Is a skewer just a skewer?

As long as the skerwer ends (knobs?) fit into the holding brackets in the new trainer, shouldn't be an issue...

It's not really your bike that'll get messed up, it's the skewer. If the skewer on your bike is metal you shouldn't have a problem.

All are not made equal. You want to make sure it is on tight, some brands were known to come with a lesser quality skewer which caused issues with bikes that had an adjuster screw/rear wheel cutout. Just make sure its on well, and if it fits go for it.

+1. I swap out the skewer because my skewer is coated in plastic and the trainer will chew it up. Takes 2 seconds to swap it out.

The difference between the skewer that came with you Giant trainer and the Kinetic trainer is probably very small (if anything at all). Both should be steel skewers with both ends (knobs) being steel. You should be able to use either one without a problem.

Some trainers grap certain steel skewers better than other, the designs of the trainer will take into account the shape of the knob of the skewer (that's also one of the reasons why trainers are delivered with a skewer). If you are experiencing less than ideal clamping, change out the skewer to the one that came with the trainer... most of the time, this solves the problem (but this is not a common problem).

On the road though, you probably have a skewer that came with the bike.... I would use that. You don't want the trainer skewer to get grimy as this will deteriorate the skewer and how it clamps into the trainer over time.

Changing a skewer out is amongst the easiest things you can do on a bike. All you do (while holding your bike upright, just like when you're just standing next to it at the coffee shop), is flip the lever back (it's a cam mechanism, so this will release the tension) and while holding each side of the skewer, unscrew it. Be careful as there are a spring on each side of the skewer. Once unscrewed, pull the skewer out of the wheel (while the wheel is still in the bike). Replace the trainer skewer with the road skewer (or vice versa) by following these instructions backwards....

Edited by audiojan 2009-10-30 1:04 AM

          'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
          Thou art thyself, though not a Giant Magnetic.
          What's Giant? it is nor cam, nor axle,
          Nor threads, nor cap, nor any other part
          Belonging to a skewer. O, be some other name!
          What's in a name? that which we call a Kurt Kinetic
          By any other name would hold a wheel;
          So Giant would, were it not Giant call'd,
          Retain that dear perfection which it owes
          Without that title. Giant, doff thy name,
          And for that name which is no part of thee
          Take all myself.

I take thee at thy word.
Call me but triathlete, and I'll be new skewer'd;
Henceforth I never will be Giant.