Originally Posted by
prooftheory
It seems like what you are saying is that you are okay with the chain stretching. But for most of us a stretched out chain is a worn out chain because it will either wear the cog/freewheel and chainring out or not fit them any more. A chain being worn out to the breaking point almost never occurs with with fixed-gear non-recumbents, both because the chain is relatively short and we tend to use 1/8 inch chains.
Yes that's what I'm saying. IMO one of the primary advantages of running SS is that it mostly doesn't matter when the chain stretches. If you have a sturdy chain-tug what happens is when the chain stops fitting the sprockets then you can crank up the tension to keep it from jumping until it starts to fit better again (ie until the tight spots wear down). That is, assuming you don't snap the chain-tug first like I did with the NJS one pictured above (now I use chain-tugs with thicker bolts).
Recumbent chains last even longer because the wear is spread out over more links, but most of my bikes have regular/short length 1/8" wide chains and I always try to wear them to the breaking point because I have a surplus of chain/cog longevity and a dearth of time to perform maintenance (so I trade what I have for what I need).
Every minute spent on maintenance is like a minute lost to slow riding. Lots of fast bikes aren't so fast once you subtract time spent in the shop, but I try to make my bikes as fast as possible overall.
Originally Posted by
prooftheory
At any rate the wood wedge solution seems like a good one as long as you can get enough tension for your needs that way.
I think it should. More than that and I'd worry about damaging the wheel bearings or the frame.