I may get flamed for saying this but here is my rule of thumb for chain tension-

• If you think the chain tension is too tight- it's about right.

Coming from riding freewheel bikes with derailleurs, I had the urge to put the chain on with a lot of slack in it at first. I quickly realized that it runs better and doesn't jump dangerously off the cog when I tension it a lot tighter than what I'm comfortable with. My chain can be wiggled about 1/4 inch up or down from it's rest position. I'm not a physics major or a bike mechanic but that's how tight I run my chain and so far it's worked out pretty well.

it's whatever it comes with. i didn't change anything.

Not true. If you know how to set chain tension and you think your chain is too tight it probably is.

You can always test it out to get a better idea. Just use a small wrench to push your chain outward and SLOWLY turn your cranks. If the chain skips off, tighten it a little bit more. Keep testing until the chain is secure, then just try to remember how much slack it had for next time.

this doesn't help.

Awesome. I wasn't trying to help. Get your hands on your bike and learn.

just about everything i've read online says chain tension is on preference, but nothing says where to start out.

If your chain deflects a 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch when you push down on it or pull up from the middle between the cog and chain ring, you are fine. 1/2 inch being about as tight as you want, 3/4 inch about as loose as you want.

Edit: Eyeball it in only one direction, not total play between pushing down and pulling up.

Much looser than 3/4 and you'll toss it going over big bumps/rail road tracks. (Not fun.)

Much tighter than a 1/2 and you'll wear out stuff quick, and make a whole lot of noise.

Some guys like to see a visible sag in the chain, I am not one of them. I don't really like being able to feel slop in the pedals either, but it is a fine line between no slop and eating up your chain ring.

Edit: I find that if you set it to less than a 1/2 inch, you end up at a half inch in a week... where it'll stay until you tighten it up again/ride a bunch of miles.

Hope this helps...

Zach

Fixed that for you. :)

Ordered my 52cm orange yesterday. Anyone know if they are prompt on shipping/delivery?

In my experience, they were prompt. I got my bike in 4 days. Ordered it over the weekend (when they were off). The order was placed on Monday, I received the bike by Friday afternoon.

Congratulations on the purchase. Shipping is usually pretty quick.

So I will hopefully see it this friday/the following monday I am assuming
Thank you. This will be my first fixed. I have been riding an older 10 speed over the summer/fall to save gas, and I thought about a conversion. Luckily my birthday just rolled by and with it, some extra money, so I decided to keep my 10 speed the way it is just in case.

Can anyone give me a clue as to what I am going to need to assemble and tighten when it arrives? I kinda know what I am doing, but lack many key bike tools. All help would be appreciated!

Good call. I just started riding fixed myself and this is pretty fantastic as a first fixie.

You can build it using only basic hand tools. A set of allen wrenches and a set of crescent wrenches.


Here are the steps in no specific order-
• Unwrap everything.
• install stem onto bike (2 allen screws)
• install handlebars onto stem (4 allen screws)
• install fron wheel into fork (2 nuts)
• install seat/post into frame (1 allen screw)
• install freewheel to hub (screwed on by hand)
• adjust front and rear brakes
• have wheels trued (some have said their wheels came true from the factroy, mine weren't)
• install pedals
• check cog/lockring are on securely (they will be)
• adjust chain tension.
• ... and probably some other stuff I forgot.

So basically the only thing I wont be able to take care of myself is truing the wheels? I sure hope mine come true, because I am ready to ride this puppy!

A better shot of my M/H'bar

http://photos.l3.facebook.com/photos...59841_5801.jpg

i'm loving your bike.


i accidentally bought risers for my bike from nashbar (i intended to buy a saddle a fizik rondine saddle).

i don't think it'll be too big a deal since i don't use the drops at all. i'll just try and buy it next week.

Oh yea. I'm no mechanic but i got mine together in about 45 minutes (minus the time it took the shop to true the wheels). If you have a basic understanding of bikes and a couple hand tools you can easily put it together yourself. The folks who complain about the assembly process are folks who know very little about bikes and feel overwhelmed by simple tasks like "toeing in a set of brake pads" or "installing handlebars into a stem". It really not hard, just don't expect the "assembly instructions" BD includes to be much help.

I forgot to list, • check the chainring bolts to make sure they are tight. (5 allen screws) Recheck them after riding a few miles as they tend to loosen.

Looks good. I put bullhorns on my Messenger but I just purchased a "Gary Bar" made by Origin 8. I'm playing with the idea of putting it on temporarily. Your bar looks very similar and looks like it would be pretty comfortable to ride. This may be the encouragement I need to test the gary bar on the messenger.

Building the bike is simple. I didn't even used the manual that BD provided. Its common sense. Whatever is in the box, take it out and put it together.

About the wheels being trued, it costs around 20-30 dollars to get them trued at your LBS. Any more than 30, go somewhere else.

With my wheels, they didn't come trued, but my LBS told me they are rideable.

Thanks for the tip! Is that price per wheel or total though? Either way it looks like it's going to have to get done. Man I can't wait for this thing to arrive!

its for both wheel.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...lsol/001-5.jpg

wuz

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...lsol/003-7.jpg

iz. gonna chop the riser a bit.

New seatpost clamp?

My just came. It is fully assembled, and the wheels came relatively true. So I go to pump up the tires and I realize, what the eff, this is not the stem/valve i know and love. So the question is, do they make adapters for my old pump to pump these new-fangled tires? Please help, I want to ride today!

u can do two things.... One, goto your LBS and pump it up, and two, yes they do make adapters.