Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - what the hell is that noise...

damn. so i have a formula hub (126mm spaced) and a stronglight track crank/BB.

both have a chainline of 42mm.


but my chainline is a lil' off, and i dont understand why. it makes the "GRIND-KEEERSSH-RAWR" noise when pedaling. when i re-arrange the spacers on the hub, it just moves the wheel off center, and continues making noise. the only thing i can think of that makes the awful, awful noise is that my chainring is 1/8" and my cog is 3/32".

somebody please enlighten me as to why i have to hide my face in shame when people a half a block away are all like "damn son, that **** sounds like ****.".

chain too tight?

Running a 3/32" chain on a 1/8" chainring is some straight stupid ****.

Running a 3/32" chain on a 1/8" chainring is some straight stupid ****.
he said a 1/8" chainRING and a 3/32" cog, so a 1/8" chain is implied.

he said a 1/8" chainRING and a 3/32" cog, so a 1/8" chain is implied.


I didn't think it was implied as he was claiming to have an excruciating noise that could be heard a block away. I would attribute such a noise to a newbie mistake like that..

at least we hope it's implied. i think he knows enough to use a 1/8" chain. i try not to insult people right off the bat.

for the chainline, maybe you didn't put your cranks on far enough, it's hard to torque them as much as you should without a torque wrench or loooong allen key. that would solve the chainline, but wouldn't change the noise that much. what was the approximate torque spec? 'vein-poppingly tight' or something like that.

measure the distance from the center of your seat tube to the middle of your chainring. if it's not 42mm, then you know that it's a chainline issue, and that maybe your cranks aren't seated properly on the bb.

also, maybe your cog, chainring, and chain are of different ages. when i put a new chainring on my bike, the chain wouldn't sit right between the teeth. a new chain solved that problem.