The Tester Approves thread (see first post)

Sound like it might be cam damage, probably only fixable by getting a new lever/cam.

Grease.

For metal on metal connections which are not supposed to move (threads, seat posts), you want a copper anti-seize grease. For stuff which is supposed to move (bearings) you want a Molybdenum Disulphide grease. Go to your local motor factor and buy a 0.5kg tin of each, they will last a lifetime for most people.

Are there any tester approved skewers? Preferably not costing more than £30. Is Ti a bad choice unless you're saving all the grams?

Shimano in general, DA if you're feeling spendy is the tester answer.

Ti, is OK but will wear quicker apparently, I've got some KCNC ones which according to most are as light as you should go without getting risky.

Are there any tester approved skewers?

Shimano 105 (road) or Deore (MTB) do the job at least as well as anything else, and better than most. Ultegra/XT are not actually functionally better, but seem to be much easier to buy.

The approved weight weenie choice is to bin the skewers and go bolt-on

Thought you might say Shimano. I was hoping you'd say something more interesting like Hope or KCNC. Thanks anyway.

hoping you'd say something more interesting like Hope or KCNC

I'll be happy to recommend either if they ever start making properly designed QR skewers. They're both good companies, but making proper QRs is very capital intensive (clearly beyond even a relatively substantial company like Hope), whereas anybody can make crappy open cam ones and they're all equally bad. You might as well go for the cheapest if you just want horrible QRs which will wear out, break, and, if you have disc brakes, kill you in the face with fire.

Ha! Fair enough. I'm looking to replace/upgrade on my current open cam skewers. They aren't terrible, but they were the standard ones with the wheelset and have the plastic bushes that compress too much under clamping pressure. I thought that a brass bushed Ti or stainless skewer may get the seal of approval, but it seems not.

They will be going on my fair weather road bike for a tour of Hokkaido in June, no disc brakes, just some climbs and descents to deal with on a reasonable road surface.

I might just get another set of Halo hex skewers as I ride around with a multi tool all the time anyway and I've never had a problem with them on my other bikes.

Any internal-cam QRs available for 170mm axles?

Got a feeling Paul Comp is your only option at the moment...

Shiny... the only option I thought I had for my OnOne(/Novatec?) hubs were Hope skewers, which are open:

I am thinking about building myself a steel road frame with 44mm headtube (could be a tapered headtube though although I think 44mm might be cheaper than a machined steel vulcano). Not liking the price level of CK Inset 7, what headset is out there for me with non-proprietary bearings? Preferably black and sans logos. So far I only have experiences with 1 1/8 and 1" HT.

I wouldn't worry about the proprietary bearings, they are by far the most expensive part of a headset so it's nearly always cheaper to buy a whole new headset than to replace the bearings. Cane Creek are good, you're not going to see much of any logo if you put a straight 1⅛" steerer into a 44mm head tube, as both ends of the headset will be zero-stack. With a tapered steerer and a straight head tube, it's zero-stack on top and EC44 on the bottom, and even then the logo is my newt

There's about a 99% chance that this no-logo headset contain TH Industries bearing cartridges, which are regarded by 99% of the industry as good enough.

even then the logo is my newt

@Oliver Schick would be proud

Tester approved solution for knackered EBBs?

I have a frame with EBB secured with two bolts through the bottom of the shell (Haro Mary) which has a siezed/drilled out/knackered bolt hole and creaks and works loose with only the one remaining bolt being used.

Wedge or other type EBB, new frame, somewhere easy to find (no frame builders near me) that could tap the knackered threads (I've tried, but as always when I try and tap something, the material seems stronger than my taps and I get half a thread in and then rather than cut further it just rips out the new thread). With a cromo frame, could I grind off the bolt tube thing, drill a hole and MIG weld on a nut and use a regular bolt?

Thank you. I will be going tapered steerer as there isn't many nice/cheap full carbon 1 1/8 forks to choose from.

The M Part headset looks perfect.

Tester approved solution for knackered EBBs?

I've never had to fix one. If it fits, the Cannondale one looks like it could get you back on the road for cheap.

On the subject of 44mm headtubes/sets, are there any with a traditional exposed top section as well as a bottom section? Or could you theoretically buy two bottoms?

Much obliged, that's much cheaper than any of the alternatives I've managed to find. Now struggling to find the shell dia. I had it the other day, but struggling now. 58mm rings a bell, which would be a shame.

On the subject of 44mm headtubes/sets, are there any with a traditional exposed top section as well as a bottom section?

They exist for putting 1.5" straight steerers into 44mm head tubes, but they are not common as straight 1.5" steerers have gone out of fashion, and most of the frames built to take them have bigger head tubes, e.g. EC49.

58mm rings a bell, which would be a shame.

58 outside or inside? EBBs seem to be mostly 54mm, there's a suggestion of shimming here but if you're tring to stick a 54mm EBB into a 58mm hole, you'd be looking for a split sleeve rather than some shim stock, so you'd be chatting to your machinist and handing over a couple of crisp twentys.

Cheers. I'd noticed those NP ones but as you said its for a straight steerer. I was thinking mainly from an aesthetic POV.

I guess my next question would be if you could have a custom machined top cup, and fill it using readily available parts / internals from another headset?

If you're going to get custom parts made, the easiest way would be to sleeve down that EC44 top cup to fit a 1⅛" steerer. Either that or make an insert of your desired shape which converts the 44mm press fit to accept an IS41 upper bearing. Of course, that's basically what a ZS44 upper is, but if you insist on adding unnecessary metal for aesthetic reasons, I'm not going to stop you. I might point and laugh, though.