Originally Posted by kahn

I should have thrown a smiley in my response. Like I said, until three months ago, I did not know about through axles. They apparently help avoid the issue of whether the wheel is truly centered between rim brake pads or with the more exacting disc brakes (which my new bike also has). Better or not, the bike came that way, so my first flat about two weeks into ownership required learning (not much really) about how they work.

Mine, Specialized, are cute and have what looks like a quick release lever but is part of the one piece assembly. It does work as a handle to unscrew the thing.