Chain installation single speed

Lower the quick-release lever after adjusting your chain tension. Only having one gear makes you a better rider in a variety of ways. The most obvious one is that it makes your legs stronger because you have to crank up hills in a much harder gear that you otherwise would. But it also makes you more efficient. BMX Chain Tensioners are made to help keep your rear wheel pulled back and keep that chain tight.

Change the gear ratio. If your single speed is difficult to pedal at slow speeds, purchase a front gear that is smaller or a back gear sprocket that is larger. If your bicycle is difficult to pedal at high speeds, increase the size of your front sprocket or replace your back sprocket with one that is smaller. Belt and Chain Tensioners Information.

Belt and chain tensioners reduce belt or chain slack and transmit drive torque uniformly. They also reduce noise and vibration; decrease sprocket, pulley, belt, and chain wear; and increase the life of drive components. If you have chain tensioners, use them to slowly walk the wheel back, turning each side by a quarter turn and watch as your wheel moves back. Keep it centered and watch as your chain will go from loose to tight pretty fast.

Slow and steady, and this is an easy job. Most of the time, a skipping chain is caused by cable stretch. In the first half dozen rides on a new bike your shift cables stretch the most.

They can also stretch over time as you ride. Shift down into the smallest ring in the rear cassette again, and press your shifter again to see if the bike shifts properly. B-Tension is an adjustment using that mysterious third screw on the back of your rear derailleur. Its proper adjustment is the final step to clean and quiet shifting. It also provides a degree of chain tension assuming: Chain is properly installed and the right length. A fresh chain that has been properly installed and tensioned will keep your bike running smoothly and trouble-free.

The Park Tool CT Some single speed chains can be very thick and the CT Use a needle-nose pliers to remove the C-clip and master link. Then, remove the chain from the bicycle. Some two-sprocket chains my use a different type of master link similar to those found on derailleur chains. Disengage this master link using master link pliers like the MLP To disconnect a connecting rivet chain, choose a rivet that is several links away from your connecting rivet and drive it out of the chain using your chain tool.

Remove the chain tool from the chain and then remove the chain from your bike. If your old chain was properly sized, simply lay it next to the new chain on a work bench or table and match the rivets side by side to get the correct length. Install the chain tool and break the chain to the same length as the old chain. If you do not have the old chain and are sizing from scratch, move the wheel all the way forward in the dropouts.

For forward facing dropouts, secure the axle-nuts so they are fully engaged, but the wheel is all the way forward in the dropout. Wrap the chain around the front and rear sprockets. Engage any master link to account for all the link when determining chain length. Pull the lower run of chain as tight as you can, noting that an outer plate must attach to an inner plate.

This may create some slack in the chain, but that is ok. Ideally the chain ends will meet at an inner and out plate as shown in the picture. We will call this rivet the reference rivet. It is possible that two outer plates will meet as shown in the photo below. If this is the case, add one pin so the appropriate chain ends meet. This will become the reference rivet. From the reference rivet add two more pins, or one inch, to the chain length.

We do this because the extra inch of chain will provide enough slack to allow the chain to be lifted from the drivetrain for wheel removal.

It also adds more flexibility for larger tires. Make note of the appropriate rivet to remove to shorten the chain and use a chain tool to remove the rivet and shorten your chain to the correct length. With the chain correctly routed through the frame, join the ends of the chain using your master link.

Pull the wheel back in the dropouts and align the wheel in the center of the frame. To connect your correctly sized and cut chain, lubricate the connecting rivet with a drop of chain lube. Install the rivet into the chain from the inside of the bike, toward the mechanic. Install the chain tool and drive the connecting rivet into the chain.

Once the protrusion of the connecting rivet matches that of the nearby rivets, the connecting rivet is installed and the pilot can be broken off with pliers or a chain tool.