There’s been a lot in the press/fora about chainstay length in 29ers. I seem to have lost the thread a bit; consensus seems to be that short = good, but I’d have thought a bit longer would mean more stability. Can someone explain this to me?

Andy

depends on what your trying to do…
with bikes sometimes what is good/better for one thing it worse for another.

generally it’s got to be long enough to get the wheel in.

I experimented with chain stay length when I first got my Evil Sovereign 26″er. In the short position it was hyper quick turning but bumpy and lifted very easily when pedalling. In long position it was more more stable feeling.

Short is better as it keeps the bike nimble, and makes wafting the front end easier.

I don’t know anyone deliberately designing longer stays.

I have one of these 26ers, noted for its long stays, I can barely back flip it.

I’ve got a Turner Sultan which are notorious for having long stays. Can’t say I’ve noticed TBH, but then it’s an XL and I’m a lanky streak of p1ss. Shortarse experiences may vary.

“wafting the front end”, that’s a new one, like!

With 29ers the extra bottom bracket drop below axle height is going to mean that to get the front wheel up, short chainstays are well worth any small deficit to barge like stability. Not only that, but generally 29ers will have a significantly longer wheelbase, and due to the need for foot clearance for the front wheel, the only place to lose that excess lankiness for nimble turning is in the rump.

In my eyes, short chainstays rock in general and give rise to all sorts of manuals, drifts and when courage allows, 180s/360s.

So in summary…

long chainstays= boring and sensible (your Gran)

short chainstays= Rock n Roll (your 1st tattoo)

Lol!

I had my first experiment in lengthening the chainstays on my El Mariachi last week. It made the bike less likely to slip out especially on snow, and steering was no longer possible by just moving my hips. So it has its upsides and downsides.

If you like jumping, shorter the better.
I’m running 16.4″ chainstays on my 160mm travel bike and it rules on jumps.

I have a Kona Honzo with super short stays, and at the other extreme i have a Salsa Big Mama with stays around 2″ longer. Can’t say i notice any difference (have a Rockhopper 29er somewhere inbetween as well).

They’re all bikes to me………

What type of bike are we talking about?

Most bikes have chainstays that are too short. Take a Stumpy Evo 26″ V’s 29″. The 29″ as so much more front end grip than the 26″ and it’s mostly down to weight distribution from the 30mm longer chain stays on the 29″. In an ideal world they should also be size specific and in proportion to the front centre.

some days I’d like to see a TV show of “The Bike that STW designed”

Short stays feel faster, but climb worse