Skewer spring?

[Road_Runner]

What are the springs on the skewer actually used for?

Does it act as a washer of some sort? Or is it literal to push the bolt heads out away from the frame, especially in the case of quick releases, to make the action of removing a wheel a split second quicker?


Sometimes i wonder what they're actually for and thought about throwing them away at one stage.

 

[HovR]

What are the springs on the skewer actually used for?

Does it act as a washer of some sort? Or is it literal to push the bolt heads out away from the frame, especially in the case of quick releases, to make the action of removing a wheel a split second quicker?


Sometimes i wonder what they're actually for and thought about throwing them away at one stage.

As far as I'm aware they just centre the skewer properly to make fitting/removing the wheel a little bit easier. Just don't accidentally fit them backwards. I did this once, and somehow it managed to get the wheel stuck in the aluminium drop out, what a pain that was to remove!

 

[Vapin' Joe]

As far as I'm aware they just centre the skewer properly to make fitting/removing the wheel a little bit easier.

Yep, and you can actually junk them if you're a weight obsessive.