Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Chain tension, can someone please explain this to me?

So I got my first fixed recently.

I can seem to get enough tension without a chain tensioner. Now I got one and Im afraid to over do it an rist breaking a chain mid ride (which I'm guessing would suck since I ride breakless.)

I searched around this forum and other places and cant seem to find a good concise explination of how much tension is just right and how to gauge tension properly. Anyone have a good explination or easy way to know when your chain is on correctly?

To quote Sheldon Brown:
"It should be tight as it can be without binding. If the chain is too loose, it can fall off, usually at the most inconvenient possible time."

http://sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html#tension

trick i learned from an lbs:

loosen the rear, pull it back all the way and tighten the nut just enough so that it holds its place, lightly "pinch" the top and bottom chain together between your index finger and thumb. this should scoot the rear wheel forward just barely to give more slack to the chain from the original tight position.

or just stick your hand between the rear wheel and seat tube and push it back and adjust the tension manually. ive done it this way but its always hit or miss and i have to do it a couple times to get the tension just right.

when its at the correct tension, the chain should have some up/down play of 1 cm. from far away your chain should look like it has a very very very slight droop in it.

I did read that on Sheldon Brown but Im still afraid I might be tightening too much even though the chain is not binding or slowing things down.

Thanks feetpower.

So I got my first fixed recently.

I can seem to get enough tension without a chain tensioner. Now I got one and Im afraid to over do it an rist breaking a chain mid ride (which I'm guessing would suck since I ride breakless.)

I searched around this forum and other places and cant seem to find a good concise explination of how much tension is just right and how to gauge tension properly. Anyone have a good explination or easy way to know when your chain is on correctly?

biggest problem with cycling right now. kids get 'fixed gears' because something on the internet told them it was cool. so they start riding in traffic with no experience and no knowledge and just up that hate for cyclists a little more.

biggest problem with cycling right now. kids get 'fixed gears' because something on the internet told them it was cool. so they start riding in traffic with no experience and no knowledge and just up that hate for cyclists a little more.

Easy buddy, Im 35 and have been riding bikes since I was a kid. I've always wanted to learn to ride a fixed gear bike and did so over the course of a few years with friends fixed gear bikes a flip flop hub and breaks on one of mine. I just removed the front break last week after "using it" for 3 month (by using I mean having it mounted to my fork since I never actually needed it to stop.)

.

You have to adjust the chain at its tightest point. First set the wheel straight in the frame and pull it back until the chain starts to resist and lightly tighten the nuts. Rotate the crank about a 1/4 turn at a time and push up on the buttom run of the chain and feel/see how much it moves up. Repeat until you find the tightest point at which it deflects the least. Re-adjust the wheel at that point so the chain deflection at the bottom is between 1/4" and 1/2". Re-check to make sure it does not still have a very tight spot. The variation of chain tension at different points will depend on the quality (roundness) of your chainring and cog. BTW, this is how we do it at the track where we are constantly removing and installing the rear wheel to change gearing.

So I got my first fixed... /// I ride breakless.

eek

eek

I should have clarified that I rode my old roommate's fixed gear alot back in the early 90 and felt comfortable. I also had a moutnian bike with a flip flop hub back in 2001 and would frequently set it up fixed. I can stop very easily and comfortably (I live in the Washington Heights section of NYC with big hills and they are not problem stopping on.)

just because someone is buying their first car, doesnt mean they cant drive people.

^^ i got what your saying but seriously, slap a brake on whatever you ride.

Riding breakless must get very tiring. How do you sleep?

Personally I like to take a break now and then.

Learn how to spell seriously. It's brake.

I should have clarified that I rode my old roommate's fixed gear alot back in the early 90 and felt comfortable. I also had a moutnian bike with a flip flop hub back in 2001 and would frequently set it up fixed. I can stop very easily and comfortably (I live in the Washington Heights section of NYC with big hills and they are not problem stopping on.)

just because someone is buying their first car, doesnt mean they cant drive people.

Yeah, because obviously everyone obtaining their new fixed gear fashion accessory is up to snuff with their riding skills. Good job with the bad advice. Is it going to take a dead white girl for people to stop giving retardedly unsafe advice? Or what?

