Turns out the number one reason for through axles on new road bikes is people on Bike Forums saying, “Your skewer is wrong. It’s the wrong kind of skewer, the handle is pointed in the wrong direction, it’s on the wrong side of the bike, it’s too far back or forward, it looks like it’s open, just think what would happen if you were riding this very old ten speed bike in a peloton and had a crash… but I don’t need lawyer lips on my fork.“