KCNC or Planet X Skewers

relanium
relanium Posts: 487
edited February 2010 in Road buying advice
Which are the best Skewers out of these 2 models.....
Black KCNC Quick Release Road Skewers weight 44g
or
Black Planet X Carbon Lever Ti Stick Quick Release 44g

Cheers.

Comments

  • Wappygixer
    Wappygixer Posts: 1,396
    I'd probably go for the KCNC out of these 2 as I've seen them and handled them.
    I still wouldn't be confident on having them hold my wheels though.I like a good solid skewer like my Mavic titanium ones, not the lightest but the hold and can be undone with ease when needed.
    Shimano are also the best action of any skewer imo.
  • relanium
    relanium Posts: 487
    I have DA 7900 Skewers which weigh 125g for the pair which I find heavy.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    The Enigma Ti ones are 38g... :wink:
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    I have the KCNC ones - more expensive but still going strong after a year. Very nice. But I would probably save myself some ££ on my next ones and go for the Planet X ones.
  • dboden
    dboden Posts: 349
    there are some in the classifieds on velo.. 35 sovs

    http://www.veloriders.co.uk/phpBB2/view ... hp?t=89962
  • balthazar
    balthazar Posts: 1,565
    Your Dura Ace QR's are as good as it gets. Exposed cam replacements are cheaper to make, but poorer in every mechanical respect. The tradeoff for a few grams saved strikes me as masochistic.
  • chriskempton
    chriskempton Posts: 1,245
    I have some KCNCs and I've been happy to trust them and they've been fine. As a g per £ weight saving upgrade they compare very well.
  • relanium
    relanium Posts: 487
    The Black Planet X Carbon Lever Ti Stick Quick Release cost £30.64
    and the Black KCNC Quick Release Road Skewers cost £39.99 so not much difference in the price.
  • ex-pat scot
    ex-pat scot Posts: 939
    Blue ones are much better than either of your black options...
    Commute: Langster -Singlecross - Brompton S2-LX

    Road: 95 Trek 5500 -Look 695 Aerolight eTap - Boardman TTe eTap

    Offroad: Pace RC200 - Dawes Kickback 2 tandem - Tricross - Boardman CXR9.8 - Ridley x-fire
  • relanium
    relanium Posts: 487
    I need them black to match the bike :D
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,335
    balthazar wrote:
    Your Dura Ace QR's are as good as it gets. Exposed cam replacements are cheaper to make, but poorer in every mechanical respect. The tradeoff for a few grams saved strikes me as masochistic.

    +1

    Lost a wheel with external cam ones... I'll never buy them again.
    left the forum March 2023
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    I have the Planet X Ti Sticks, in Red :wink: Very nice, too.
    However I did see Token Ti QR's in this weeks CW comic, similar price, similar weight and available in colours, too. :wink:
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • chriskempton
    chriskempton Posts: 1,245
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    balthazar wrote:
    Your Dura Ace QR's are as good as it gets. Exposed cam replacements are cheaper to make, but poorer in every mechanical respect. The tradeoff for a few grams saved strikes me as masochistic.

    +1

    Lost a wheel with external cam ones... I'll never buy them again.

    So what happened Ugo? What make were the skewers, and how exactly did they cause you to lose a wheel?
  • magliaceleste
    magliaceleste Posts: 748
    Yes I'm intrigued too. I've had this happen on an MTB with Hope skewers years ago.

    However these days with lawyer tabs there doesn't seem to to be so much chance of that happening.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,335
    chriskempton wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    balthazar wrote:
    Your Dura Ace QR's are as good as it gets. Exposed cam replacements are cheaper to make, but poorer in every mechanical respect. The tradeoff for a few grams saved strikes me as masochistic.

    +1

    Lost a wheel with external cam ones... I'll never buy them again.

    So what happened Ugo? What make were the skewers, and how exactly did they cause you to lose a wheel?

    Steel frame with semihorizontal dropouts (not the totally horizontal of the 70--80s, more the 90s type at 45 degrees or so) external cam quick release was DT Swiss, it came with the wheels. The skewer was simply not strong enough to keep the wheel in place, wheel twisted and I fell off... it happened twice the same day. I did a bit of research on the internet and found out it is a recurrent problem with external cam QR and horizontal/semihorizontal dropouts.
    I then replaced the skewer with my MTB one, which was an Internal Shimano and solved the problem. Then I bought a set of Shimano Ultegra skewers and never had a problem since.
    left the forum March 2023
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    Never had any problems with my Enigma Ti ones. I am a bit neurotic about making sure they are tight and checking them regularly though...

    My experience is that as long as they are done up tightly enough to begin with they are completely secure.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    Following on from ugo.santalucia's post though - I guess it depends on the dropouts.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,335
    neeb wrote:
    Following on from ugo.santalucia's post though - I guess it depends on the dropouts.

    It does, but it can happen with vertical dropouts too if you go over a bump. Lawyer's lips are only at the front and they're not a guarantee of safety anyway.

