Originally Posted by
79pmooney
If you are using the bike on the road, horizontal dropouts are a big plus. Far easier to pull the rear wheel out keeping your hands clean. Add a chain peg and use a Pedros Trixie fix gear tool and yhou can flip the wheel for a 2nd gear with completely clean hands. (If your bike has eyes for fenders, I can tell you how to make a really good chain peg. PM me.) I ride fix-fix flip-flop wheels on two of my three fix gears and flip the wheels regularly. The ease and clean hands rule! (In the velodrome, they ban dirt so dirty chains isn't an issue.) Also horizontal dropout have some slant to them so moving the wheel in the dropout doesn't change the height of the rim relative to the rear brake pad should you decide to use one. (I like the hoods as hand grips, always ride the road and it never occurred to me I would ever want to take the rear brake off. 40 years later, no regrets.)
I know you probably know this, but: you can take a rear wheel out of a bike with track ends without getting your hands dirty without a chain peg or fancy tools. All you need is the wrench you use on the axle nuts.
1. Loosen the nuts and move the wheel all the way forward.
2. Lift the chain off the chainring with the wrench and lay it on the BB shell.
3. Use the wrench to lift the chain off the cog.
4. Pull the wheel out. Voila, your hands are still clean.