Chainstay Length

[newpot]

Hi Can anyone help, I am looking at buying a winter/light touring bike, I am trying ti find out what sort of chainstay length I should be looking for to make sure that the panniers don't clip my heels or visa versa.

I have been looking at the Tifosi CK7 but can't seem to find the info on the chainstay, they seem to publish every other length but that one.

The tifosi isn’t the final choice but interested, can anyone help?

 

[jags]

if you check out sjs cycles (thorn) pick one of there touring bikes you will get the full spec on it .

 

[andym]

IIRC (a big if) most touring bikes have a chainstay length of about 420mm (give or take) - with some American bikes going to as much as 440. But it's worth having a look at the specs for different touring bikes just to check (apart from anything else, my memory ain't what it used to be). FWIW I've toured on a Planet-X Kaffenback with a chainstay length of 405mm. This didn't present a problem from the point of view of heel strike as most panniers have quite a lot of adjustment - but there definitely is/was an issue with clearance for bigger tyres.

 

[Moodyman]

Andym is right. Most touring bikes are in the 44-45 cms range, though you can get away with 41/42 depending on your shoe size and where you place your rack & panniers. Some racks sit further back which gives more heel clearance.