Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - This is how much chain slack is too much chain slack

With a wildly unround chainring, bent stays and damn near no dropout to tension with (semi horizontal), I ran an unideal chain tension just to get a bike on the road for a winter tank.

Now with a couple of months of salt, filth, lack of maintenance besides throwing more gunk on, and a heavy rider who likes doing the trick where you kick off and then stand one footed on the bike for a revolution or two on the chain, there's enough stretch such that I've thrown the chain three times in two days.

Today was potentially catastrophic: just going along, just gone through a green, no traffic, and hitting a bump the chain was thrown from the chainring, wrapped around the cog rotafix style, and caused me to have my first skid with low pressure knobby tires in a small gear at like 5mph on broken pavement. Unintentionally!

But all was well, there was a freshly littered snack wrapper on the ground to get the chain back out without too much gunking of gloves, and I'm alive to tell the tale of how much is too much slack.

This much:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c149/ieatrats666/DSCF0368.jpg

I'm not even sure the chain tension is the culprit here, I think that my bent and tweaked fender was actually creeping sideways enough that the broken frame mount just under the zip tie touched the chain and derailed it. But if a touch can derail it, it's too slack.

What happened to that chainring?? Is it supposed to be that eccentric?

that is about what I ride...

I hereby give up the Captain Slackchain crown to the esteemed ieatrats.

with a chain that slack, you might was well ride with a blindfold on too (intended for juvi-kyle)

ghetto... nobody smilin

']with a chain that slack, you might was well ride with a blindfold on too (intended for juvi-kyle)


who said I didnt...

that looked more like a ball-gag to me than a blindfold...

What happened to that chainring?? Is it supposed to be that eccentric?

It's biopace.

I was going to have a rant in there about how it seems the opinions on chain tension here border on fanatical, but I guess it's too late.

my mtb sags that much, but never went off-track even when i went bouncy-bouncy on the rocks. i wouldnt tolerate that much on a fix, though, cuz the freeplay on the pedals would drive me cojones

']that looked more like a ball-gag to me than a blindfold...
true...true

wow. that looks like a hammock for little chain-throwing Gremlins of Slack to chill in.

my mtb sags that much, but never went off-track even when i went bouncy-bouncy on the rocks. i wouldnt tolerate that much on a fix, though, cuz the freeplay on the pedals would drive me cojones

Like a pirate with a steering wheel up his ass?

To lose is when you roll a bike into the back seat of a car and the chain falls off because gravity derails it.

That probably counts as to lose. :D

there should be zero visible droop in the chain, about 1/2 inch of deflection when you push on it max.

Like a pirate with a steering wheel up his ass?


Arrrr! It's drivin' me nuts!

Man, that is some serious bike abuse. Clean that bike! Get a new chain, already.

Yeah thats way too much slack! That would drive me insane. I know its a mountin bike but clean that thing a bit would ya.

Biopace!

there should be zero visible droop in the chain, about 1/2 inch of deflection when you push on it max.

Agreed. He's an accident waiting to happen with a bike in that condition.

With a wildly unround chainring, bent stays and damn near no dropout to tension with (semi horizontal), I ran an unideal chain tension just to get a bike on the road for a winter tank.

Now with a couple of months of salt, filth, lack of maintenance besides throwing more gunk on, and a heavy rider who likes doing the trick where you kick off and then stand one footed on the bike for a revolution or two on the chain, there's enough stretch such that I've thrown the chain three times in two days.

Today was potentially catastrophic: just going along, just gone through a green, no traffic, and hitting a bump the chain was thrown from the chainring, wrapped around the cog rotafix style, and caused me to have my first skid with low pressure knobby tires in a small gear at like 5mph on broken pavement. Unintentionally!

But all was well, there was a freshly littered snack wrapper on the ground to get the chain back out without too much gunking of gloves, and I'm alive to tell the tale of how much is too much slack.

This much:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c149/ieatrats666/DSCF0368.jpg

I'm not even sure the chain tension is the culprit here, I think that my bent and tweaked fender was actually creeping sideways enough that the broken frame mount just under the zip tie touched the chain and derailed it. But if a touch can derail it, it's too slack.

Welcome to the club. People here put the blame on my cog (http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=148701). But it got me a new rear end (http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=182447)

Like a pirate with a steering wheel up his ass?

Ay! It's drivin' me nuts!

wow. that looks like a hammock for little chain-throwing Gremlins of Slack to chill in.

I don't know why that made me laugh as hard as it did.

there should be zero visible droop in the chain, about 1/2 inch of deflection when you push on it max.

advice which i ignored last night, instead opting to ride with droop: "i'm only going a few blocks, i'll tighten it once i get there." two blocks from my house i threw my chain going over a tiny bump and fredflintstoned to a stop. classy.

i threw my chain going over a tiny bump and fredflintstoned to a stop. classy.

It is especially important to keep little or no chain slack when your shoes are your only brakes.

It is especially important to keep little or no chain slack when your shoes are your only brakes.

thank you for the ever-so-helpful and perfectly-timed advice. i'll keep that in mind.

Although the slack on that chain is ridiculous, I would say the bent chainring
would throw your chain even when you have decent enough tension.
After that happened to me a few times in traffic,
it was bye-bye Super Mighty chainring.

thank you for the ever-so-helpful and perfectly-timed advice. i'll keep that in mind.

I'm pretty wonderful.

I'm pretty wonderful.

i also hear that you're kind of a big deal. at least within the mpls fg/ss folk.

am I the only person on here who likes his chain tension skin tight?

PS and I thought I rode a piece of ****e... this bike hurts to look at.

am I the only person on here who likes his chain tension skin tight?

