Originally Posted by
fishboat
One thought(data point) on chainstay length. It can be an issue when riding with rear panniers. 430mm is considered a somewhat short chainstay in touring bike circles, however my touring bike (drop bar converted Trek 970) has 429mm chainstays. I run 55L panniers (total, sum of two bags) on the rear with a size 12 shoe and have had zero heel-strike issues, not even close.
Yeah, the frame I have a rear rack and panniers in is 432mm to the middle of the rear dropout and I think that is where I have the wheel placed.
I have size 14 shoes and dont have issue with heel strike. The bike is still plenty stable when loaded, yada yada yada. .
Maybe my rack pushes my bags back further than other racks?