And I got everything on and all that and everything seems to be lined up properly but when I pedal slightly uphill my chain skips. I have shortened the chain but I just cant figure out why its skipping. Any suggestions?
Im running it 42- 16 right now. This is my first SS build by the way and its on a 25 year old Tommaso.

chainline ?

chain line or chain tension?

It may have something to do w/ chain tension... I got the kit from Performance and it has the derailleur type thing w/ it. I have the chain lined up, to what looks straight, but I guess Ill just keep messing w/ it tomorrow and see what happens...

3/32 chain on a 1/8 inch rear cog?

On the instructions of the SS kit it says to use a standard 8 speed chain. I bought a SRAM SS chain from Performance at the same time, not knowing what size I would need, and the chain is 1/8 x 1/2.

if its a 1/8 inch chain it should be working just fanagle with that tentioner they gave you. i know the one i had i could adjust in and out so just keep messin with it till its spot on id say

just keep messing with it, I was running 32x16 on my ss mtb and then I switched to an 18t and had the same problem, Turns out I needed to put a half link in.

Thanks for the help. I will mess w/ it some more later tonight.

Well, I was testing it and when I would put pressure on the pedals the rear cog's teeth wouldnt go in between the links like it should, the teeth would hit the solid parts of the links, but only when more pressure was applied... Would it have anything to do w/ the old chainring Im using? lol

Did you cut the chain and put it back together yourself? You might have just put it back together wrong and made that part of the chain bind and not be able to ride right, it's happened to me before.

How do you have it set up? with the pully pushing up or down on the chain? Sometimes if thoes types of tensioners are set up to push the chain down, the chain will not wrap around the cog enough and you'll get the chain to skip.
I had this problem on a customers bike not too long ago. They had the surly tensioner set up so the chain was being pushed down. I reversed it with the other spring it came with so the pully pushed the chain up and the skipping went away.

Is the chain worn out? Cog worn out?

Hmm... I think the tensioner is ok but Ill see again. The chain is brand new and the cog came w/ the SS kit, which is new. The only thing old is the chainring.

This is probably your answer.

Nope, well, I did take some links out and put the master link in but the part it is skipping on I never touched.

And I'm assuming that you checked to make sure that the link that's binding didn't come tight from the factory.

Does it bind at the same link in the chain or the same tooth on the cog? If it's always the same link in the chain, then it's most likely the chain. If it's always the same tooth on the cog then it's most likely the cog.

Can someone show me a pic of their setup?

Good point. It is very possible it is the chain.

So, I went to the bike shop this morning and they told me what the problem may be. They said my chainline looked good but my cranks and chainrings are so old, I forget what brand they are now, the chainrings are elliptical, they arent actually round. They said that may be my problem w/ the new rear cog... I was going to buy a new chainring while I was there but the guy talked me out of it b/c he said he didnt think it would be worth it b/c of how my dropouts are and the fact I have a quick release on the rear. I have the forward facing dropouts, he said I would have to tighten it up about every time I got on it. He just recommended I get a rear wheel w/ o quick release... So, there you have it. I guess its time for a Deep V.

Your shop guys is trying to sell you a wheel. If you have an internal cam skewer like this:



It will do fine. Just get it tight and do it.

See, I saw someone say something about they had a quick release skewer and it worked fine on here recently. The guy at the shop said it would be ok if I had a different dropout. He actually knew I wasnt going to buy the wheel from them b/c I was telling him Ive been searching eBay for things and he said he didnt feel comfortable selling me the chainring if it wasnt going to work properly... *SIGH* Should I just go ahead and get a chainring and see how it does?

First: Make sure that your wheel isn't slippling the dropout. If it is, either tighten up your skewer more, get a new skewer, or get a chain tug (the surly one even has a little insert for use with a QR). Buying a new wheel shouldn't be necessary at all, and your chainwheel should cause enough slack to make the chain skip.

Can we get a photo of your setup? If you have horizontal drops, you probably don't need the tensioner.

I kind of doubt that your old ring is causing problems at the wheel, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace it anyways. If you feel that your lbs is being helpful, buy something from them. If you feel that they aren't, go to ebay and get a rocket ring and wait 5-7 days for it.

Biopace? From what I understand -- and jump right in and correct me if I'm wrong -- those work fine on multi-geared bicycles because the derailers pick up slack in the chain. But on a SS setup, the chain tension will be changing pretty dramatically as you crank an elliptical ring. Have you tried just spinning the cranks and checking how much the chain tension changes in the course of one revolution?

My suggestion would be to put a round ring on there and see what happens.

Your shop wrench is a moron. QR's work fine. I have climbed 8-9% grades on them and no slippy. I used old Campy, Suntour QR's with zero problems with slippage.

I agree with the last poster, if you have horrizontal dropouts, you don't need a tensioner. This can help your cause since you can control your hain tension by how much you pull your wheel back into your dropouts.

The only other thing I can think of is that the rear cog is somehow twisting under pressure. Or its bent. Its pretty tough to throw a chain or skip on a properly tensioned chain. I would have the tensioned push upwards (if you keep it) towards the chainstay which will help engage more teeth on the rear cog.

I would also make sure the cassette lockring is nice and tight against the cassette spacers (I am assuming you are running a freehub.

Do all these things and I don't see it not working. Its strange you are having these problems in the first place.....