This is just one reason that I'm such a proponent of sliding dropouts - especially on hardtails - and I think they add a lot of value (for example, to the Chameleon I'm testing). First off, some folks prefer shorter or longer stays for their riding style/background or the terrain they most commonly ride may dictate an advantage. Take two extremes - pump track, give me the shortest stays possible // DH track, I'll take the longer wheelbase. I mean, it's not really different from full suspension bikes in that regard.
But how does anyone know their preference without trying multiples and how do you isolate chainstay length from other variables. Personally, I find as bikes get longer in the front (Reach + slacker HTA) I like them to get longer in the back as well (hardtail or FS) but that's me and that doesn't mean it's necessarily better even for the trails in our shared network that I like best.
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Nothing to do with reviewing bikes actually. I've just owned a fair few hardtails with sliding dropouts and experimented a lot with the available CS ranges.
The way I came into my preference started with my Honzos. At first, I ran them as short as possible because that's what the trend was (maybe still is aside from some companies doing size-specific stuff?) but the thing with single speeding is to tension the chain they were never fully slammed. Then, experimenting with different gearing I ended up with a combination that had the stays ~ full long and I loved it. So, with my first Walt (V1) I started the CS length at ~ full-long on my Honzo, and ended up very happy around 450mm so for V2 I went even longer.
The way my current gearing works on V2 I can run the stays all the way long or almost slammed by adding/removing a chain link. I've been running them in the shorter setting (still a bit longer than 450mm) as I much prefer that over the longer setting. That way through multiple rigs I've found what works best for me.
Most folks will never have a chance to play around that much - but if you buy a hardtail with sliders at least you can see how easy it is to tell the difference between shorter and longer. It's quite impressive.
Dec. 30, 2021, 9:38 a.m. - Andrew Major
This is just one reason that I'm such a proponent of sliding dropouts - especially on hardtails - and I think they add a lot of value (for example, to the Chameleon I'm testing). First off, some folks prefer shorter or longer stays for their riding style/background or the terrain they most commonly ride may dictate an advantage. Take two extremes - pump track, give me the shortest stays possible // DH track, I'll take the longer wheelbase. I mean, it's not really different from full suspension bikes in that regard. But how does anyone know their preference without trying multiples and how do you isolate chainstay length from other variables. Personally, I find as bikes get longer in the front (Reach + slacker HTA) I like them to get longer in the back as well (hardtail or FS) but that's me and that doesn't mean it's necessarily better even for the trails in our shared network that I like best. \-\-\- Nothing to do with reviewing bikes actually. I've just owned a fair few hardtails with sliding dropouts and experimented a lot with the available CS ranges. The way I came into my preference started with my Honzos. At first, I ran them as short as possible because that's what the trend was (maybe still is aside from some companies doing size-specific stuff?) but the thing with single speeding is to tension the chain they were never fully slammed. Then, experimenting with different gearing I ended up with a combination that had the stays ~ full long and I loved it. So, with my first Walt (V1) I started the CS length at ~ full-long on my Honzo, and ended up very happy around 450mm so for V2 I went even longer. The way my current gearing works on V2 I can run the stays all the way long or almost slammed by adding/removing a chain link. I've been running them in the shorter setting (still a bit longer than 450mm) as I much prefer that over the longer setting. That way through multiple rigs I've found what works best for me. Most folks will never have a chance to play around that much - but if you buy a hardtail with sliders at least you can see how easy it is to tell the difference between shorter and longer. It's quite impressive.