Modern Geo Talk: Chainstays, Stack, Reach, and Bitching About It

ebikepartyshirt wrote:

That is literally the exact opposite of flickable. 

Also long chainstays doesn’t give you more leverage over your rear wheel, the opposite is true. 

Also, long chainstays ftw

seanfisseli wrote:

I’m just trying to figure out what they’re flicking. Any clues?

Primoz wrote:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flick

codahale wrote:

I’m sorry, if we can’t get mountain bikers to use “loam” correctly, I don’t think you’ve got a chance of educating the masses on “flickable”.

seanfisseli wrote:

I came back to check in and let everybody know that I figured out what flickable means. I am pretty sure that it means something like...

I came back to check in and let everybody know that I figured out what flickable means. I am pretty sure that it means something like the feeling of standing on the rear pegs of a BMX bike and feeling the whole front end sort of flick around the pivot point of the rear wheel. Of course, on a mountain bike, we don’t have pegs, but if we have short chainstays the flickable feeling comes from the phenomenon of turning the bars and feeling the whole front end flick around, pivoting around the back end of the bike.

 I think that this added responsiveness at the bars is something that a lot of riders like. Especially if those riders are hunched over and putting weight on the front of their bike (a body position adapted to make up for lack of front end grip/bikes with too low of stack…) It would follow that you would want more responsiveness since you are sort of hindering that front end from coming around with your weight. If you were to put that rider on a bike with a more balanced ratio, they might feel like the front end isn’t as responsive because now there is too much weight on the bars, and the payment point has moved forward and so the bars aren’t having as big of an impact on the turning.

I think this is the reason that we have such massive arguments about chainstay length and handling. The people who are looking for a more responsive feeling at the handlebars are not going to like a long chain stay bikes. And people who want a bike that steers better through the feet are going to hate short chain stay bikes.