If you’re looking for a new bike, you need to pick a style of bike with a certain chainstay length. You might be wondering whether the chainstay length has any effect on how the bike handles.
Chainstay tubes connect the bottom bracket shell to the rear dropouts and have a major impact on how your bike handles. Short chainstays make maneuvering easy and help with tight turns and tricks, while long chainstays improve stability and capacity.
Pros and Cons of a Long Chainstay
Longer chainstays are more versatile than short chainstays, for the most part.
For one, you have greater clearance around the tires which gives you more options for installing different types of parts. You have more options for fenders, tires, racks, and such add-ons with a longer chainstay.
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If you need to take bags with you on a bike ride, this is a major quality of life advantage. Greater clearance can help keep the bags away from the pedals so that you aren’t kicking them as you ride. While it’s not important for performance, the difference in clearance does make for much more enjoyable riding in this case.
On top of that, a long chainstay disperses weight more evenly between the front and rear tires. Steep climbs can lift the front tire of a bike off the ground if you have a short chainstay, a problem longer chainstays don’t have. More even weight dispersion also makes for stabler bikes, in general.
If you’re dealing with strong winds, poor roads, or offroading, you’ll feel the difference of a long chainstay. Overall, rides in difficult conditions will be much smoother. However, you’ll suffer when it comes to on-road and off-road technical performance.
This is why BMX bikes have the shortest chainstays, at 325-355mm, compared to almost any other type of bike.
How Does a Long Chainstay Affect Handling?
On the one hand, a long chainstay has a positive impact on stability. You’ll be able to handle the bike more easily in all types of terrain and conditions. On the other hand, you won’t be able to achieve the kind of technical control of sportier bikes.
Consider the way that a longer chainstay balances the weight between the front and rear wheels. Your rides will be smoother, but a weightier front means it’s much harder to bunny hop and maneuver around offroad obstacles. This translates to other aspects of handling, as well.
You aren’t going to be completing tight turns in a bike with a long chainstay as well as you would with a short chainstay.
For casual cyclists, the difference in performance is really only a matter of what riding style you prefer. More competitive or sport-oriented cyclists will really find that a long chainstay holds them back, however.
Does a Long Chainstay Affect Speed?
It would make sense if bikes with shorter chainstays were faster, and many people believe this is the case. After all, a longer chainstay will be heavier and require a longer chain with slightly more friction.
However, the weight and friction differences are so small that they have almost no impact on speed. The speed of a bicycle primarily comes down to factors like torque and aerodynamics, factors a chainstay doesn’t impact.
The reason that bikes with a shorter chainstay can feel faster is that they’re less balanced. This results in bumpier riding, which creates the illusion of higher speeds. In reality, only people who are trying to shave grams off their bike’s weight should worry about the chainstay affecting speed.
Characteristics of Popular Bike Styles
Chainstay length is a key element of understanding the characteristics of different types of bikes.
Overall, chainstay length typically ranges from a minimum of 325mm up to a maximum of 446mm. Shorter and longer lengths are possible, but they’re each unpopular.
Go much lower than 325mm, and even a BMX rider will likely find it too unstable. Likewise, going longer than 466mm is impractical and unnecessary.
| Type of Bike | Length of Chainstay |
| BMX Bike | 325mm to 355mm |
| Road Bike | 405mm to 425mm |
| Hybrid Bike | 420mm to 440mm |
| Touring Bike | 435mm to 450mm |
| Gravel Bike | 425mm to 430mm |
| Mountain Bike | 430mm to 460mm |
Dutch-Style Bikes
A Dutch bike is a testament to the Netherlands’ unique cycling culture. The country is almost entirely flat, and the urban cycling infrastructure there is outstanding. Bicycles are used for commuting and practical purposes just as much as for recreation, if not more so. Hence the name.
Naturally, the Dutch-style bike is distinctly practical and utilitarian. For the most part, Dutch-style bikes have heavier construction, longer chainstays, and sizeable racks for transport. Weight isn’t a problem on flat roads, so capacity, visibility, and comfort are the highest priorities.
Mountain Bikes
Mountain bikes are meant to tackle the most difficult terrain, and it shows in their chainstay lengths. The minimum length for a mountain bike (especially hardtail) chainstay is longer than the maximum length for most types of bike.
This translates into outstanding stability and balance, as well as excellent climbing capabilities. On the other hand, mountain bikes turn poorly and aren’t suitable for tricks.
Touring Bikes
If you want to ride a bike between cities or use it to take nature tours, a touring bike is a right choice.
They typically have long chainstays to support thick wheels and sizeable racks for food, water, and other supplies you might need for long tours. Heavy-duty wheels, rigid frames, and high clearance are the typical qualities of a touring bike.
Road Bikes
Road bikes are all about speed to offer great aerodynamics and performance and therefore tend to have shorter chainstays. They’re much lighter and more rear-heavy compared to mountain bikes, which makes for faster rides.
Hybrid Bikes
Hybrid bikes combine features from both mountain bikes and road bikes to deliver a balance of performance and stability.
Similar to a mountain bike, you have relatively high seating, which improves comfort and visibility at the cost of speed. On the other hand, overall construction and performance is similar to a road bike. Accordingly, its chainstay length is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
