Compacts and short chainstays?

I have a tri bike with a short chainstay, 385mm, and a steep seat post, 78 degree. I solved the FD clearance problem by using a triple crankset, 36/42/53, and a triple Front Derailleur.

That's the only problem i've had with my compact crank, when i'm in the inner ring, and down towards the bottom of my cassette (13 or lower) the chain rubs on the big chainring. There is nothing that can be done about this, just have to keep it out of those gears. I'm not sure if short chainstays would worsen this but it could. I had this crank on a Giant frame that has pretty short chainstays, and i couldn't use it in the 13 or 12 while on the 34, then put the crank on a Fuji with longer stays, and now i just can't use the 12, but shouldn't be crossing the chain that much anyway.

wakked1 said:

I'm wondering if the short chainstays on the R3 will cause the drivetrain fits... seems like the large difference between 50/34 chainrings and the radical chainline could cause a lot of rubbing. Has anyone tried a compact on an R3 or another bike with supershort (< 400mm) chainstays? Thanks!

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I use a compact crankset (FSA Carbon Pro Elite Compact) on a R3 frameset with no problem so far. I absolutely love this frame, BTW.

Ken

How odd... My previous bike was a Trek 2300, too. Its frame and front fork among several other small parts have been damaged in a car accident, and after investigating several replacement and upgrade options I opted for the R3.

Oh, and the fork that came with the frame, Cervelo's own Wolf SL, isn't the lightest fork on the market, but looks quite beefy and feels very secure on descent.