Originally Posted by
sam83
Heck, my road bike chain has almost no discernible play when you do the same thing. I don't think that's the way you are supposed to check it. What kind of slack do you have without applying pressure to the cranks?
I don't get it. A road bike has infinite play. The cranks spin backwards freely at a stop. On a fixed bike it doesn't, but if it has some slop in the middle at the tightest point the chain is too loose. I guess I could see what you mean if you're just feeling whether the chain can wiggle up and down, but that's not what the OP meant.