Originally Posted by skitbraviking
I notived that once I flipped my year wheel to the fixie side I have to pull my tire back pretty much to the end. This makes for some concern with keeping my chain tight and makes me wonder it it is more likely to slip. Would a chain tensioner be a good idea? What are the benefits of a chain tensioner?
switch to a larger cog or a shorter chain? i use a tensioner on one bike because it makes it easier to get my allignment right, and my chain tension dialed in. my chainstays are narrower and my tire is fatter, so it's more time consuming to do the whole tighten one side, push the other side back thing to set it up the way i like it. i don't use a tensioner on my other track bike and i've never had problems with wheel slippage.
at this moment, i have a tensioner on the drive-side of my BMX, but it's not really doing much by way of keeping my chain tight. it's mostly just to keep the wheel from slipping (my axle is bent and if i do a feeble grind of an icepick or just screw up a landing it kicks the wheel out of place and starts a big screaming, bike throwing fit (not really)).