Chain Tensioner Chain Guide / Tensioner

my chain guide experience by Will Start


Hey All,

As I generally am hard on things,
bikes is no exception.

I'll ride that mother like nothing else,
as tommorrow it may not be running, again...
So my chain guard wore out, basically.

The bolts head started to flatten the bolt thread.
So the wheel tensioner (its touches the chain ok),
would be sloppy on the chain. But it still worked,
so I kept riding.

The bracket piece bolts also did this, and would
not hold their position firmly vertical.
(sorry, I have no techincal terms yet)

The end result of this logically, is that the chain roller
enters the spokes whilst riding.

This happened to me at 9pm, whilst riding slowly across a park next to a beach.

My bike seemed to fall to the right from underneath me,
its right handle skid along the ground, whilst my chest landed on
the left handle, and my leg skimmed the exhause pipe,
I managed to get my left leg to take my landing
and skidded to a halt.

My right leg got a graze from the fuel valve,
my right hand had grazed knuckles.

Check Body:
No tears, no heavy bleeding, no broken bones !!!

Bruised ego, and shaken head.

Carry bike to a tree, chain it up.

Catch bus in 5min, 2km away, walk 500 metres home.
Drive back, pickup bike.

Sleep.

End of Story.

Hope my experience, helps people realise how important checking your
chain tensioner is.
To answer the question,
I think you can get away with it at an angle, as long as you
keep the thing firmly away from the spokes.

Buy new bolts from a hardware store and test them out.
as spares, how cheap would that be.
One friend told me to look out for high tension bolts.

If it does come loose, for about a week, I adjusted
the chain tensioner until, it was just held outside by the chain guard,
but the chain guard then broke as the motor,
which causes the guard to rub against your tyre.

CYA,
Will Start.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
There's also the run it without option if you can adjust your rear wheel back and forth,then if you have a single speed use the tensioner on the pedal side. Far less wear that way.
I wish I could do that to mine but my frame has those quick release wheels that won't adjust back and forth like those beach cruisers and old 10 speeds can.
Fector that tensioner is bank!
 
Fetor, is there a wheel in there or does it just drag across the material?
I did what Bill was saying, I just put a big set of channelocks on the idler rise and twisted it a hair. Perfectamundo!
 
Fetor, is there a wheel in there or does it just drag across the material?
I did what Bill was saying, I just put a big set of channelocks on the idler rise and twisted it a hair. Perfectamundo!

The chain just drags across but it's a good quality/high density rubber so it should last for ages...i've done 2600Mls with no sign of wear.That in combination with the KMC K910 chain makes for a much quieter/extremely low maintenance drive system.
 
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