Originally Posted by
TejanoTrackie
First, just because the bike came assembled that way from the factory, doesn't mean they did it right. You might as well have gotten it assembled from Wallymart.
Second, part of your problem is those cheap axle nuts that lack built in floating washers. Its basically impossible to tighten those nuts w/o affecting the axle position and chain adjustment. So, get yourself a decent pair of rear axle nuts.
Third, you don't really need axle adjusters / tug nuts. They're just a convenience. I manage just fine to repeatedly adjust the chain on my track racing bikes without any such devices. I did get a Surly tugnut for one of my steel road FG bikes (Kilo WT), but more to just dress it up and cover up all the gouges in the dropout paint from changing the axle position. The main purpose of a tugnut is to "tug" to prevent accidental axle slippage under load, and they are totally unnecessary if the axle nut on the pulling side is sufficiently tight.
I think that I will continue to pursue this as appropriate. I've had the rear wheel off several times for one reason or another and the chain tensioners simply weren't designed to do it that many times, the new ones seem like a longer term solution. But your purchase of a Surly tug nut was based upon this premise ? A purchase of an item that easily costs 2X what I paid for these for the sole purpose of covering up or touching up cosmetic damages that would've been more appropriately repainted on a steel frame ? Hmmmm, any surface rust underneath that tug nut ?
I agree, maybe new nuts and lock washers might be a better alternative to the axle nuts ? Then again, I'll deal with that sometime down the road if it presents an issue at that time ?