mlaps

I bought a bike last year that came with chain tugs, which is something I've never used (or even heard of) before. After doing some searching it seems that people fall into 2 general camps, they aren't needed or they're a nice optional thing to have that makes adjusting alignment/chain tension easier and/or more convenient. Which makes me feel like I must not have gotten things figured out, since using them seems anything but convenient. I think mine are "bmx style?" They have a bolt on the axle and a metal plate that goes over the track ends. The plate is held in place by a tiny nut and it's never finger loose, so you have to use a wrench to loosen and tighten a half turn at a time. So just loosening it enough so that I can slide the wheel forward enough in the dropouts to get the chain off takes forever, and then ditto when I'm putting the wheel back on. Am I missing some trick that would make this easier/faster? I've seen mention of tugs that are held in place with wingnuts so you don't need any tools, which seems like it would be a huge improvement. Is that the solution, or is there something else I'm missing that makes these easier to work with?

TejanoTrackie 

You don't need them.

jlafitte 

I actually like the ones on my Big Block. No worries about wheel slipping. They're the 'push' type though, and I would imagine they're not nearly so fussy to deal with.

TejanoTrackie 

Those are actually not "tugs", but rather "adjusters." The problem is with those that each time you remove the wheel you have to unscrew them and then rescrew them back to adjust the tension again. I prefer the Surly Tugnut, because you don't need to readjust it.

mlaps

So the ones I have are similar in design to these:



But they seem to have the same issue in that you have to back the nut way off in order to get the chain off, and then readjust both sides again when everything is back in place. Makes taking the wheel off into a 30 minute process. I figured I was just doing something wrong, and that there was probably some way to take the wheel off and on again without having to redo these every time. If that's not the case I guess I'll just chuck them and maybe look into the Surly if I decide I want the ability to make finer adjustments than I otherwise am able to.

TejanoTrackie 

Yes, those are tugs, not adjusters. Also, the left side tug is totally unnecessary. The Surly Tugnut is right side only, and it easily just slips off the outside of the dropout after you loosen the axle nut. No need to readjust it.

mlaps

Cool. Tossing the ones I have then as soon as I get someplace with a wrench then. Total PITA. Will consider getting the Surly Tugnut since that seems like a lot easier to use. I've only had a wheel slip forward suddenly in the dropouts on me one time, but it was in heavy traffic and I lost my chain. Not an experience I'd like to repeat so a little extra insurance isn't a bad thing.

SquidPuppet

I bought a pair because they reminded me of the very efficient system that is used on motorcycles, which I am used to. After JERKING AROUND with all the same LAME issues that you discovered, I chucked them. They made and easy task complicated and cumbersome. Good riddance.

jlafitte 

If you're riding brakeless this would be the number one consideration on the topic. Otherwise... never mind

john4789

Yes and no, I've pulled a wheel on a SS bike with front and rear brakes. The wheel coming in contact with the frame after pulling it made it hard to maneuver and I was tight in between cars. I can see the value of having it even with brakes. That being said I've made due w/o for 15k miles so I wouldn't say they are necessary.

mlaps

For me it happened when I was riding my BMX. I was standing up and pedaling hard when the wheel slipped forward and the chain fell off. The sudden loss of resistance on the pedals caused me to lose my balance for a bit. I had rear brakes on the bike, but it was easier to recover my balance without using them and then just put my foot down to slow down. Scary, but no actual damage.

My current bike has both brakes, plus I sit down a lot more than I ever did on my BMX, so a little easier to keep your balance. I'd get the Surly Tuggnut, but yikes $50 for one seems kind of crazy.

mlaps

Glad to see that I'm not the only one at least. Every time I went to take off my wheel I just figured I must be the biggest idiot in the world, since no one could actually design a system that would be this much of a PITA to use.

jlafitte 

Worth the extra 5 seconds it takes:

ggpepper

These were on my Hamilton when I got it and I find them handy and not difficult to use.

SquidPuppet

I agree. The reverse/built in type are cool. When I get a custom Tomii bike I am going to ask if he will use Paul dropouts. I'd replace the jam nut with a spring.

Scrodzilla

Something being easy to use doesn't make it necessary. I've never used chain tugs in my life and don't have a problem.

ggpepper

I'm not real mechanically inclined and need all the help I can get.

TejanoTrackie 

What is so difficult about tightening an axle nut properly ?

ggpepper

It's not the tightening so much as getting the chain tension right. They just help me with that.

TejanoTrackie 

It's really not that hard to adjust chain tension, and you certainly don't need the left side tugnut. Simplicity is good. KISS.

mlaps

So those look pretty similar to mine. Are we taking the rear tire off the same way? Meaning, do you need to carry two wrenches around with you instead of one, and then loosen the tugs quite a lot in order to move the wheel far enough forward in the dropouts to get the chain off? Maybe part of my issue is that the nut never gets loose enough to turn by finger, so I have to use a box wrench the whole way and 100 turns on a box wrench gets old on about the second turn. Sorry if these are stupid questions, I just still can't get over the feeling that I'm missing something obvious.

The reverse ones look pretty cool and seem like they would be easier to work with.

ggpepper

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll go remove them and practice on my chain tightening technique.

ggpepper

Not stupid questions as far as I'm concerned, but TejanoTrackie is who you should listen to. He knows what's up.