# Focus chainstay spacing problem, or something different?



## BigPoser (Jan 11, 2013)

Hi All, 

I love my bike. Picked up the frame last December and it's amazing. For reference it's a 2014 Focus Cayo Evo Team Replica. Anyways, I'm not sure what to make of this potential problem. It seems that the spacing on the chainstays at the bottom bracket could be off. I had noticed it before, but initially thought that was how it was supposed to be. I don't think that anymore. Could it be off, could it be something different, or is it supposed to be like this? I don't notice anything weird when riding it, but it just looks strange to me and logically thinking, leads me to believe that the spacing should be equal. Please see the pics below. You can clearly see that the clearance on the NDS is quite a bit tighter than the DS. 

Before you mention wheel true, it was just done prior to these pics from a very reputable shop. It was trued and dished properly. 





So, thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? Something else that came to mind after reading a previous post was that the drop outs could be out of whack. Could this be?

Thanks in advance. 

Brandon


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## redcon1 (Jul 22, 2008)

Well the obvious thing to check, even more basic then to verify wheel truing/dishing, is to ensure the rear axle is seated properly in the dropouts.
I assume you did that first?


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## BigPoser (Jan 11, 2013)

redcon1 said:


> Well the obvious thing to check, even more basic then to verify wheel truing/dishing, is to ensure the rear axle is seated properly in the dropouts.
> I assume you did that first?


Absolutely. That was actually why my second thought was that maybe the dropouts weren't correct. If they were just off the slightest amount it would do this as well.


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## redcon1 (Jul 22, 2008)

Yeah I figured as much. Sorry, I got nothin' then. 

Maybe remove the rear QR and take a picture of each side dropout with the axle seated?


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

Turn the wheel around and check again. That will eliminate incorrect dish.


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## Heuston (May 23, 2013)

I have a Focus Izalco and have also found that the chainstays are noticeably closer on the non drive side.


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## Soaring Vulture (Jun 25, 2013)

On my Izalco the drive side chain stay has 5mm of clearance and the non-drive side has 3mm. The wheel remains in the same plane when I reverse it.


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## redcon1 (Jul 22, 2008)

My Izalco Ergo frame has exactly equal clearance, at least to my eyes. Can't get a micrometer in there to measure.


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## BigPoser (Jan 11, 2013)

Finally flipped the rear wheel around today while giving the bike a bath and the spacing is the same either way. 

So I would think that it's either supposed to be this way, or the rear dropout is messed up.


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## K Dub Cycle (Oct 22, 2013)

The left, non drive side chainstay behind the bottom bracket is a common area of stress and carbon fiber failure. Could it possibly be engineered thicker in that area and therefore less clearance on that side?


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## BigPoser (Jan 11, 2013)

K Dub Cycle said:


> The left, non drive side chainstay behind the bottom bracket is a common area of stress and carbon fiber failure. Could it possibly be engineered thicker in that area and therefore less clearance on that side?


Obviously I'm not an expert, but I don't think so because it's not quite centered within the seat tube either. I'm at a loss.


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## youngmth (May 22, 2012)

BigPoser said:


> You can clearly see that the clearance on the NDS is quite a bit tighter than the DS.


I have a 2013 Focus Cayo Evo. What's interesting is that I have noticed the same about my chainstays only the opposite than yours. My drive-side has a smaller gap between the chainstay and wheel than the non-drive-side. I have always thought it's intentional either due to a thicker drive-side chainstay or the drive-side chainstay is angled differently for crankset clearance. As my wheel perfectly aligns the seat-tube I never really thought it was an issue.


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## K Dub Cycle (Oct 22, 2013)

Apparently, your off-center chainstay spacing is not isolated to the Focus brand. My Pinarello Dogma 65.1 also has this asymmetric chainstay spacing. Mine has the smaller tire-chainstay gap on the left (non drive side) chainstay behind the bottom bracket. This is with all 3 Campagnolo wheelsets I own.


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