Is it just me... or are dzus fasteners too short

I feel like every time I put a bike together there is at least one that is a total pain in the ass for the rest of the time I have that bike.

 

These fasteners are designed to work on aircraft and having used them thousands of times I can tell you that they work very easily and very well when set up properly. I think that one of the main reasons that we have issues with them on racebike bodywork is because it's difficult to do the initial alignment when we lock down the first one or two fasteners. Figuring out how to set up the bodywork to self-align takes way more work but once you do it'll be a breeze from then on.

 

The other design works better for a number of reasons. They screw in and align easier. They remove easier and get snagged less. They are easier to adjust tension. They are nicer to the receiving fiberglass since the screw only touches metal. The only trade off I’ve noticed is they are less durable as those two little holding tabs can wear down. I don’t care if someone can make the spring design work. IMO, more people will be able to get the other design to work well.

 

The point is that it doesn't matter which kind you use if you set up your bodywork to align more accurately to begin with they all work well. That is a step that takes a lot of time and is rarely done. (That includes myself!)