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Skewer Shootout

 May 6, 2013 article & images by Nick Salazar

The non-drive-side of all six skewers in this shootout.
The non-drive-side of all six skewers in this shootout.
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Aftermarket skewers are a popular upgrade among the weight weenie crowd, but often ignored by triathletes. Today we're taking an in-depth look at what options are available for the aero crowd, and why you might want to pick one over another. See the full article for our skewer shootout.

Back to article: Skewer Shootout


Tags » shootout,  skewers,  tune,  viewspeed
  • The Tune Skyline is the lightest skewer you can find, and also very minimal from an aero standpoint. But it does require a special tool to install.
  • The Tune Skyline skewer is just 18g complete, and comes in a variety of colors. But it's hard to find, and has a pretty high price tag.
  • Perhaps the purest aero-geek skewer is the line from View-Speed.com, shown here. The bolt-on skewers have small, rounded end caps to maintain a nice aero profile. They're also pretty light at just 44g for the pair.
  • The View-Speed.com skewers are a great aero upgrade if you're willing to give up a quick release.
  • KCNC makes what is probably the most popular aftermarket skewer. It boasts a great balance of light weight (46g for the pair), ready availability, and reasonable cost ($78).
  • The KCNC skewers have a fairly low-profile quick-release mechanism, as well as a low-profile end cap on the other side. These come highly recommended for their excellent balance of features, ease-of-use, and price.
  • Another exceptionally high-end offering from Tune is the world's lightest quick-release U20 skewers. The pair of these things weighs an astonishing 21g, and the quick release mechanism works just fine.
  • The U20 skewers feature a very low-profile quick release, the same nearly-invisible end cap as the Skyline skewers, and the exotic blend of carbon fiber, titanium, and aluminum parts makes these skewers the lightest in the world with a quick release mechanism. They also carry the highest price tag of any skewer in this review, and will set you back more than $200 ... if you are lucky enough to find them.
  • Zipp makes some nice steel skewers that are usually included with their wheels. They have a nice low profile and smooth aero shaped levers.
  • At 78g, these aren't the lightest skewers in the review, but Zipp also makes a titanium version. The titanium is fairly light, but still a few grams heavier than the KCNC skewers. Nevertheless, these are really good skewers and it's nice to see Zipp pay attention to the little details.
  • The baseline for this shootout is the brand new Dura-Ace 9000 skewer, part of Shimano's new 11-speed flagship group. These are big, heavy, and probably not very aero. But they work really well, and provide a good basis for comparison against the other skewers in this review.
  • The Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 skewers come in at 128g for the pair. That's the same as the Skyline, View-Speed.com, U20, and KCNC skewer weights COMBINED.
  • The non-drive-side of all six skewers in this shootout.
  • It's easy to see why you might want to upgrade from your traditional Shimano-sized skewer (left). The Zipp, KCNC, and Tune U20 skewers (2nd, 3rd, and 4th from the left) all have a nice, small ball head. The View-Speed.com and Tune Skyline heads (5th and 6th from the left) are smaller still, offering the next level of aerodynamic speed at the cost of a convenient quick-release mechainsm.
  • The same difference across the non-drive-side ends of the skewers are seen again on the drive-side ends. From left to right: Tune Skyline, Tune U20, View-Speed.com, KCNC, Zipp, Shimano Dura-Ace. This is where the Tune skewers really shine. They have absolutely minimal heads. The View-Speed is basically the same, even if a tiny bit larger. And once again, KCNC appears as a very nice balance between size and usability.

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