what is the purpose of these holes?

[Cyril Haearn]

Yes, if you go out and buy the cheapest bike you can you are likely to see a flat bit of plate metal with no hole. Putting a hole in there is a way of making that dull feature look just a bit less basic.

Really? It was quite cheap actually
Must spend some time examining rear fork ends on other bikes

[Brucey]

if you do a google image search for 'rohloff dropouts' you will see all kinds of weird and wonderful shapes. Mostly they are for looks rather than function, I feel.

If the dropouts don't have to withstand twisting forces then cutouts are not a bad idea; campag record dropouts are both elegant and well proven



and are made by drop forging.

Actually the material and the method of manufacture are at least as important as the shape; many dropouts are made from inferior materials and these cannot be as minimal as those that are not.

cheers

[Cunobelin]

Well spotted.
We had a thread on here some years ago about Rohloff flanges breaking.

That sounds like a good phrase for those learning English.

"The flange on my Rohloff has broken"