Originally Posted by
bykemike
Well gee guys, that is what I was hoping to hear. One of our locals was commenting that running far back on the drop outs was bad and might be stressing the frame.
As I was looking at it I was thinking others may have something different to say about it, it must be an issue with many of these bikes. As WGScott said, half link chains do look cool. But it is the light weight that I am liking about this bike and I'll bet a half link chain is heavy as Vegan says.
My thoughts (I've been riding these fix gear things 45 years, many miles and have three now): isn't a half link chain pretty expensive? If not, buy it but keep it as a supply of half links for all your new chains, plus freebies for all your fix gear friends (for your next three lifetimes). As far as running the hub that far back - do you have enough nut on the dropout to have at least a little of the outer edges of the nut and locknut behind the axle centerline supported? Bending the axle would not be good for either the axle or the bearings over the long haul. If you have enough that the nut clamps at least a little on the back half, you're good. Also, how much slack do you have in your chain? A full half inch between push down and pull up is fine. If you are running 1/8" chain over an 1/8" cog and ring and that cog has square teeth with very little rounding and your crankset is round, ie the chain doesn't tighten and loosen much as you turn the cranks, you can go a full inch of slack. That won't buy you much axle movement, but it helps. The concern here is that you do not want to throw the chain off, especially at high speed going down a bumpy hill. But on my best fix gear with its full competition grade track crankset and cogs, I can run that full 1" over any road. The cheaper or "prettier" the teeth of the cogs and rings, the more they like to throw off. I use the Eur-Asian cogs which are not cheap and have teeth that are cut square, no rounding or shaping The exact opposite of a modern cassette cog. And as hard to "shift" as possible. On a fix gear, shifting is throwing the chain off. I do not like the Surly cogs at all. They run far quieter and smoother but I have to run the chain tighter to keep it on. I haven't mic'd them but I am sure they are also a little narrower than the Eur-Asians. On my bikes with mediocre cranksets, I can barely find the balance between not going too tight and not going too loose with the Surley. I don't trust myself to throw the wheel back on after a flat when I'm tired. (That cog only sees service on my best bike but I feel that bike deserves better. If the cog runs away, I won't cry.)
Damaging the frame running the wheel so far back? Stressing the frame? Are you Nelson Vails? One of America's best track sprinters 20 years ago. You could damage the track ends a little if the nuts aren't sitting properly. (See above.)