Framebuilders - Yeti Frame Question
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Hellbound
12-26-07, 07:17 PM
I am getting ready to order me a 2007 Yeti 575 frame. I was wondering if I should upgrade to the carbon chainstays. The reason I am asking is because I weight around 235 to 240 depending on the time of year. Would I be better off with the regular chainstays? I'm thinking I can maybe save weight by going with lighter wheel sets and fork. I just want to be able to have a bike that is still pretty durable under my weight and not too too heavy because I ride pretty hard at times. Thanks in advance. BTW and this is a dumb question.......could I always upgrade the chainstays later on if I decide to??? I would think I would be able to find a carbon chainstay somewhere I mean the thing just bolts off if I'm not mistaken....but hey the Yeti may be light enough as is without the carbon chainstays for all I know. Thanks in advance.
Six jours
12-26-07, 08:22 PM
You have to ask yourself what you expect to get from carbon stays, or what you expect to lose by not having them.
My feeling is that you are hoping to save some weight by using carbon stays. This can't possibly save more than perhaps half a pound. In the big picture of your body weight, this amounts to exactly nothing. And along with that gain of nothing, you also get more flex, less reliability, shorter lifespan, and the exciting prospect of sudden catastrophic failure. Carbon has its place, but the chainstays of an off-road bike to be used by a really big guy don't seem like that place to me.
HTH!
velonomad
12-26-07, 08:23 PM
go strong, go long........
You should be asking Yeti not us yentas, Yeti designed it and warranties it They should know the limits of their bikes better than anyone.
Consider this, at your weight the 8oz savings in frame weight works out to about .02 percent of total weight ( bike and rider), even with lighter forks and wheels best you will do is approach 1.5-2% over all weight savings. If you are competing in the bike bling or weight weenie contest I can see the point. However, If the idea is more speed, IMO you are better off trying to reduce the rider's weight if possible.