design on all my bikes (excepting the SA AW equipped bike and my Monty). Andy

Yes, I had bought two pairs (one for use and the other for spares) for about $70/pair, and now they are $30 + $10 shipping. :(

The Ultegra 6800 QR skewers work well but are noticeably heavy. But their offset levers meant that the rear lever had to aligned along and under the left chain stay of my bike when closed, which seems awkward.

Ti is not a great material for a skewer but if it is a proper skewer that is INTERNALLY CAMED it is going to be a bit better than anything external. In the end get a known quantity and quality so the random GOGHAFLABABLAHBA TITANIUM WHEEL HOLDER SKEWER FOR BICYCLE BIKE ROAD AND MOUNTAIN QUICK RELEASE is not one I would recommend in fact any products like that with similar naming are too be avoided at all costs.

My favorite QR skewers are DT Swiss RWS or from Paul Components but honestly I will give it to the RWS. I love Paul and they are certainly a really well made and nice looking lever but I think functionality on the RWS is better and you could get that in titanium (or at least you used to) However I would just stick with the steel ones and not have to ever worry.

When I bought my Airborne in 2001, I opted for the titanium "Airborne" branded skewers; I'm not really sure why. They look nice, with anodized and laser-etched levers (external cam). They have held up fine for the last 20+ years. What I didn't expect was that when the bike arrived, the Ultegra skewers were in the box. I should weigh both sets to see how much weight is really saved; I'll bet it's not much.
I have another road bike and a mountain bike with steel skewers. In terms of performance (holding the wheels in place), I've noticed no difference between the steel and titanium.

The basic rule of thumb - finger tighten the skewer with the QR pointing away from the bike - doesn't work as well with a Ti skewer. If you do that and then cam the skewer down, it's not as tight as a steel skewer, for all the material properties being discussed here.

So what I do is start with the rule of thumb, and then I flip the QR towards the wheel...but the opposite direction of camming down the skewer. That gives me leverage to rotate and tighten the QR another 180 degrees or so. And THEN I cam down the QR in the direction that tightens things. I know that I'm doing it right when pushing the last 30 degrees of QR tightening requires good hand strength.

I've bombed down hills at 45mph + with the wheels secured using this method. And I'm still here, so it works. But the only reason that I'm using them is because I was gifted them. And they match my bike quite nicely. I have not and would not buy Ti skewers otherwise. I've retired from weight weenie obsessions.

If you want your skewer tight, make sure the cam is lubricated.

Titanium is more than strong enough, and skewers are simple devices. No reason to be snobby about them - if they work, they work.

the problem with many titanium quick release skewers is many have a skewer shaft ( drawbar ) that is closer to 4mm instead of 5mm

have a set of KCNC titanium skewers that have a 3.5 mm shaft :(

the old Control Tech bolt on titanium skewers were one of the best - they measure at 5mm … the old T Gear bolt on titanium skewers also have 5mm shafts

I don't know if this was in response to my post, but my issue is not about lubrication. With my titanium skewers, the normal rule of thumb tightening method results in an unsecure skewer. They work, but not the same.

And I'm not sure where the snobbery is coming from.

I would have quoted you if my post was completely about your post, but in general many of the issues people have with external cam skewers are from trying to close them dry.

The snobbery is more about Koyote's post. I've seen $10 skewers that I'd trust long before those expensive Enve skewers they recalled.

also not a fan of the Enve titanium quick release skewers … shaft diameter is approx 4.25 mm

The Enve TI QR skewers I am riding are under recall? I see that an old Enve QR disc brake fork is under recall, but nothing about QR skewers.

"Snobbery"? I recommended steel Shimano skewers that you can pick up for about thirty bucks.

And if those Enve skewers were recalled, why are they for sale at their website? (Obvious answer: they've not been recalled.)

There are two generations of Enve skewers.