I had to switch the bars because I didn't realize that the mountain lever I was going to use was for V-Brakes...luckily the original riser bars allow me to use a regular road lever.

I tried doing a ghost chainring but it didn't take up enough slack. So I could try using a tensioner (lame) or use a half link. If there were a such thing as a quarter link, I'd have perfect chain tension, so maybe a half link isn't good enough?