[Flooredsubaru]

I am designing my custom ti geared 29er right now.

I am trying to deside how long to make them.

What do you ride?

How long are your chainstays? (full suspension, softtail, hardtail)

How is the bike out of the saddle climbing? (are you spinning the rear tire?)

 

[Cloxxki]

For custom ti, perhaps doing some steel and alu test rides will give you the info you really need.

I say : go 445mm, and you'll be golden. Easy enough to get decent clearance, and well short enough to flick through tight singletrack. If you don't fall for the short chainstay lobby, up to 460mm should be fine also.

 

[bigdrunk]

I'm 8.75". Oh wait, your asking about the chainstays?

 

[slocaus]

Mine go all the way from the cranks to the rear wheels! Woo hoo! :eekster:

Steel, rigid - more traction than I can spin out the wheels util just before I have to walk.

Rear stays - 444mm from BB center to rear dropout in mid position of sliding dropouts that have 15mm movement in total.

 

[AteMrYeats]

440mm from the center of the EBB shell here; so, the effective chainstay can change, but, with the seat tube at 73 degrees, the wheel is always in the same position. I would add a good bit--maybe a centimeter or so--if I could do it again: the bike has a very tight feel, and I can loft the front wheel easily, but I'd trade some of this for stability. For the geeks out there, the frame has a 72 degree headtube angle, with a custom, 48mm rake fork. My next frame will have Paragon sliding dropouts, which should give me some options about chainstay length. I'm now of the opinion that short does not always eqaul best.

 

[Quasi]

Sounds like a rather personal question.

 

[Thylacine]

I think it's cool you're designing you own bike, however part of the custom deal is working with a guy who specializes in designing bikes (you'd hope), so details like that could perhaps be worked out with them.

We look at your position on the bike and adjust the CS length to suit, because in reality, CS length is just part of the contact points/weight distribution/wheelbase equation. It's not a figure you can just magically poll 6 random people on the internet and get an answer for.

Let your builder of choice work that out for you. That's what you're paying for.

 

[robpennell]

Since it will be geared and if you want to clear all FD's with all the new tires coming out you will need no less than 450mm. Anything less and you will be smacking one of the new POS front DR's. Of course all this depends on your BB drop and ST angle.

That said I agree with Thylacine 100%.

 

[mward]

Ahh designing your own bike. I would work with someone who has done this before, preferrably many times. While you may be able to design an acceptable bike by soliciting opinions on here, there are dynamics to this that you and I, as layman, have no idea about. It's good to have an expert weigh in on this.

As for what I ride - your mom. Chainstay length - long enough. Spinning the rear tire - hell yeah, I do burnouts in the parking lot with my chums and then we go smoke cigarettes behind the building.

 

[jh_on_the_cape]

440mm from the center of the EBB shell here; so, the effective chainstay can change, but, with the seat tube at 73 degrees, the wheel is always in the same position. I would add a good bit--maybe a centimeter or so--if I could do it again: the bike has a very tight feel, and I can loft the front wheel easily, but I'd trade some of this for stability. For the geeks out there, the frame has a 72 degree headtube angle, with a custom, 48mm rake fork. My next frame will have Paragon sliding dropouts, which should give me some options about chainstay length. I'm now of the opinion that short does not always eqaul best.

do you think you could tell 1 cm difference in CS length? not bashing, but genuinely curious.

 

[bigwheelboy_490]

How long are your chainstays?QUOTE]

Kind of a private question, no?

My large fisher mt. tam has 433mm chainstays.

 

[Flooredsubaru]

Thanks for all the responses.

I think it's cool you're designing you own bike, however part of the custom deal is working with a guy who specializes in designing bikes (you'd hope), so details like that could perhaps be worked out with them.

The problem is that I am the guy who specializes in designing bikes. I mainly do road bikes and work with Seven, Serotta, and Titus.

But now that I am making the "Big bucks" and I am a hard core mountain biker. I am going to get a custom ti bike for myself.

We look at your position on the bike and adjust the CS length to suit, because in reality, CS length is just part of the contact points/weight distribution/wheelbase equation. It's not a figure you can just magically poll 6 random people on the internet and get an answer for.

