Originally Posted by
icepick_trotsky
I've heard people, including Sheldon, quibble about that distinction, but it really doesn't make sense to me. A dropout can face forward (as horizontal ones do) or straight down (as vertical ones do), but not backward? It just seems like getting one's semantic panties in a bunch for no real reason.
I should have been clearer. Forward facing or down allows the wheel to dropout without handling the chain, a key part of doing fast road wheel changes. With track ends. you have to lift the chain off the cog or chainring to get enough slack to pull the wheel off. Hence the wheel didn't just "drop out", it required assistance.
Ben