Nice experiment! Presume it’s the guy off here? (can’t find the thread)
http://twentynineinches.com/2011/05/09/experimental-short-and-elevated-chain-stay-29er/

Dreadful food is often described as ‘interesting’.

Your friend’s ugly new partner will be described as ‘interesting

I see a pattern here.

Sweet baby Jesus, that’s awful

Well….I like it

I think it looks really cool.

I always loved the look of elevated stays.

fromm memory wasn’t it ade ward who was designing some odd ball super short chainstay 29er thingymebobbins, is that his?

Already on version 2! If its anything like my Funk (90’s elevated massively oversize aluminium frame) it will shake its tail like a dog with a bone.Only going to worse in ti.There are better ways of getting short chainstays….not that it is a huge priority imo.

It looks like something designed in the Art Deco period to me!
Classy and I like it!

Your knowledge of Art Deco is weak, old man. Fall to thy prayers…

tk46hal- you own multiple dinky scandal 29ers so you are obviously a buffoon of the highest order* and have no idea about class 😉

*all based on rumors and hearsay from that chainslap fella

Amen!!

I think it looks nice, something different.

SHort chainstays are stupid though.

It looks beautifully welded, whoever did it; especially if its Ti.
And some nice machined dropouts, even if they look like that bridge in Newcastle. 🙂

Yup. Looks like Ade Ward’s. Owner of the infamous “Preston”. Would be interested to hear how it rides.

needs a belt-drive to justify the E-stay

Great way of tensioning and replacing belt drives mind….

well done! – i approve.

short chainstays can be lots of fun.

I like the chain tension adjustment idea.
I’m not sure it’s got any advantage over an EBB or sliding dropouts, it just looks nice.
Not really suitable for a Rohloff though, as the angle of the cable box would change with adjustment.

Some good ideas, especially the chain tensioning method. Super flexy BB though, dunno how you’d overcome that. Maybe a one-piece BB and chainstay unit made up of one huge, hollow (but stiff) box and the seattube and downtube welded on. Would give better clearances around the tyre. And aluminium or carbon for stiffness.

I think it’s lovely.

How much to build me one?

I rather like it… and that may just be the endorsement that proves it’s ugly! 😆

It’s clever and it’s certainly ‘interesting’!

I wouldn’t go so far as to describe it as ‘nice looking’, but then it’s probably designed more for riding that looking at 🙂

Great stuff, I salute anyone who has a go with an idea in design.

Short chainstays are usually damn good for climbing. BUT BBs are usually pretty flexy. Nice effort though, very tidy.

more people should produce interesting bikes like this

HI Guys thanks for all the comments,,

i drew this up at the end of last year, sent the drawings and money off in Jan,, it has taken 5 months to get it built, and in those five months I have been looking back at the drawings wishing i had changed a number of points,
the bb is slightly more flexible than my ragley td-1 , but i would like it to be stiffer (just incase I fancy a belt drive setup)
i wanted a ridable bike first time out so the dropouts were “over engineered” they are very stiff indeed if a little wide,

things i may change larger diameter downtube,, I am still in two minds about lowering the chainstay down the seat tube as it would have to be narrower with less tyre clearance and stop me running a front derailier all to increase BB stiffness,,
Huge tyre clearence was one of the original points I was working to

AlpineStars anyone..??

TBH the ideas a goodun’ Just visually they look odd, but then it’s not mine and I didn’t design it. Beauty they say.

More interested how it rides me…

“AW says the frame is “a bit heavy” and the bottom bracket stiffness is not to his liking”

From memory, both of those were problems for elevated chainstay bikes in the past.

Top marks for giving something like this a go; I have to confess I’m no fan of elevated chainstays, but the sweep of the toptube and seat stays is beautiful.

Would an asymmetric chainstay arrangement stiffen the BB, aside from looking a bit fugly? That or a ginormous diameter DT?

I’d love to see version 2…

Hi Ade – looks good!

My steel e-stay 29er homebuild is nearly there – chainstays are on and is now a sort of rolling chassis. Just need to fit seatstays, add fillets to a few joints and then guides and bosses. Should be raw steel rideable in about a week or so.

My chainstays join a bit lower down so BB doesen’t feel too flexy but can only really tell when fully built up. The chain crossover point is what limits how low you can go. Chainstays are 22mm but current seatstay plan is 16mm (gulp). I’ve thought of a simple loading rig to put some real comparative numbers to “it feels a bit flexy”

Pictures soon….. If Chipps is listening – maybe time for an oddball / homebrew bikes article in STW instead of reviewing the same old stuff? (I seem to remember the bamboo frame article was well received). There are a few of us on the forum making / modifying things.

Here are a few numbers for you

Head angle 71
Seat angle 73 (depends on seat height due to the curved seat tube)
Chainstay 417 -437
BB height 300mm
horizontal top tube distance 609

designed for 80-100mm forks

It looks like the chassis of a wheelbarrow to my eyes. Oh, and that’s not a good thing.

Maybe a one-piece top tube-seat stays jobbie?
I kinda like it. Wrong fork though, ti all the way!