Akula32

Okay, so this is the third thread I've posted on the topic of chainring bolts, pardon my obsession.

Lately I've been dealing with the problem of my chainring bolts (note that I'm riding fixed, so we're talking a single chainring) coming loose. So, here's a few questions for everyone to ponder:

1. Is chain tension an issue here? I've been told a couple of times lately that my chain is too tight. Could that be putting too much strain on the drivetrain components, specifically the chainring? If so, what's a good indicator of proper chain tension?

2. I've had a terrible problem with stripping the chainring bolts out while tightening them. It doesn't seem like I'm putting that much torque on them, but they're so damn finicky. I've never had problems like this with any other component or set of hardware. I'm on my third set of chainring bolts since I finished building this bike in May.

So, yeah...I just put on a new set of chainring bolts with some LocTite Blue and loosened the chain a bit. I'm planning on just letting it sit for today while the LocTite cures. Hopefully that will fix the problem, but if anybody has any advice about this, I'd very much appreciate it.

Thanks a lot!

biff

1. no, probably not.

2. grease, grease, and more grease. grease the bolt threads, grease the chainring/spider holes, grease the chainring/spider interface.

baxtefer

1. chain too tight = premature dead bearings (bb, hubs). aim for 1/4 -1/2" of vertical play in the chain.
2. grease. or washers. are you sure your bolts aren't too long?