Short chainstays and 1x

[bicycletricycle]

Are 11/12 speed 1x mountain/gravel drivetrains a problem on really short chain stays? I remember early systems dropping chains when backpedalled and in my mind I though it might be chainstay length related, however, some of these modern gravel bikes have pretty short stays and I don’t hear too many complaints. I have an 11speed xt drivetrain on about 430mm stays and it works great but I am thinking of trying 400mm stays. Any experience or anecdotes will be greatly appreciated.

[e-RICHIE]

Yes.
Think about it.
The further you deviate from the centerline, the more you're choking the system.
Add to this any possible frame misalignments and the shorter lengths are a recipe for disaster, friction, wear, etc etc etc.

ps

arrange disorder

:cool::cool::rolleyes:
:cool::cool::rolleyes:
;);):)

[bicycletricycle]

That is what I figured, curious what kind of problems actually manifest.

Yes.
Think about it.
The further you deviate from the centerline, the more you're choking the system.
Add to this any possible frame misalignments and the shorter lengths are a recipe for disaster, friction, wear, etc etc etc.

ps

arrange disorder

:cool::cool::rolleyes:
:cool::cool::rolleyes:
;);):)

[e-RICHIE]

That is what I figured, curious what kind of problems actually manifest.

friction, wear, etc etc etc.

[Velocipede]

They had/have the same issues on hyper short chainstays on tri bikes back in the day when they used 650c wheels. They were running chainstays in the 375/380 range(wheel cutouts). There was issues with shifting(the fronts were the worst but rear wasn't the greatest), tons of chain rub on the chainrings and cassettes. And really fast wear on everything. When most companies abandoned 650c wheels for 700c in the 2000's, things got better.

[bigbill]

You can do a boost crankset or buy a bag of 1mm spacers from Wheels Manufacturing and replace the 3mm spacer (assuming Shimano) on the bottom bracket with three 1mm spacers to adjust the crankset right to left.

[prototoast]

Officially, Sram says you can use a minimum 395mm chainstay with 1x, and 405mm with 2x.

I haven't seen the Shimano manual since they offered a 1x system, but Shimano has previously recommended a minimum of 415mm for 135/142 rear hubs.

Personally, I'd be a little more conservative than Sram, and maybe not as conservative as Shimano (I've set up Shimano 2x systems just fine on 405-410mm chainstays with 142 hub spacing).

[benb]

I'd just decide which one you want more... neither is mandatory to have a good time or great performance.

[bicycletricycle]

just measured a bike i have a 1x1 shimano set up on, 410 millimeters. Works great, no problems with shifting, do not have enough miles to judge wear.