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What's the benefit of using titanium skewer beside the fact that it's light? Is it strong enough to hold my weight?

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8  
I would say that the primary benefit is that it removes money from your pocket and puts it in the pocket of the manufacturer & retailer. – Daniel R Hicks Feb 20 '12 at 12:24

7 Answers

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Aside from weight, there is no real benefit. Titanium is an alloyed steel, and has no limitation on weight or riding style, generally, although there are likely ultra light versions which do have limits.

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What do you mean Titanium is an alloyed steel? Are you saying that in the skewer it would be an alloy or are you saying the element Titanium is an alloy? – Vincent Agnello Feb 22 '12 at 4:45
The material sold as titanium commercially is steel, alloyed with a small percentage of titanium, or the element titanium, alloyed with Aluminum and Vanadium to make it soft enough to work. In bicycles, it is actually the latter which is more common. – zenbike♦ Feb 22 '12 at 4:57
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@VincentAgnello: "alloyed steel" is redundant -- steel is an alloy, it is not listed on the Periodic Table of Elements. Commercially available titanium is an alloy, the most common being Ti6-Al4V – OMG Ponies Feb 22 '12 at 5:11
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@OMGPonies: Exactly. Steel is always an alloy. Sometimes, the material sold as Titanium commercially is a steel alloy, which uses titanium as an alloying element. Does that make it more clear? – zenbike♦ Feb 22 '12 at 5:51
@OMGPonies, you mean an alloy isn't an element? Thanks for clearing that up, I had NO IDEA! Thanks zenbike, I wasn't sure if they blended it with other metals to make an alloy (see what I did there OMGPonies). I did some searching but everything I came across just referred to it as Titanium not a Titanium alloy. – Vincent Agnello Feb 23 '12 at 1:38
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up vote 2 down vote

I have broken a

  • Ti stem that held my handlbars.
  • Ti seat rail
  • Ti frame (in 3 places now, alas)

So Ti is not magical, but this is on a 18 year old frame now, so not that surprising.

I have broken several axles, but steel ones have been sufficient for the last few years for me. I suspect weight is the only benefit, however when you care at the level of a few grams, it seems silly when a full water bottle weighs almost a kilo. (1 litre of water weighs 1 kilo)

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so Ti is not that strong compared to steel one.. – Rick Ant Feb 21 '12 at 1:22
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@RickAnt: The density of titanium is nearly twice that of aluminum (though aluminum is the weaker of the two metals), but only 56% the density of steel. The stiffness of titanium is also about half that of steel. It therefore follows that the stiffness-to-weight ratio of the two metals is nearly the same. In English this means that titanium is nearly as strong as, but is lighter than steel. – OMG Ponies Feb 21 '12 at 1:51
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@RickAnt Nope, I was suggesting I am quite hard on bikes. :) I have broken steel frames, skewers, pedals, cranks, and more. Ti has worked MUCH better for me than steel. I just used to do a lot of mileage a year (8000K a year for about a decade) and am a big guy. – geoffc Feb 21 '12 at 1:59
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Geoffc: I would suggest this answer is more commentary than really an answer to the question asked. Not picking, but next time, maybe use the comment field. – zenbike♦ Feb 21 '12 at 6:57
up vote 2 down vote

The rear wheel (with a Ti skewer) on one of my road bikes would flex and rub against the frame when I stomped on the pedals or climbed a steep hill no matter how tight I made the skewer. I fixed the problem by switching to a steel skewer. No more flex and even the rear derailleur shifts better.

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up vote 1 down vote

Ti = really expensive = really light = usually racing parts = shortened lifespan due to the gram saving which actually weakens the parts for the long haul.

If you race and need every ounce shaved off and your sponser is paying then they're great.

If you don't race or are paying your own way then you'd be better off spending your cash on something meant for longer life and trying to skip that post ride beer to save on long term weight.

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up vote 1 down vote

It is light, and doesn't corrode. The skewer doesn't take weight at all - that is all held on the axle. The skewer just provides compressive force to stop the axle dropping out of the forks.

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Sorry guys, but I feel to comment here a bit on titanium. Of course there's a chance, that the composition of that specific metal used by manufacturer is not good, or just less than great. I have been racing road bikes for 30 years and having had all kinds of frames, my original Litespeed (before they degraded by new owners), is absolutely the best frame I've ever ridden. Superstiff but flexing a tiny bit to keep comfortable and actually makes you go faster and it never broke down. Titanium have a great way of accelerating as it simply shoots you away, very fast. My stem and seat post is Litespeed in titanium too. Most bolts and some parts of my Record parts are titanium too. All I am saying is this: there are differences in even titanium. Some parts does not make too much sense making too tiny and thin just for the sake of weight. Eat propperly and save more weight and energy, while being safe ;) Cheers, Jacques

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up vote 0 down vote

For skewers, weight. That's it. Ti skewers will make your bike and your wallet lighter.

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