Originally Posted by Kin
My chain keeps popping and what happens is I tighten the chain by unscrewing the bolts and move the back tire back as far as it goes, but it won't tighten enough. And when it tightens, it loosens like after 2 hours of riding. So i noticed when riding, the chain looks wobbly, so I figured the two gears are not aligned and that's why my chain derails. Does that mean I am suppose to by a new chain? If so, how do I know what size?
Thanks for your help.
You would think that a single speed bike would be easier to set up than one with gears, but that isn't always so. On a singlespeed bike, you can almost never get the front chainring to be perfectly concentric with the bottom bracket. Consequently, as you ride, the chain tends to get tighter and looser with each pedal stroke. The trick is to get the chain tension just right. Too loose and it tends to bounce off the front chainring, too tight and it's hard to pedal and makes popping noises in back. Try this:
1. Spin your crank backwards and see where it stops. Now spin it again. If it stops in the same place on every spin, your chain is too tight so move the back wheel forward a tad. If it stops in a different place on every spin, rotate the crank slowly all the way around and try to see where the chain is tightest. If the tightest place has just a skosh of slack, that's perfect.
2. If your rear wheel keeps walking forward when you ride, there are two fairly easy solutions. The cheapest is serrated axle washers that dig into your dropouts. A more delux but more expensive solution is chain tensioners that hold your wheel back in the dropouts.
Good luck.