Originally Posted by
mmxbreaks
It's a 2010 Marin Inverness single speed. Slight slippage only happened once or twice and I thought it was more a case of brand new part 'finding its feet'. How wrong I seem to have been. Perhaps the chain was more slack after this part was fitted? - though assuming the same number of links and part sizes I don't know why that'd be the case.
I weigh in at about 95kgs. I cycle fast, so there's a lot of force going down - especially when out of saddle. I was probably hitting 25mph+ downhill when I went over.
So when I take my bike to a new mechanic and explain what's happened should I get the chain extra taught to counter my weight or will that only cause its own issues?
Yeah, it sounds like your chain dropped.
The chain has an easy to find "sweet spot" of operating tension. It should not be tight. It should have about 3/4" up and down play in it so that it may operate without friction or binding.
I would guess that either the mechanic didn't set the tension properly, or through the course of events, you pulled the rear wheel forward in the dropout which loosened the chain.
This stuff happens. But, it's one of those things you must check in the pre-ride check like when you inspect the tires for air. Or you can get a chain tensioner which would guarantee that the wheel does not move forward, but will add some effort to the task of removing the wheel for flats and whatnot. Small price to pay for peace of mind.