Originally Posted by
Dan Burkhart
Well, idlers and mid drives have been the go to solutions to chain routing problems on recumbents for years. Perhaps mounting a mid drive is another solution worthy of consideration.
Consider that extending the dropouts downward will change the headtube angle and trail, possibly impacting negatively on the handling. (Twitchy enough on a SWB in my experience.)
The only problem with the chain routing is that this particular frame is poorly designed. There are other frames available which solve it with slightly different dropouts.
The dropout extension is meant to be a temporary solution to see if the elimination of idlers/middrives/etc justifies me continuing this project and springing for a new frame. I find idlerless chain drives on uprights have a considerably better feel, but I can't be completely sure with a recumbent until I try it and it seems I'm close enough now to try before I buy.