Doh, brake it is. And I missed where I was giving advice operator. Last time I checked, I was asking for advice on chain tension.

Please don't ride on the road without brakes. We lost a state champion that way.

If the chains not binding and not too loose then yr set. As long as you didn't mess up anything on the chain itself when breaking it, there should be nothing to be paranoid about.

Thanks all for your tips.

I think I got the idea on chain tension and sorry I opened up the whole brakeless discussion by accident.

Just pull it back with your hand until the chain stops you from going back any further, then tighten the drive-side bolt down. Make sure the wheel is straight on the frame while you tighten the non-drive side.

Don't lean in it or pull really hard or anything. The chain does not have to be that tight if you've got your chainline set up within a few mm. Dropping chains with a good chainline is hard to do.

This is a fairly easy way. Just beware, this method also makes it easy to make the chain way too tight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW3pTjm5ZMY

Great YouTube video, thank man!

Just beware, this method also makes it easy to make the chain way too tight.

Ya think? :eek:

Ya think? :eek:

lol

but you can also get it without being overly tight. I just practiced a few times to get a feel for it before setting the chain and riding. It's easier than pulling back on the wheel.

lol

but you can also get it without being overly tight. I just practiced a few times to get a feel for it before setting the chain and riding. It's easier than pulling back on the wheel.

Oh, I'm sure you can. I was just amazed at how that tatted bike monkey could get that chain so tight that you could play it like a guitar and then say that it was the correct tension.

I like the tennis ball method. Works well for me all the time and super easy.

1. wedge tennis ball between frame and wheel
2. tighten axle nuts
3. ?????
4. profit!!

Easy buddy, Im 35 and have been riding bikes since I was a kid. I've always wanted to learn to ride a fixed gear bike and did so over the course of a few years with friends fixed gear bikes a flip flop hub and breaks on one of mine. I just removed the front break last week after "using it" for 3 month (by using I mean having it mounted to my fork since I never actually needed it to stop.)

.

Moral of the story: Don't rip those uncool brakes off until you learn how to mount a rear wheel to the frame properly, especially if your going to galavant around with only your chain as a "brake"

You have to adjust the chain at its tightest point. .......

Only TT seems to have emphasised that the tightness of the chain VARIES as it goes around.
Failure to allow or check for this by using any of the methods described could result in serious damage to components.

pull the wheel back until the chain is taut, finger tighten axle nuts
push one side of the rim, in the rear triangle on your frame. this will move the opposite-side axle nut back
tighten the nut down with a wrench
push the other side of the rim, this will move the other axle nut back
tighten that nut with a wrench
repeat making adjustments until you get your wheel straight and you have the tension you want


i like my chain to be tight, while still being able to move the chain up or down a 1/2 inch by pushing down or pulling up on it. from a distance, there is no droop or slack visible.

My method:

Put wheel in dropout.
Put hand between wheel and seat tube (takes a few tries initially to figure out how much tension you need).
Tighten track nuts to a couple foot-pounds, check chain deflection (I run a pretty loose chain by most people's standards) and wheel alignment.
If it looks good, then alternate tightening track nuts, a couple foot-pounds at a time.

I work at a bike store. We're not FG/SS specific. So far, I've seen two such bikes with problems. First was crunchy noises from the rear freewheel. Freewheel was new after old one died. Second was unknown creaks at the BB (probably chainring bolts). Both were because of too tight chains. Loosened chains just a smidge, just slight droop, not even 1cm, in chain between cog and chainring, untoward noises went away.

Majority of chainring setups will not be perfectly round, resulting in uneven tension as you pedal. If you insist on insane tight chain, at least make sure you adjust it where it gets tightest on your bike, not in an untensioned spot which will then be too tight once you start pedalling.

This is so simple. Your chain should not be tight, it should be loose. Setup your chain and see if you can derail is by hand (carefully) while your wheel is spinning. If you can't get your chain to derail, then loosen your chain. Once you can easily get your chain to derail by hand whilst spinning your drive-train this is too loose. But now you know what to look for.

When you know how loose is too loose, then finding a good medium between too tight and too loose is elementary. You'll be surprised how slack you can go before you can derail your chain.

