Originally Posted by lawkd
Indeed, please let's do think about this. The axle is not supported by its tiny area of contact with the dropout, regardless of whether that point of contact is curved or straight. The axle is supported (in its full circumference) by the locknut which is held against the dropout by the opposing nut on the quick release. Those two nuts, with knurled surfaces, pinch and hold the dropout. The threaded-on locknut on the inside of the dropout is what holds the axle in place. The quick release just holds that locknut against the dropout and won't let it move. The support of the axle has nothing to do with how much of the dropout "wraps around" the axle. Nothing to do with it. And most certainly, the shape of the dropout has nothing whatsoever to do with axle breakage.
Irrelevant.
then why
do axles break far more often in horizontal drop out arrangements? the quick release is made to purely hold the wheel in place, not to provide structure. i can bend a qr in my hand. we are talking about vertical loads here, not horzontal ones.