Originally Posted by
Michaeh
Which touring bike has the longest chainstay? is it the LHT at 460mm?
I have issues with heel strikes even on my trek 520 which had a chainstay of 450mm. I have big feet and I prefer to have the tip of my foot on the pedals.
Its gotten to the point where if I havent hit my pannier in a few mins I usually look back to see if my panniers have fallen off
Rivendell has been developing extra-long chainstay bikes lately, for touring and commuting. For example, their Appaloosa bike has between 51.5 and 53.5 cm chainstays, depending on the size.
https://www.rivbike.com/products/appaloosa-framesets
Their Cheviut step-through has 54 cm chainstays in the largest size.
https://www.rivbike.com/collections/...oducts/cheviot
And their Clem Smith "budget" model has 56 cm chainstays in the largest size!
https://www.rivbike.com/pages/geometry
They've even tweaked the geometry of their flagship touring bike, the Atlantis, and lengthened the chainstays to 49 cm in the largest size.
They advise that you'll need to buy a tandem length chain (or two standard chains). I haven't ridden their new designs; my Riv is an early Road Standard model with traditional road bike geometry. But the folks who have ridden these bikes love the comfortable ride. Probably a bear to handle on singletrack, but excellent for road touring.
Also, most of their new designs offer 26", 27.5" (650b) or 29" (700c) wheels, depending on frame size. Tire clearance stays constant regardless of wheel diameter across each model.
They make expensive bikes with gorgeous paint and lugwork (and sometimes dumb names). They know how to build an excellent touring bike (as do many others).