sorsha6

I did a bit of searching but found no info on...
redline chain tugs.

2 for 10 bucks is great... if they fit my steel frame. Are BMX ends a lot thicker/thinner?

sorsha6

anyone use these?

The LT

I use them on my steelhead ssMTB they work just fine and should work with a track bike as well

riderx

I have them on 4 bikes (3 of mine, one of the wife's). Best chain tug for the money.

na975

i have them also, BUT i had to modify them to fit and some filing was necessary.

eXCeSS

Dude, no one here uses them, they're not the $30 NJS ones.
What are you thinking!

sorsha6

Oh man, I must have had another one of those dementia episodes. I'd better see the doctor.

mihlbach

Frankly I don't understand why anyone needs chain tugs. Push the wheel back with your thumb to get proper chain tension and tighten the nuts properly and nothing's gonna slip. The chain tug just makes everything more complicated and is a big PITA.

sorsha6

Well, for whatever reason keeping proper chain tension is a PITA for me, therefore I'm going to spend the 10 bucks on two tugs.
I for one was super excited when I found them, as I had absolutely no intention of spending 30 bucks on one.

mykrrrr

I didn't like the ones on my 925. I don't use them on my Pista and I've never had a chain tension problem.

tinydr

in your experience maybe... I've found them pretty handy.

sp00ki

1) seriously, learn to work on your bike. if you have a problem with proper chain tension, the correct solution is to figure out what the issue is and eliminate it before your drivetrain blows up.

2) Right. $30.

mihlbach

In what way?...to keep your axle from slipping or to get the right tension, because if its the former, you are not tightening your nuts sufficiently.

sorsha6

Yes, I SAID I only paid 10 on the redline ones! What's with the attitude? I do know how to work on my bike, thank you. The chain tension isn't a big issue, however I ride a lot and I figured 10 bucks to not think about it is worth it to me.

tinydr

I didn't really ask.. I understand you feel chain-tensioners are of no use to you, in my experience, no matter how much I wrench them down I'll still get some slippage over time from hard starts. A chain-tensioner fixed that problem.

sorsha6

+1

Ken Cox

I use two chain tensioners on each of my fixed gear bikes.

I've tried several different brands, and have settled on MKS tugs, both for street/track and for my mountain bike, or, as I think of it, my ice and snow bike.

So, why chain tensioners?

First, but not foremost, I tune my chain and my rear wheel's position to within a gnat's whisker of where I want it.
This includes centering my chain ring on the star.
With my bike on a work stand, this could take a half an hour of slowly spinning by hand; checking my chain tension at different clock positions of the crank; tapping the chain with a wrench; slowly tightening the chain ring bolts; and loosening and tightening, by small increments, the two chain tensioners.
All this together with properly positioning the cups of my crank bearings, this gives me a no-slop/slack, exquisitely smooth and totally silent chain.

Secondly, and more importantly, in my profession NO ONE would think of tightening down a nut "wicked-tight" and then relying on perceived tightness and friction to hold everything in place.
The axle and nut threads don't need the abuse, and neither do the track ends.

I don't race, and so I don't change my rear cog and chain ring that often.
I take my bike apart, except for the head set, about every two weeks and give it a thorough cleaning and greasing.
Including cleaning and lubing my chain, this takes me a good part of an afternoon.
I enjoy it and I especially enjoy a silent chain and not abusing the metal.

If I raced, way in back in 1910, when people rode fixed gear bikes competitively and regularly flipped their hubs, I probably wouldn't use chain tensioners, and I'd set the chain tension by pulling back on the rear wheel until it wouldn't go any further.
I'd probably also use butterfly nuts, so I wouldn't have to carry a wrench.
People at one time hand-tightened their axle nuts with their fingers (no wrench).
I vaquely remember seeing butterfly nuts as a kid.
Hm.

Anyway, I like my chain tensioners, I like the utility they provide, the way they look, and my loose nuts.
If I rode with a tire I had to change all the time, I might think differently, but I haven't had a rear tire flat in two years, since I started riding with an Armadillo in back.
Uh Oh.
I probably shouldn't have said that.
Now I'll get a flat every time I ride.

sorsha6

Thank you for putting that so eloquently, Ken.

operator

Then you suck.

Chain tugs aren't your salvation, it's your crutch.

sorsha6

So much hate!