I am riding the Gary Fisher Paragon 2006 model right now. It has 44.5cm seat stays (Yes I know the catalog says they have 44cm but it is more like 44.5) I have owned a Kelly Roshambo, and a Surly K.M.

I was wondering what some of the other custom bikes are using for a chain stay length.

I have called Seven, Serotta, Titus, Orbea, and I.F. and talked to them about why they do what they do when they design there 29" bikes.

I am riding a friends 293 for the past couple days with a 46cm chain stay to see how the climbing performance is. (I know a full suspension bike is not the same as a hard tail.) I have really enjoyed that bike. I rode the new Caliber from Gary Fisher that felt better then the 293.

I am doing a random poll to see if anyone else brings up a point that I did not think off.

The main problem is the Ft. Der.

Let your builder of choice work that out for you. That's what you're paying for.

I believe I am going to get the Seven but am waiting to hear the final report.

 

[MendonCycleSmith]

Here's my new baby, my design, taken from a frame I built, tweaked, and given to Titus for some TLC, and a gorgeous build= 17.5", but I wanted an all day bike, not a racer boy rig. Rock on.

 

[AteMrYeats]

do you think you could tell 1 cm difference in CS length? not bashing, but genuinely curious.

Good question. Maybe not, but that's one of the reasons I went with the Paragons. I could tell the difference between my custom and a Wily I was riding for a while: they had very similar geometry, though the Wily had slightly longer stays and a shorter top tube. The handling was drastically different, even with almost identical bar and saddle heights. I think a lot of it had to do with different bar set-ups, but I think the stays played a part. Could be wrong, though.

 

[mtbyker]

chain stay and specs

Here are the specs from my Slingshot Farmboy 29er-cross between a softail and a hardtail:
size: 16"
HeadAngle:71
Seat Angle:73
Seat TubeC to T:18
Seat Tube C to C:14
Effective Top Tube:22"
Head Tube Length:5"
BB Height: 11.875"
Chainstay Length:17.5"

 

[Allroy]

Probably...

I 'thought' I could tell the difference with my Monkey when I switched the wheel from the back to front of the drops. Mostly climbing.

I spec'd my new ride out with 17.25" (438mm) and it rocks. Climbing, descending, sprinting, endurance racing, epic rides. Best handling bike I've ridden, it also has room for a 2.5 with mud clearance.

do you think you could tell 1 cm difference in CS length? not bashing, but genuinely curious.

 

[Padre]

My DeSalvo's stays are 445mm (17.5").

I don't like anything shorter than that.

I've ridden great bikes with shorter stays and they seem to lack as much stability at speed and in steep/tech descents.

 

[El Caballo]

I think I hold the record at ~465mm.

However, I've also got a slackish seat angle (~71). You can't separate the two, because what you're really asking is "How far is my ass over the rear tire?" 71 vs. 73 STA moves your butt back about 20mm.

 

[GlowBoy]

17.474" on my Vulture when the EBB is set for my usual 34x22 gear.

17.663" on my KM when I run it 40x18, 17.715" in 36x22.

I'm 5'7", 160 lb. 73 degree seat angle on both bikes. Saddle as far back as it will go with a conventional setback post on both bikes. Thudbuster on the Vulture shifts the saddle even further back when weighted. Of course seat angle and saddle position are relevant only while seated.

On the Vulture I run a Klaw, and traction is great. On the KM I run a Karma most of the time, and traction is fairly limited offroad. Obviously the difference has little to do with the extra 1/4" of chainstay length. I do think that for singlespeeders who stand out of the saddle a lot of the time it's good to keep the stays short, preferably 17.5". For geared riders, I suspect traction may actually be better with a slightly longer stay, since the weight ends up further back. Rider size may play a role in this too.

 

[Rigid]

At my current wheel position on my SS Curtlo it's 46cm. I could get it down to 44.5 if I wanted to. I don't think 1.5cm makes that much difference, but I prefer longer over shorter. I don't buy into the short chainstay idea for singlespeeds.

bruce boysen, loving my Curtlo in NW NJ.