Singlespeed chain tension

I usually have it so that there is some slight amount of play (10mm or so) at the midpoint of the
chain with the chain at it's tightest - chainrings are hardly ever completely round, and unless the
chain is very loose, as you turn the cranks you will find one point where it is tighter than others.

Nick

"Spencer Tidd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Guys and gals,

As a "geared guy", I have just bought a couple of single speeds (bmx) for

my

Quoted message said:

kiddies and have noticed that one has 25-30 mm of chain movement and the other has very little
(if any).

What is the normal amount on a BMX/single speed?

Nick Payne said:

I usually have it so that there is some slight amount of play (10mm or so) at the midpoint of
the chain with the chain at it's tightest - chainrings are hardly ever completely round, and
unless the chain is very loose, as you turn the cranks you will find one point where it is
tighter than others.

Nick

"Spencer Tidd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Guys and gals,

As a "geared guy", I have just bought a couple of single speeds (bmx) for

my

Quoted message said:

kiddies and have noticed that one has 25-30 mm of chain movement and the other has very little
(if any).

What is the normal amount on a BMX/single speed?

I like to set "no" free play at the tight spot, i.e. the chain under a small tension at this point.
This translates to a small amount of free play with the cranks loaded and the top run tensioned and
therefore stretched. If you use proper singlespeed chainrings and sprockets, you can get away with
quite a bit before the chain starts falling off too much, but if you're singlespeeding on multispeed
components, it requires very little slack to let the chain derail from the shortened and ramped
teeth on a cassette sprocket.

Kinky Cowboy

*Your milage may vary Batteries not included May contain traces of nuts.

You need to find the tightest spot by rotating the cranks and feeling chain tension. It needs to be
just loose enough that it won't bind at this tight spot. You don't want to feel any resistance at
the tight spot when you spin the cranks around.

Spencer Tidd said:

Guys and gals,

As a "geared guy", I have just bought a couple of single speeds (bmx) for my kiddies and have
noticed that one has 25-30 mm of chain movement and the other has very little (if any).

What is the normal amount on a BMX/single speed?

Cheers

Spencer