Originally Posted by MarkS
So the reason for the popularity of QR is just people's unwillingness to carry 6" wrench's?
I suspect it's the same reason knobby tires and full suspension gizmos are sold on so many new bikes whose users would be better served without. Marketing to be sporty, and has nothing to do with usefullness, and in many cases is counterproductive to actual use.
Originally Posted by MarkS
The night I got stuck, I finally had to walk over to a nearby Pep Boy's (what luck!) and buy a long arm socket wrench. Then I had to jump up and down on it for about a half hour. The other factor is that my older bike had "vague" drop-outs, making it harder to know if you got the wheel back in right.
How long was that bolt allowed to rust-weld itself to the axle? Was it soaked in salt water for a few months? Did you or anybody else do any maintenance on the bike for the previous couple decades? I cannot figure out how a bolt could be that frozen on a bicycle axle.