...ridden by bank managers in the 'western world'. I think you may have called the death of 135mm QR too early. So it's daft to put it on a 'touring' bike.
It can only be a defacto standard if bike shops stock it as the norm which in my experience isn't happening. Even if you just restricted yourself to off road touring in Europe or North America. You are still massively limiting what spare parts/wheels are available to you to immediately to keep you moving.
ctznsmith wrote:
e.g. new axle standard on the Deadwood. Why?
:
Because this is going to be the defacto standard for + style bikes, and most MTBs in the next year. Sorry.
True, and road bikes will follow with thru-axles as standard within a few years. Yet for a number of bikes the QR fulfils the brief perfectly well and a thru-axle offers no advantages unless you see it from a liability defence pov, or just want wheel compatibility between bikes.
I think ctznsmith's right on the QR/touring thing, but the deadwood isn't a 'touring'bike imo, it's an adventure/lifestyle bike and I don't mean that in the condecending way that might sound. It's a great option for some for holiday-style trips and would probably work fine for a trans-continent ride with the right parts fitted and some care, or acceptance of the gamble of a wheel-wrecking accident. If you wanted durability and parts availability for a RTW ride you'd not be using it, agreed.
