Bicycle Mechanics - how to install chain tug w/ antirotation washer

I have a wheel slip problem with one of my bikes. Normally I use a chain tug for this sort of thing, but the antirotation washers on the internal hub are in the way.

How do I combine a chain tug with antirotation washers?

You can get usually by with only 1 anti-rotation washer, Put it the left, and use 1 chain tug only on the right, since you don't have to worry about the left side being pulled up.

Also note that you should be able to hold a wheel in place without an anti-slip device. Track bikes have done this for years so it isn't anything special.

Try this in lieu of the chain tug. Cut washers out of course emory cloth and glue them to the axle faces (or at least the right one) and maybe to the right keyed washer on the frame side. Now when the axle bolt is tightened, the hub will have some bite on the dropout and shouldn't move.

The other possibility would be to try to bend some offset into the chain tug bolt so it can fit outside of the keyed washer, and still work.

Serrated washers between the axle nuts and frame.

The antirotation washers are serrated and I'm sure the axle nuts are sufficiently tight because I recently stripped both of them (axle itself not stripped, I checked).

I don't necessarily think track bike wisdom applies because wheel slip doesn't mess up the shifting on a track bike, which is really the only reason I have a problem (small changes in chain tension aren't a big deal). Also track bikes aren't used in the rain, which makes sense because my the recent wheel slippage has been mostly after riding in warm rain.

I'm going to try tug nut on DS and antirotation washer on NDS.

Maybe the axle lock nut outer face teeth have blunted over the years, perhaps fit new locknuts on the hub ?,
they seem to be best of hardened steel to make their life long..

true on Campy and Mavic freewheel hubs and the right end of my Bullseye Freewhweel hubs ,
the anti rota torque washer on My Sturmey Archer AW3 is hardened toothy steel and the axle is flattened to slide it over..


True, proper Track races are indoors in the winter , but the fixie kids are often out on their bikes, outdoors, in the rain.

You can get usually by with only 1 anti-rotation washer, Put it the left, and use 1 chain tug only on the right, since you don't have to worry about the left side being pulled up.

Also note that you should be able to hold a wheel in place without an anti-slip device. Track bikes have done this for years so it isn't anything special.



Track hubs have outer lock nuts that are very toothy on their outer face and wheel nuts with built in lock washers... when they are properly torqued they don't move.

Good anti rotation washers are also pretty toothy and will hold a wheel securely without a need for a tug although these can be an extra guarantee against wheel slippage happening and you do only need one tug for the drive side.

It's a SA 8-speed w/ an aluminum frame BTW. Maybe the serrated nuts/washers can't get a good bite on the soft aluminum?

In any case a chain tug seems like the simplest solution because, theory aside, the regular serrations aren't cutting the mustard. AFAIK know the antirotation washers only resist shifting forces, so one on the NDS should be plenty.



True, proper Track races are indoors in the winter , but the fixie kids are often out on their bikes, outdoors, in the rain.

But they don't have a shifter to deal with and I still sometimes hear them complaining about wheel slip. Even 1mm of slip ruins my day.

Wheels shouldn't slip - Period.

While the OP has the added issue of cable length, any wheel slippage is problematic and mounting systems that can't hold a wheel secure are useless. This isn't rocket science, wheels have been secured reliably in horizontal dropouts, regardless of which way they opened, for decades using either nuts or QRs and without the need for added anti-slip devices.

What seems to have gone the way of Damascus steel is the use of axle faces, and/or bolt, washer or QR faces that bite the frame to provide solid hold without added help. You wouldn't ever buy a pair of pliers with dull or no teeth (except for where non-marring was the goal) but the bike industry seems to have lost sight of the reason or need to do this right.

If you want to dispense with the chain tug, you can get good hold using a hardened serrated washer, or the coarse emory on the axle face or both.