Originally Posted by ToiletSiphon

I've been thinking about this lately. To me, it seems like a very crucial part of the bike only relies on a small steel rod. Clamp it too tight and you risk weakening it and having it break, clamp it too loose and the wheel may pop out or you'll end up chewing your dropouts (if they are full carbon) and end up with the same result. It's also prone to user error in many different ways (poor wheel alignment, clamping force, poor lever placement, accidental unclamping). It also needs a very tight tolerance with the wheel axle to make sure nothing moves / is misaligned.

I know they have been around forever so they can't be that bad, but to me the thru axle makes way more sense. If I could have rim brakes with thru axles, I would.

What's your take on the subject?