1990 Don McClung Shortie
Mountain bike pioneers Mike Rust and Don McClung founded their Colorado Cyclery shop in Colorado Springs in 1985, where they would make their first "Shortie" elevated chain stay bike. A year later the shop found a home in Salida, CO and they set about operating the specialty bike shop in front with a small custom frame business in back. As the name implies, the bikes were designed to have the shortest wheel base practical, coming in at just 38-1/2 inches. At the time, typical mountain bikes had a stable wheel base of 42 inches. The goal here was a highly nimble bike for the technical terrain of the Colorado Rockies, with a wheelie-popping chain stay length of just 14-3/8 inches. To accomplish this, there was simply no room for chain stays to fit between the chainrings and the rear tire, so they need to be elevated above the chainrings rather than behind them. As well, the seat tube was shaped to wrap around the rear tire, which was cleverly done by filling the thin tubing with low melting temperature bismuth metal to keep it from collapsing during the bending process. The filler metal could be removed with boiling water and reused. The low top tube aided in body movement and the long 190 mm stem was necessary to keep the front end down. Specialty items include the front derailleur modified for rear tire clearance and the ultra short custom steerer for the Rock Shox RS-1 fork. The travel of the suspension fork was reduced in half and the crown was shaved down to make the axle to crown equivalent to a 15-1/2" rigid fork. Unlike a lot of production elevated chain stay bikes that came later, Shortie bikes were well-engineered and durable through the careful use of triangulation. This particular example was built for a male resident of Boulder, CO who was caught dealing cocaine, so the frame sat unclaimed. Eventually it was adapted to fit frame building pioneer Jane Carpenter, likely with a higher rise stem. In total, less than a couple dozen Shorties were made, all by Don McClung except for the first few.
More information about Don's bikes can be found on the McClung Archive page.
More information about Don's bikes can be found on the McClung Archive page.
The Build
Year: 1990
S/N: N/A Frame: Don McClung Shortie Fork: Rock Shox RS-1 Modified Stem: McClung Clamp On Headset: Tange Falcon Sealed Bottom Bracket: Suntour XC-Pro Grease Guard Handlebar: Nitto Tapered Shifters: Shimano Deore XT M732 Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore DX FD-MT62 Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore DX RD-MT62 Brake Levers: Dia Compe Advantage 5-SL Front Brake: Shimano Deore XT M732 Rear Brake: Shimano Deore XT M732 Crankset: Suntour XC-Pro Microdrive Chainring: Suntour XC Pro 20-32-42 Pedals: Shimano Deore XT M737 Hubs: Shimano Deore XT M732 Rims: Ritchey Vantage Pro Tires: Pararacer Smoke 26 x 2.1 Seatpost: Strong Saddle: Selle Italia Turbo Grips: Magura Pow-R-Grip Cogs: Shimano Hyperglide Chain: Sachs Sedis |
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