As I mentioned in my last post, I needed a quick release skewer for the rear wheel on the P3 project. Now clearly I could buy every length and type of rear skewer and experiment - evolutionary style. But quite frankly I don't have the resources or the time. So I went to God - well the nearest thing in bike mechanics and looked up the manufacturer's specifications for the LX freehub. Cheating I know but how else am I going to accelerate and evolve?
Looking at the specifications I began to realise that this was not a "normal" skewer. Not readily available off the shelf, and so quite tough to find. The original component replacement is pricey - Madison's have a one for £17 which is close to the most you can pay, and more than half the cost of the frame alone. So I pop down to my local bike store Bike+ here in Croydon. The thing about bike stores is that the good ones will give you advice and suggestions. So discussing the skewer problem, we develop the idea that 168 probably has a lot of spare capacity for even chunkier frames. With the P3 the frame doesn't have dropouts which are that wide, so a 152mm the longest available will probably work. I take away a pair (front and rear) for a tenner with the knowledge that I can return them if it doesn't work.
Home again and after a quick clean of the rims and hubs, which are still shedding some grey dust, time to test the theory. Fantastic, plenty of spare thread to fit to the skewer, so no danger of it coming off during a ride. Time to put the tyres on and then on to the forks.
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