The more I looked at Steve Stickle’s bike’s the more ‘right’ they seemed. He firmly believes 29er chainstay length should be equal to 26″ bikes to give the same lively/snappy handling.
He manages to fit everything in the tight BB area and achieve chainstay length of 425mm (it was possible to have gone shorter, but we opted to go with this length). Rear tyre pictured is a 2,35 Nobby Nic which measures 60mm at its widest and there’s plenty of clearance left.
As for the builder/buyer experience… very different indeed from other custom builders I have been involved with. Attention to detail is nothing short of comprehensive with NO stone being left unturned