    Reality is these external QR skewers are mechanically inferior, so if the weight saving is in the region of 50 grams or less, I really don't get the appeal. We're not talking fancy bar tape, we're talking about a device which is there to prevent the wheel to come off or come loose and potentially kill you...

    Risk it for 50 grams? Madness
    left the forum March 2023
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,665
    DA Skewers are the best I've used. Sod the weight (did I just say that?!?). Wish I'd never sold them with the DA wheels I sold :(
  • relanium
    relanium Posts: 487
    You could always treat yourself to a pair of DA wheels NapD..... Sell your Zipps :wink:
  • balthazar
    balthazar Posts: 1,565
    neeb wrote:
    Following on from ugo.santalucia's post though - I guess it depends on the dropouts.
    I think that could be reframed: some dropout designs expose serious weaknesses in these quick releases. The only thing they need to do is hold the wheels on, and they are inadequate and expensive. Why not have something better and cheaper?
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    I think that could be reframed: some dropout designs expose serious weaknesses in these quick releases. The only thing they need to do is hold the wheels on, and they are inadequate and expensive. Why not have something better and cheaper?
    2 x 50g = 100g, = a whole 0.2 of a lb.... :wink:

    I know, I'm a mad weenie... I know it's not good and it's not clever. It's an illness, like a mechanical version of anorexia.... :)

    I've just had absolutely no problems with my Enigma QRs, as long as they are on my frame and done up the way I know makes them secure I have no worries that they are going to come undone. The only thing that would worry me would be if there was a chance of them breaking or snapping. Which I guess is not impossible..
  • rake
    rake Posts: 3,204
    steel is safer on qr's. its youngs modulus is nearly double aluminium and titanium alloys. theyre stretched pretty hard, so the more stretch the less tight the wheel will be held. the weight on such a small part is meaningless, its another way to extort money.
  • chriskempton
    chriskempton Posts: 1,245
    Interesting stuff. I had some titanium QRs (Hope) on a mountain bike that came open once (to be fair it might have been from bouncing off something), but it's never happened on my road bike.
  • rake
    rake Posts: 3,204
    chriskempton wrote:
    Interesting stuff. I had some titanium QRs (Hope) on a mountain bike that came open once (to be fair it might have been from bouncing off something), but it's never happened on my road bike.
    it could be related. ive read of it happen before. they should be done up far tighter, even so i dont like them for such little gain.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    the weight on such a small part is meaningless, its another way to extort money.
    It's not meaningless. It may or may not be a bad place to save weight, but the difference between one bike and another that weighs 2lbs more is the accumulated sum of many small weight savings. 100g is getting on for a quarter pound.

    Whether a 2 lb weight difference is significant is a different argument (I think there was a thread on it a few days ago..)

    So it just comes down to whether light weight QRs are safe or not.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,335
    neeb wrote:
    the weight on such a small part is meaningless, its another way to extort money.
    It's not meaningless. It may or may not be a bad place to save weight, but the difference between one bike and another that weighs 2lbs more is the accumulated sum of many small weight savings. 100g is getting on for a quarter pound.

    Whether a 2 lb weight difference is significant is a different argument (I think there was a thread on it a few days ago..)

    So it just comes down to whether light weight QRs are safe or not.

    It's not about weight but cam action. The internal ones have astronger action, whether they're heavier or not.

    Weightwise, I was borderline, skeptic but also fascinated by lightweight components. Then I bought a cross bike and fitted 28 mm road tyres, all over 25 pounds and a good 8 more than my summer road bike. The difference in climbing is minimal, I'm talking less than 10 seconds on one mile at 10%. The time is recovered downhill, as this heavy one is much more stable on British rough tarmac and faster as a consequence.
    left the forum March 2023
  • bigmat
    bigmat Posts: 5,134
    If you've got a cross bike with 28mm tyres, why on earth were you having such fits about a bit of ice on the HOTA?! ;)
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/41991871@N ... otostream/
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,335
    MatHammond wrote:
    If you've got a cross bike with 28mm tyres, why on earth were you having such fits about a bit of ice on the HOTA?! ;)

    tried... on ice is as good as my summer bike. Even with 35 mm knobbly tyres on ice is very very risky (infact the organisers remark about winter tyres was ludicrous). Two wheels and ice just don't work together, that's why ice skates have blades instead... :D

    Anyway, I think I've said enough and made enough enemies on that thread, so I won't comment any more on the topic...
    left the forum March 2023
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    The difference in climbing is minimal, I'm talking less than 10 seconds on one mile at 10%.
    Well, to me that seems quite a lot - about 1 or 2 seconds for every minute? If you are equally matched it could make the difference when you are racing someone up a short hill..

    I just like that zippy feeling you get from a light bike, the moment-to-moment responsiveness due to quicker acceleration. Although I admit it's difficult to tell how much of that is due to weight and how much to other factors, such as drive-train stiffness. In my perfect cycling moments I feel unencumbered by the bike, almost as if it's not there, and I find it difficult to achieve that with heavy, sluggish bikes, even if my over-all average speeds are not much different.

    Maybe it's all in the head, but it doesn't seem that way.

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