Are track ends really that much safer?
 

My bike has forward facing dropouts, so I haven't had a chance to play around with rear facing "track ends," but I don't see how they are really considered that much safer. The reason I always hear for rear facing dropouts is that if your wheel comes detached from the frame, the chain will hold it on. But really, if your wheel is just being held by one side with a flexible chain, won't it make the back wheel go crooked, jam the tire against the chainstays and make you crash anyway? Or alternatively, the non-drive side slips out of the dropout entirely?

Has anyone on here had an experience where track ends saved their life or is it just another bike snobbery thing that has been over-hyped?

http://www.machinehead-software.co.u...ackdropout.jpg
http://www.machinehead-software.co.u...rizdropout.jpg
And no, I'm not trollin' :p
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...G0L6HMQ488&t=1

yeah, they saved my life last night.. brah

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_krK5FX0vBt...trackends2.jpg

my wheel has never detached, so... this is dumb

People need to HTFU and learn how to tighten an axle nut.

exactly scrod!

This reminds me of another thread where some guy posted about how "lawyer lips" saved his life, because, well, he is too inept to use a quick release correctly.

Fender + track ends = trapped wheel.

http://www.pedalroom.com/p/iro-mark-v-pro-1728_3.jpg

It's kind of a pain to change a flat, but it deter thieves...sort of.

This is the first time I've ever heard of track ends being safer. Seems silly to me.

Troof. I tried to take the rear wheel off of a fendered bike for the first time the other day and was sufficiently deterred from performing maintenance on my own bike.

If you provide sufficient clearance between the rear of the fender and the tire, it's possible to install / remove the wheel w/o deflating the tire.

Hey Vix, do those fender mounts double as the antennas for you CB radio? :p What's going on there?

sqrils like to talk to space ppl, FACT

Exactly, I need to keep in touch with my feline friends.

http://www.undertheradarmag.com/uplo..._cat_space.jpg

http://www.eatblog.net/storage/post-...=1270535743552

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9...yiuno1_500.jpg

+1

Wouldn't gravity keep the wheel from falling off, with forward facing dropouts? Considering that most forward facing dropouts angle down, the weight of the bike should force the wheel up and back.

Even as a kid racing BMX (which all have rear facing dropouts), I've never - ever - had a wheel slip the tiniest bit on me. If your wheel "detaches" from the frame, you're doing something really wrong.

Set up your fenders properly and you'll be able to get the wheel out.

oh no! i never thought of this. best tell all the roadies to get rid of their bikes, because surely gravity will make the rear wheel fall right out of the vertical dropouts. or do the derailleurs keep the rear wheel in place**********

Track ends aren't there to make the bike safer. They're to let you have shorter chainstays and still be able to get your wheel on.

Thanks for quoting the first post. I would have had no idea who you were replying to otherwise.

and let you run various gear combos with one length of chain

If you look at bicycle designs through the last 100 years you will find many fixed gear models that were fitted with horizontal drops which made wheel removal easer when many bikes came equipped with fenders.

Conversely, coaster and internal hub equipped bikes came with track ends... the ability to use a tug nut on a three speed ensures that the wheel stays in place and does not throw off the shifting.

Many people think my '55 Raleigh is a nice conversion buuut it came with a fixed drive and horizontal drops... my '51 CCM has track ends but was sold as a coaster equipped bike and wheel removal on these is a pita when you run fenders.

This has all been discussed, debated and debunked before >>> http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...Track-ends-why

Oh, and FWIW, I've ridden on tracks that do not permit bikes with horizontal dropouts for "safety" reasons, regardless of the validity of this belief.