I have found that in order to not bind anywhere through a rotation with a crappy chain-ring you often have to run your chain pretty slack. Much closer to too loose than to too tight.

T

pull the wheel back until the chain is taut, finger tighten axle nuts
push one side of the rim, in the rear triangle on your frame. this will move the opposite-side axle nut back
tighten the nut down with a wrench
push the other side of the rim, this will move the other axle nut back
tighten that nut with a wrench
repeat making adjustments until you get your wheel straight and you have the tension you want


i like my chain to be tight, while still being able to move the chain up or down a 1/2 inch by pushing down or pulling up on it. from a distance, there is no droop or slack visible.

The technique works for me. But as a guide to how much chain slack you should have:
http://chain-guide.com/basics/7-1-2-1-chain-slack.html

I started out doing the towel method, where you stuff a towel between the frame and rear tire, but it was harder for me than a lot of others, apparently.

My preferred way now is to flip the bike upside-down, put the crank at the spot where the chain is tightest, and pull back on the wheel while I tighten the nuts. I end up getting it first or second try, instead of taking a whole lot more tries with the towel. The chain is just loose enough at the tightest spot that it doesn't bind.

I like my chain tension a bit on the loose side. This is how I set chain tension:

I shot this video a few weeks ago. Sorry about the crappy video quality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBT_BNzaRuM
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c362/jojisan/bike.jpg

http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=tbn&q=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/330444349_04967b1304_o.jpg&usg=AFQjCNGb1siaMUStwzmvU645qL32UFpbZA
another reason for loving my sputnik

^^Do you have to remove the master link from the chain to get the wheel off?

^^ He just needs to back out the tension screws just enough to derail the chain for wheel removal/install.

^^ He just needs to back out the tension screws just enough to derail the chain for wheel removal/install.

correct. so easy to tension and align the wheel.

Is there some list of frames with track ends+tension screws? I want to eventually get over my cheap road frame.

This is so simple. Your chain should not be tight, it should be loose. Setup your chain and see if you can derail is by hand (carefully) while your wheel is spinning. If you can't get your chain to derail, then loosen your chain. Once you can easily get your chain to derail by hand whilst spinning your drive-train this is too loose. But now you know what to look for.

When you know how loose is too loose, then finding a good medium between too tight and too loose is elementary. You'll be surprised how slack you can go before you can derail your chain.

I have found that in order to not bind anywhere through a rotation with a crappy chain-ring you often have to run your chain pretty slack. Much closer to too loose than to too tight.

T

This sounds like a great way to rip your fingers off.

ya the dropouts on the sputnik are brilliant. It's amazing how much 1/2 a turn w/ those screws can loosen/tighten the chain.

ya the dropouts on the sputnik are brilliant. It's amazing how much 1/2 a turn w/ those screws can loosen/tighten the chain.

How do you like this?

Oh damn, is that a magic trick?

How do you like this?

Tragic welds.

ya the dropouts on the sputnik are brilliant. It's amazing how much 1/2 a turn w/ those screws can loosen/tighten the chain.

yea tell me about it.

when i had a conversion I put my hand between the rear wheel and the seat tube.
-slightly tighten the non drivetrain side first with it a little slanted towards the non drivetrains side.
-then push the wheel towards the drivetrain side and tighten both sides.

i like my chain tight, almost to the point of binding.

RooNYC,

While many have done a very good job of explaining how to set proper chain tension you have not done a good job explaining your issue. It sounds like you do not have an issue. I mean to be curious how to do something properly is a good thing. But, that is a question - not a problem.

I know I'm going to sound totally crappy saying this but here goes - if you do not know how to set proper chain tension then it is an absolute guarantee you do not have a strong enough skill set to even think about riding brakeless. That doesn't mean that you will not reach the point where you can one day make a call like that but right now you need to put on a front brake.

Unbroken skull > aesthetics

i like my chain tight, almost to the point of binding.

Yeah.....and I like cholesterol... :rolleyes:

Tragic welds.

function > cosmetics

I enjoy tensioning my chain.
I don't use a tennis ball or towel, I just use my hand between the frame and tire, it's easy.

function > cosmetics

If details make the difference, that bike fails. While it may function, it looks like cheap construction to me.

http://prollyisnotprobably.com/Dropout.jpg