Re: [RBW] Long Chainstays - What Problem/Deficiency Do They Solve?

[Richard Rose]

Oh man, I don’t know where to start. I will by stating that as a cyclist for nearly 50 years I was aware of Rivendell since their inception. But I never really entertained owning one until the long chainstay bikes. Why? Because Rivendell’s looked like road bikes & to me the best road bikes came with the name of the maker on the downtube. My fascination with Rivendell coincided with no longer being obsessed with going fast & putting a higher priority on being comfortable & “chill”. I don’t know how it can be argued that the long chainstay bikes with their large volume tires offer a smoother riding experience. And that superior ride definitely applies to “rail trails” and every other riding surface I am aware of. So I do not know that they “solve a problem” but rather challenge what a bike can be. First my Clem L gave me a riding experience I was unfamiliar with & became a bicycle that I could not, not ride. Then a Gus changed everything I thought I knew about mountain bikes. I am just one person & different strokes for different folks. But my experience with long chainstay bikes has been transformative. It’s the only reason I am interested in a Roaduno. Sent from my iPhone On Mar 31, 2024, at 1:50 PM, 'John Hawrylak, Woodstown NJ' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> wrote: Enjoyed reading the thread "Anyone else not a fan of long chainstays?", especially Bill L's explanation of the RBW bike design philosophy.   Seems the prevailing thought is long stays are better for upright riding single track type trails (vs a Rails to Trails type trail) I'll just note 2 'facts' 1  The vast majority of RBW models (except the Roadeo type frame) use slack STA and HTA which may contribute to the ride effect when coupled with long stays. 2.  In the beginning RBW addressed getting the bars higher and adopting a non-racer riding style (back at 45° with hands on hoods), which IMHO were solutions to actual problems. So What problem or current deficiency in bike design is Grant solving by using long chain stays???? Just to bring bikes to market that no one else is building?? Or do they solve a real problem??? John Hawrylak Woodstown NJ FWIW 2 of 3 of my frames have 44 to 45cm chain stays, and 1 has a 43cm chain stay.    It's hard to notice a ride difference. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/3eec10de-6019-4ecd-bf6e-b57f0cac78b4n%40googlegroups.com. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CE186896-164B-4046-93DA-F992E6C3469B%40gmail.com.