Steel chain & seat stays

[Undies]

Recently invested in a roller bender and started to bend my own stays
(To date I have been using Columbus prebent stays)
I need some advice on tube sizes and material
I am building MTB 29ers (many for big guys )so strength is a big consideration for me
1/2 & 3/4 4130 seems to be fairly typical and easily available in NZ but don't want to over do the wall thickness if I don't have to

Any feed back?

Thanks

[jon_norstog]

Undies:

For mountain bikes I like 3/4" x .035" for chainstays. I think that's what Dave Chance used in the old days, as well. Seatstays you can go 5/8" x .035 (x .028 for a light rider) unless the rider is a real monster in which case the 3/4" is just the ticket. This setup will be on the stiff side, so you can build the compliance you want into the front triangle.

Good luck.

jn

"Thursday"