I realize that there are some builders and a few real technophiles (to
perhaps coin a word) on the list and to them it may well be important to
know exact and precise stay lengths. For most of us, though, on a built up
bike a quick glance at the relative position of the wheel or tire to the
seat tube is probably enough to judge whether the bike meets our needs or
not.
I realize that with a bare frame this does not work too well. For all
intents and purposes for a collector like myself, though, this one glance
method works quite well.
On a bare frame I pull out my ever present tape measure and go from the
center of the BB axel to the center of the drop out and this seems to give
me a nearly instant and consistent result that works quite well for the
decisions that I need to make.
Whether over simplifying or merely eschewing the complex, in the real world
it works for me.
Tom Sanders
Lansing, Mi USA