Chainstay length?
 

Much has been said about long chainstays reducing chain rub, but short stays increase power transfer (?). What is considered a "short" chainstay and what is considered a "long" chainstay?

My new bike has short chainstays. Short enough that the rear tire is less than 1/4" from the seat tube. And yes, I get alot of chain rub when small/small.
Touring bikes have much longer stays, and the tires can easily be two or three inches from the seat tube.

Well it just seems that most bikes have 410mm stays. Does it matter if the length changes by 10mm( 1cm)? Just wondering if changes that small makes a difference? Or does the change in length have to be greater to make a notiveable difference.

Well, 10mm is about 1/2", so I would say for the average person, you won't really notice it. However, if you are an avid performance rider, who does alot of climbing and/or sprints when racing, you will notice a slight differance. The idea behind shorter stays is to give a more complete transfer of power quickly for acceleration. Racers usually require this.
However, longer stays will provide you with more impact absorbtion, for greater comfort and stability on very long rides. If you are a touring maniac who loves to do centuries, but is not in racing mode, then the longer stays are the ticket. It just depends on how you want to ride.

Long chain stays provide a better chain line, absorb road shock, and permit use of larger, wider saddlebags while touring, and they often provide better spacing for wide tires. But, Lance's bike has short chainstays...and that means that the majority of roadbikes, in every price range, will also have short chainstays. The industry assumes its customers are mostly morons and so everything is about marketing and "Being Like Lance".

I read an interview with the head of Shimano USA yesterday. He admitted that the gearing on road bikes is too high for "Joe Average", especially if "Joe" is over age forty. But, he said "Joe Average" wants a bike EXACTLY like Lance rides...and that Joe Average can put his bike on a car rack and drive to somewhere flat enough to ride if the standard gears are too high for Joe's neighborhood. Pathetic.

Yeah just the other day I found myself yearning for the USPS jersey :rolleyes: (or shall I say Discovery jersey now)

People use saddlebags on road bikes for a lot of other reasons that touring. There is a sub forum road racing where the saddlebags would be in the wrong forum, but in the context of a road bike they are not out of place here.

Shorter chainstays also allow you to turn more sharply, as your weight is closer to the rear axle and the wheelbase is shorter.

The only real negative is chain rub with the short strays (or so it seems)

My wife and I own 5 bikes: An old Schwinn LeTour, a newer Lemond Poprad, an old Bianchi Boardwalk and a couple of mountain bikes. I think all the chainstays are about 17 inches or just a little less. A racing bike might be little shorter and a touring bike would be a little longer. I think the Surly Long Haul Trucker is 18.1" and the Trek 520 is just a little less?

Are you sure that it isn't that Lance who wants to be like a thousand or so other professional racers?

Last time I looked, this forum was named "Road Cycling", NOT "Bike Racing". I am old enough to remember when road cycling involved millions of people that ride on the roads, and not just the few hundred guys who race for a living. That means I can remember when "racing" bikes were about 10% of the road bike market, and the other 90% of road bikes had frames, wheels, tires, and gearing designed for how REAL people use road bikes everyday...recreation, relaxation, shopping, commuting, day tours, and "loaded" touring. Over thirty MILLION road bikes were sold in the USA between 1970 and 1975, when road biking was a sport for everyone, not just for "Pro's", wannabe's, and pretenders.

As I ride through my neighborhood on sunny Saturdays, I see lots of open garage doors and the road bikes hanging from the ceilings...some of them have been hanging for years. The owners discovered the hard way that a "racing" bike is designed for racing...so now they own a $2,000 wall decoration.

My thoughts exactly. I always thought "road cycling" means you're not "off-road cycling". Most of my miles are on the road but I have little interest in racing.