Originally Posted by
Bob Ross
...and yet so many framebuilders and manufacturers have suggested that it "stiffens up the front end" or something to that effect, which, if you think about it, seems plausible. Doesn't mean it's true, just that it makes sense in theory: A thicker, stiffer axle that is solidly threaded into the dropouts ought to resist independent movement of the left & right fork blades more than a conventional QR lever. :shrugs:
Whether there is tangible benefit -- or discernible difference -- from a "stiff front end" becomes the next question.
Sounds more like marketing (broadly, plausible lies) than engineering (I work with a bunch of engineers, so I might call that logical conclusions. On a good day.).
Even if you allow that it might "stiffen the front end," do you really want that? A solid disk of steel, like a railroad wheel, is really stiff. Does that make for a better ride? Related question, why do railroad cars have springs between those stiff wheels and the coal that car is carrying? Is coal really that fragile??