PS and I thought I rode a piece of ****e... this bike hurts to look at.

I had to throw my chain a dozen times before I joined you on that one. Now, I may have to readjust my wheel every week, but my chain stays on.

I try to walk that 'just tight enough to not throw itself' line.

advice which i ignored last night, instead opting to ride with droop: "i'm only going a few blocks, i'll tighten it once i get there." two blocks from my house i threw my chain going over a tiny bump and fredflintstoned to a stop. classy.

Damn, girl. YOu gotta protect ya neck!

I once tried ice fishing in MlpS once. I've never been back. :o

PS and I thought I rode a piece of ****e... this bike hurts to look at.

ell oh ell for real. How do you really feel? You all should hang around mtbr.com's forums, where if you consider putting your bike in the same room as a rag, you get called a wussy poseur.

This bike rules way more than any Colnago with gold components that you have to carry into Urban Outfitters with you so it doesn't get breathed on :D:p

Dirt = real life

with minimal bike tools, what's the best way to fix the slack in a chain. this is what mine looks like (obviously droopy):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v53/patso/IMG_2002.jpg

every few pedals when I'm going up a hill i can hear it make a slight noise (at least i think that's what it is). Otherwise my bike is fairly silent. I want to get this fixed up.

undo the nuts and pull the wheel back. you need a wrench. 15mm but adjustable will do. see this: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html#tension

oh man, that's terrible. I'll try this again.

How to tighten the hell outta your chain, ATN style
(Taught me me first by olympic track racers in Korea, then retaught by a NYC mess.)
Tools needed are one appropriately sized wrench for your axle nuts (usually 15mm)

-Loosen both nuts
-Pull back on the wheel so that the non-drive side axle nut is as far back as it will go.
-tighten the non-drive side nut.
-The wheel will now be cockeyed to the left in your frame and the chain loose. That's good.
-At the seattube, manually push the rim into it's ideal position. As you do this, the chain will tighten up as the axle moves rearward in the dropout.
-Hold the rim in alignment, then tighten the drive side axle nut.
-Now the chain will be very tight, and the wheel will be roughly aligned in the dropouts.
-You can now loosen the non-drive side nut without fear of losing chain tension, in order to fine tune the alignment of the wheel.

-Optional: Put on earmuffs/eyepod to drown out annoying internet claims that your chain is too tight.:p

that helps a lot! thanks so much.

so as i'm trying this i'm still getting about the same amount of slack. any thing you think i might be doing wrong?

Make sure you're pushing the rim right behind the seat tube, along the same plane the axle follows in the dropouts. Also make sure you are getting your drive side and non drive side orienteations right (just have to check)

I guess I'm having trouble lining up the rim and keeping it in place while I tighten the drive-side nut. After I tighten the drive side nut the chain is tight but the rim is still off center. When i loosen the non-drive nut i can center it better, but the chain loosens.

here's what's happening step by step:

- I loosen both nuts and pull back so that the non-drive nut is as back as far as it can go (the rim/tire push against the side of the frame, so it can't go all the way back.)
- Next I push the rim back so that the wheel is centered. Now the chain is really tight (how i'd like it to be).
- I hold it in place and tighten up the drive side nut (the wheel is still cockeyed, but the chain is tight)
- I loosen the non-drive nut and center the wheel, and then tighten it.
- The chain is back to it's old tension.

:(

Here's how it should read:

"here's what's happening step by step:

- I loosen both nuts and pull back so that the non-drive nut is as back as far as it can go (the rim/tire push against the side of the frame, so it can't go all the way back.)
-NEXT I TIGHTEN THE NON-DIRVE SIDE NUT
- then I push the rim back so that the wheel is centered. Now the chain is really tight (how i'd like it to be).
- I hold it in place and tighten up the drive side nut (the wheel is still cockeyed, but the chain is tight)
- I loosen the non-drive nut and center the wheel, and then tighten it.
- The chain is tight as a guitar string and all is at peace in the world

:) "


As for holding the rim in place while messing with the drive side nut, try kneeling on the left side of the wheel. With the non-dirve nut tight and the drive side nut loose, push the wheel in alignment with your left thumb while wrapping your fingers around the seat tube. When it's centered, reach over the wheel with your right hand to get a hold of the wrench to tighten down the drive side nut.

ahh i left that bolded part out! i still do it! haha. i'm going to give it a few more shots after dinner. ill let you know how it goes. thanks for helping out so far though.

something else you might want to try: summerinside taught me a neato trick the other day. jam a rolled-up sock between the seat tube and the rear wheel. he called it "the third hand".

i like it! it works.

next time, after step two, try pushing the rim way over to the right, past alignment, then tighten the drive side nut. The wheel will be outta whack to the right, but the chain will be tight. Then you can just undo the non-drive side to adjust the tension.

Either that or it's your chain. Red chains don't hold tension very well.

something else you might want to try: summerinside taught me a neato trick the other day. jam a rolled-up sock between the seat tube and the rear wheel. he called it "the third hand".

i like it! it works.

Umm, did summerinside tell you why they called the "rolled up sock trick" the "third hand"?

Either that or it's your chain. Red chains don't hold tension very well.


But it looks so good!

Umm, did summerinside tell you why they called the "rolled up sock trick" the "third hand"?

oh, come on, i talk to andy almost every day. i don't need me no imagery.

well i definitely fixed it some, it still looks more slack than most peoples bikes on this forum. would a chain tensioner help? it may also be my eyes playing tricks on my with the chainrings.

Just looking at that bike, makes me feel very good about my beater.