I ride a fixed gear raleigh rush hour and I recently hand to remove my rear wheel to maintain a few things. After putting it back on I re-tensioned the chain and noticed that as I ride I feel a vibration through the frame and a clicking sound as the chain links go in and out of the teeth in the chain ring that was previously non-existent.

This might just be a benign problem and I'm probably overreacting, but as I have not noticed it before it bothers me. Does anyone know what might cause this other than the natural sound that it might make?

The chain shouldn't have tension on it, but should have a wee spot of slack even in the tight spots. The old trackies' trick is to set it as loose as possible, pick the bike up, give the cranks a good hearty spin, and shake and invert the bike to see if it comes off. If it comes off, move the rear wheel back 1mm, test again.

Also make sure that the rear cog is pointing straight at the chainring. This may not be where the rear wheel is centered between the chainstays.

Good luck

Mel

yeah, what he said ^^^ too much tension makes pedaling a bear, and you can almost never get the slack out all the way round anyway due to chainwheels being out of round or off center, and it leads to increased wear.
It does feel nice to trackstand with a really tight chain but it's not so nice to ride one.

As your chain tension is probably close to proper I would advise you to first check that the wheel is centered in the triangle and the cog is lined up well with the chain wheel.

If the cog is not directly in line with the chainwheel (same chainline) then you may have left out a spacer or moved it from inside to outside the dropouts, and you should correct that before further steps.

If the chainline is OK but the wheel is not centered in the rear triangle, partially loosen the nut on the same side that the wheel is pointing away from center until the wheel can be slipped very slightly forward, then retighten the nut and test ride.

If the wheel is already centered then do the previous procedure to both sides, making sure the wheel is centered when you are done. It's a bit of trial and error but not something you need to do very often.

p.s. Never heard of the "old trackies' trick" and seems unwise to set as loose as possible. That would be too much pedal play for my taste. I've always mounted to a medium point and then pedaled to find the pedal position that has the least chain slack. I then leave it in that position and adjust the chain for just a bit of deflection.

Too tight chains will soak up power like you wouldn't believe. When I was a kid I had a 25 hp motor cycle and if the chain was too tight it couldn't go past 50mph. It would do 80 with the chain set right. On the motorcyle the check was to have the chain so that you could easily deflect it by an inch with your finger in the middle of the top run. Not sure how to set it up on a bicycle. It would certainly be less than that. It shouldn't be tight though.

+1 on the wheel alignment issue. You get horrible wear and chain failure if that is wrong.

Sorry, this sounds like a load of bull**** to me. You definitley do not want loose like you are describing if you're on the road. You'll drop the chain with nearly every bump.

OP: Read this on how to set your rear wheel correctly with the proper tension.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html#tension

The shake 'n' bake test is to verify that it won't come off. It's done with the rear wheel spinning 15-20 mph, if that wasn't clear. Racing 30+mph in a tight pack with a buncha guys without brakes, it is essential that the chain doesn't drop. This test ensures that.

The poster above who used the words 'centered in the rear triangle' is assuming that the frame is straight and the wheel is perfectly dished. That may not be the case. Try putting the rear wheel in without the chain on, then run string from the cog to the chainring to check alignment. Move the wheel around until it's right, take a note of the wheel's position between the stays, and repeat that position with the chain on, and properly (de)tensioned.

FG riding should be a happy, smooth, and silent experience. It's been that way for me on track and road for over 20 years. Good luck!

Mel

You don't need to do that if you set the chain tension to 1/2" play up/down or less. Setting it loose as possible and doing your shake test sounds contradictory to me.

Racing or not, this really is unecessary.

I use a similar way to check the chain. What I do is set the chain so there is some slack in it at all points of rotation, then I grab the down tube near the BB with one hand, put the seat against my stomach and lift the bike up so it is horizontal. Then I crank the pedals with the other hand, shake the bike, and if the chain stays on, its correctly adjusted.