When I put the bike on a stand and crank the pedals and then stop cranking with my hand, I notice that the chain seems to pulsate and sometimes the cranks turn (catch a little) when the rear wheel spins. Mind you this is when it's on the FREE side of the flip hub. When riding the bike in FREE MODE an uneven clicking/ friction noise comes from the rear hub. Could this be because the chain is TOO tight?

*All the parts are brand new and lubed

*I checked w/ Sheldon Brown, and I've Searched*

My chain has done this when it's been too tight, just try making the chain a bit more loose and see if the sound goes away.

Could also be that the chainring bolts aren't quite right. How much movement do you get if you move the chaing up and down about half way between the cog and chainring?

About 1/4 inch up, 1/4 inch down . . . no more. Therefore about 1/2 inch total diplacement max.

*with marginal pressure, i wasn't pushing it as hard as I could.

I'm gonna loosen it up a tad . . . and see what happens.

That sounds about right, a total of 1/2-1" of movement is normal. If it doesn't work, set the chain as tight as you want to run it, loosen the chainring bolts a bit, spin the cranks a few times, then tighten the chainring bolts back down.

you double minded bastard. we can see through you.

could the pulse in the chain be caused by the fact that:

"chainwheels are not usually perfectly concentric" -Sheldon Brown

Yeah. Thats why I suggested adjusting the chainring bolts, as that would help to alleviate the problem. For getting the chain back to as tight as it was, pull back hard on the drive side, tighten it, then walk the non-drive side back to align the wheel. If you use a closed end wrench, you can pull back on the nut while you tighten it. Although that us usually a sign that you a getting the chain too tight. In the words of Juvi-Kyle, once you go slack, you never go back.

[QUOTE=sivat]. . . I suggested adjusting the chainring bolts, as that would help to alleviate the problem. . . QUOTE]

but how?

If the chainring is loose enough to wiggle, the tension of the chain should center the ring.

I tried it, but the chain still pulses. I'm convinced that my bike is trying to convey that it's alive, and therefore must be respected as such. [I'll take it to my LBS tomorrow, and i'll see what they think about it]

Thanks sivat

i just developed a feel for how loose to set my chain after a while. now it's smooth and dead silent when i'm riding

Is it a conversion or track frame? Does it have one of those pesky 'biopace' rings?

Set your chain tension for the tightest spot and leave approx 1/2" of play. If your chainring isn't elliptical/bent, you should be golden!

My bmx bike does the same thing because of a crappy freewheel.

It's a conversion (Miyata "nine-twelve") . . .the chain ring is a brand new Salsa 42t . . . I think it's the fault of the freewheel. Since, it makes funny noises, and appears to be catching (which causes the chain pulse)

I'll visit the LBS tomorrow . . . they are bound to figure it out.

is the freewheel an ACS? I have the same issue, took my bike to the LBS and the guy dumped a crap load of tri-flow in the cog. The noise went away, but there was still tighness in the chain at some points. I just turned the crank to where that spot was and loosened the chain to 1/4 inch up and down slack. Then tightened the wheel at that point. It works better in the stand. I haven't ridden it yet.