.6mm seat stays 58cm frame
 

Seeking opinions or experienced observations of using .6mm x 16mm(True Temper) seat stays on a 58cm frame. It will be set up for general club riding and some go faster sessions on the road. Rest of frame is 7-4-7 tubes from Columbus. I have the seat stays so I can save a few bucks by using them.

Wondering if the thin tubes will affect handling or hard drives on the pedals.

Comparing on a relative basis those stays will be stiffer than your main triangle. A STD size frame made from .7/.4/.4mm tubing will be quite flexible but the 16mm stays are more analogous to those used on an OS tube frame. One possible hesitation would be if you are going to use cantilever brakes.

No canti's, standard side pull brakes. Thank you for the input.

You mean .6mm x16 with cantis would result in the stays twisting from braking force? What would be a ballpark minimum using cantis with these stays given the same rider weight and stay length?

people are using cantis on 14mm stays, so I wouldn't worry about 16mm stays.

Stay stiffness not a big deal (excluding canti/linear boss use and touring loads) IMO. As the rear triangle isn't a straight torsion affair tube "stiffness" is less an issue then what most believe. The rear end is a triangulated structure WRT pedaling forces. There's also some compressive forces too in the driveside chain stay. But the back end of a frame is well braced buy the triangulation. Just look at the rear wheel tracking when a strong pedaling force is applied. The frame "hinges" more between the BB and head tube then the BB and rear axle. The wheel has far more flex then the read end of the frame.

Having said all that I do "balance" the stays with the main frame tubes. because that's what has been done for years, what people expect and WRT stay diameter what looks good.

Flames can begin now... Andy

I use 1/2"(12.7mm) .035" for the seat stays on my gravel and road frames. There is no noticeable flex when riding those bikes. I only go up to 16mm stays for MTB frames.

As Andrew says, the rear end of the bike is a very strong triangulated structure. I have had some some frames where the rear spacing closed up from welding in the seatstay bridge and they took some serious effort to bend back to the proper width.