I think the question of whether it is possible to pop a wheelie on bikes with long chain stays indirectly brings up an important, but often ignored point in these chain stay length discussions. People---and bikes---come in different sizes, but chain stays vary by a much smaller proportional amount with the minimum length set by wheel size and the maximum traditionally set by tubing manufacturers at just a coupla-few centimeters longer than the minimum. The effects of using Cheviot/Clem/Joe-length stays is likely to be quite different for small vs. large bike/rider combinations.
I, for example, am tallish (6'2", 183cm), heavy (260 lbs, 118 kg) and reasonably strong. At my end of the scale, the problem is not that I cann pop a wheelie when I want to, the problem is that I pop accidental little wheelies all the time when starting or pedaling out of the saddle. I can still easily wheelie* a Cheviot when I want to, but I like that it pretty much only happens when I want it to. These so-called super-long chain stays may just be bringing me closer to what my shorter brethren and sistren think of as a bike with normal handling. That said, I cannot speak to the way longer stays would affect handling on smaller bikes, but taking a gander at the geometry table suggests that chain stay length varies more proportionally with frame size on the long-stay models than on the older designs---e.g., Hillbornes all have 44.5 or 45.5 cm stays, Appaloosas vary by twice that and Cheviot and Clem stays range over 9 or 10 cm. -- Mark Anderson in Chicago * Pop a wheelie. Properly riding a wheelie down the street is a different matter, but that's really more about the rider than the bike in my case. On Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at 9:59:56 PM UTC-5, [email protected] wrote: > > I too am curious about these seemingly super long stays. Can you ever pop > even a small wheelie?? All fpr comfort and stability but that looks like > an awfully long bike? -- 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 [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
