On 10/24/18 9:29 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Wednesday, October 24, 2018 at 2:14:41 PM UTC-4, Emanuel Berg
wrote:
Tosspot wrote:

Is there a reason, besides the common use of hub gearboxes, so
many Dutch commuters these days have track ends rather than
dropouts?

Stops the rear wheel falling off.

Is this a joke or do you mean if the nuts come loose the chain will
still hold the wheel to make time for an emergency stop?

Yeah, what *are* the "functional difference[s]" between track ends
and dropouts? I always considered dropouts better and more modern
but now that I think about it I don't know how or why I came to
that.

-- underground experts united http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573

One advantage with rear facing track ends is that you can have the
tire nearly touching the seat tube and still be able to get the wheel
off without having to deflate it. That's because you don't need space
with track ends to pull the wheel forward so the axle clears the
slot. You do with forward facing dropouts.

Forward facing dropouts give you a good place to hang your
derailleur.

There is no real reason 'track' fork ends can't have a derailleur, they
just don't. The advantages of each style are well known, but basically
single/fixes/hubs like a track end for 'easy' chain adjustment, every
body else would use forward facing or vertical for ease of getting the
rear wheel off/on. In my case, I use a vertical, with one of these,
albeit generic,

https://surlybikes.com/parts/drivetrain/singleator

Which works very well imho, giving me the perceived advantages of a hub
drive, without the hassle of chain tensioning or the fudge or a short
reach derailleur. Yes Andre, I know, I can live with it.

See also

https://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Drop..._101_3354.html