Kickstand sizing question for touring bike
 

I have a 97' schwinn passage in frame size L and am going to install a rear mounted kickstand to the front non-drive side chain stay. I am running 28 x 700c pasela protite tires. The brand I am looking at is Greenfield. They offer 2 sizes. 285 mm or 305 mm. I know I could get the larger and always cut it if needed but would prefer not if I can correctly size it before purchasing. What kickstand would be more appropriate? (Greenfields website offers no insight into sizing kickstand based on wheel sizes. )

We cut them in the shop. they're marked (in the mold the aluminum is poured into)
with a number corresponding to your BB height with the bike standing vertically.


Esge 2 legged kickstands are popular with touring bike owners..

I buy the 305mm ones and trim them. Local bike police use them also.

As Bob says- they're one size fitzall. Install- if it's too long, cut off a bit. Try again. Keep cutting off a bit at time until the bike is stable.

The Greenfield is a great kick stand, The are meant to be cut/trimmed to the needed length

Thought I would share what I recently did. I have a LHT and modified a Greenfield Rear mount to work. And I add a Tubus Front Kickstand to my front pannier rack.

This is an interesting idea. So the Greenfield rear was not adequate? What specifically was the issue for you? I ask because I too have a front low rider rack as an access point for a front kickstand. I generally dont have more than 12 lbs up front split btwn both panniers. Thanks!

Longtime kickstand user here, usually the mid-mount Greenfield or older ESGE but I've also been using rear-mounts for a while. I discovered on the last touring setup with four panniers that neither the mid- nor the rear-mount stands would work to keep the front from flopping and making the bike fall. The mid-mount Twin stand worked better but sometimes required a wheel strap to the downtube for parking stability. YMMV.

Cutting hint: We would measure vertically from the bottom of the chainstay to the floor (with the bike vertical), then subtract 5mm from that measurement and then trim the kickstand at that marking to get the proper lean, and were seldom wrong.

285mm kickstands were the standard for years until mountain bikes with their higher bottom brackets came out, and that's when the 305mm stands appeared on the market.

I will see if I can find a pic of what I did.

Out of curiosity how much weight (roughly) in the front did u have when you had front stability issues? I'm trying to figure out if the single mounted Greenfield will work or if I should try a more centrally mounted double kickstand or your solution of front and rear...

Great advice. For the purposes of installing a kickstand I'm on a ride bike with 700c x 28 tires. (Touring setup but frame is chromoly road frame and wider road tires) Does this mean i will likely only need a 285?

I'd say yes but it really depends on the BB height. Measure under the chainstays, as directed above, and buy accordingly. You can always cut more off a 305 to fit. As my Aunt Maisie used to say about wool sweaters, "You can make 'em smaller, but you can't hardly make 'em bigger."