Emergency Guide: issue 48 [Spring Tensioner]

[5-7HEAVEN]

He's making a log on how to fix his bike on the fly. Yet it has no use for anybody else, no one rides with a chain like that... Maybe one day some one will come along with the same unorthodox chain length/slack. Maybe.

I saw another post where the kid had a LOT of chain slack. He took ONE link out, then couldn't put the master link back on. I advised the same bit: Remove the chain from the rear sprocket. Install it on the bottom half of the wheel sprocket. Turn the wheel counter-clockwise and let the tight chain crawl up the wheel sprocket.

 

[Frankenstein]

I saw another post where the kid had a LOT of chain slack. He took ONE link out, then couldn't put the master link back on. I advised the same bit: Remove the chain from the rear sprocket. Install it on the bottom half of the wheel sprocket. Turn the wheel counter-clockwise and let the tight chain crawl up the wheel sprocket.

With some mounts you can go either direction, it's usually in how your bike wheel drops out of the frame. In all cases a small amount of tension is needed or expected, too tight the chain destroys itself and everything attached to it, too little and it falls off. Even a bike without a tensioner is still technically under tension, if it wasn't it would fall off. The difference is if you're lucky enough to have a perfect line up and excellent mechanical ability to install everything tight enough, centered enough, and correctly.

That much slack is a failure in the "correct" category. You are forcing an object more than its fair share of work when you should be doing it the right way in the first place, that much slack is basically asking a tensioner to keep up with something it wasn't designed for because the people who designed it expected you to install the correct length of chain. If they had designed it for such slop they'd of charged you twice a much to make up for the lack of adjustment and the need for over engineering.

Believe I felt or not (in your case the OP, not the quoted post above) once the chain actually begins to stretch that 1mm of space you might have between the chains is going to become negative half an inch between the chains, it's not going to take long whatsoever for them to start rubbing, when they do you probably shouldn't blame the tensioner again or some other part (like the chain quality or the sprockets because they don't have much if anything to do with the problem.)

Then the loose chain will probably torpedo the rear wheel all because you're a little too stubborn to see the real problem, if you don't like what I or anyone else on this site have to say about it then feel free to join motorbicycling.com where they'll sell you anything they can convince you into believing will fix "the problem." seriously it's true, there are people who believe everything can be solved through buying something instead of learning the simple right way to do it, sucks but true.

Fix your damn chain tension and stop hemorrhaging yourself over non existant problems and get on the stupid bike and ride it.

 

[gary55]

Here is the opinion from a millwright and machinist with over 3 decades of experience:
1) Chains don't work well under tension, so if you do, it should be very slight tension with the slack limited with a stop.
2) Varying chain tension (or slack) is due to inconcentric sprocket teeth or worn or stretched sections in the chain.
3) Sprocket concentricy is determined with a dial indicator, not by blind faith in new parts.
4) Chain wear is determined by measuring the distance between links and comparing to specs.
5) There are few mysteries when it comes to mechanics. If you don't know the cause you haven't looked far enough.
6) Heavy drag on the drive system is symptomatic of friction and wear. A slightly slack chain runs remarkably free.
7) Profanity and ad hominem attacks are generally a sign that the user has given up on logic.
8) I realize you had no questions, that your post was a statement of an emergency roadside repair. Bravo!

Goat dude, why so cranky?

I like the ad hominem part. Mostly cause I had to look it up to see what it meant. Then I had to go back through the thread to see how many times I did it. I think only a little white ad hominem with the remark about anger management.

 

[Steve Best]

If you are interested in sorting out the common logical fallacies that people commonly use, print off this poster:

Found at: https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

 

[Frankenstein]

If you are interested in sorting out the common logical fallacies that people commonly use, print off this poster:

Found at: https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

Hey now that is a pretty damn cool site I must admit

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Alright, once all the parts and trips to the hardware store were finished, it's all back on track. I installed the nylon roller as a mounted ghost sprocket. It contacts both chains at a 10t interval so it is spinning from both chain sides and has perfect balance with breathing space to operate. I went with two shorter springs installed off the 3RD bolt,, however I may I upgrade the 4th bolt on the tensioner to a 3" bolt and also be the spring mount location, vertically - it varies the springs I have access to. I extended the nylon roller with a skate bearing and installed to the seatstay to save my spokes and not need to drill it to the frame

 

[CrazyDan]

Looks awesome!!!! I can see wear on the chain where it used to rub together. Its perfect now, looks like a non-issue that you might be able to pass on from one bike to the next over the years.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Looks awesome!!!! I can see wear on the chain where it used to rub together. Its perfect now, looks like a non-issue that you might be able to pass on from one bike to the next over the years.

Thanks, it is pretty much perfect now. The visible wear is the superfine amount of powderized chain collecting in the grease and grime, after any miles it's amazing it has hardly been affected.

Over 500 miles of chain on chain friction is the results of that topic, unrelated to this thread - it is a much lower priority than the issue of needing correct alternating tension on a likely kinked chain. My 500 miles experience says chain on chain friction can be SAFELY delayed many days while different priorities are being faced.

The big solution here is the skateboard bearing plus washers offset and aftermarket shoulder bolt to attain seatstay installation for the stock tensioner.

 

[CrazyDan]

But is still a weak link (no pun intended) that will need to be worked out for reliability over thousands of miles. It looks like you've flipped the chain to get a more even wear instead of just destroying one side.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

But is still a weak link (no pun intended) that will need to be worked out for reliability over thousands of miles.

Ultimately, I would like to install a jackshaft tensioner alternator to power 12v devices and keep my chain taut.

I like that this brings up more the topic of a ghost sprocket, and what features can be installed to a moving ghost sprocket.