Originally Posted by KtecR
Thanks everyone, that was incredibly helpful. Now while we are on stupid questions, I was wondering what the difference between through-axle and quick release is. I know what QR is, but is TA just the traditional bolt on style? advantages?
through-axles are generally 20mm, and are big-up chunks of metal. superstrong. they aren't traditional bolt-on style, they are clamped down by the dropouts using pinch bolts.
compared to your standard dropout and bolt, where the the bolt compresses the axle onto the frame
quick releases use 5mm skewers to achieve the same effect as a regular bolt-on axle.
there are also quick-release 20mm axles, most notably the MAXLE by rockshox.
I believe marzocchi or manitou have tried to come up with something similar, but still relies on pinch bolts to keep it secure.
and advantage of a 20mm TA is it's far stronger, but a disadvantage is removing said axle to service something like a tire. This is why maxle is such a great idea; the strength of a TA, but the useability of a QR.