# is it possible to have a fixed gear chain too tight?



## ocd (Jul 9, 2004)

i keep mine pretty tight. if i push down on it, it sinks, maybe 1/8 of an inch or less. thanks


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Yes, absolutely. Too tight will cause extra drag, and increase wear on chain, ring and cog.

Yours sounds too tight. Most people want a a little visible sag (1/4" or a little more) under its own weight (i.e., without pushing).

Try this test: hold up the the bike so the rear wheel is off the ground and give the crank a good spin (keep your fingers clear!). The wheel should spin freely for a long time.


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

ocd said:


> i keep mine pretty tight. if i push down on it, it sinks, maybe 1/8 of an inch or less. thanks


That's way too tight. You should account for a little chain ring imperfection and allow some slack on that chain.


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*agree*



roadfix said:


> That's way too tight. You should account for a little chain ring imperfection and allow some slack on that chain.


Yes, too tight is noisy, and I can detect the additional drag, too. Does make a difference.

Trick is not to get too tight when the chainring is not perfectly concentric.


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## yo mamma (Aug 10, 2009)

To make sure you don't go too loose, try this: hold the rear end of the bike up, give the rear wheel a good spin. Using a wrench of some sort (NOT your fingers) try to push the chain off the ring while it's spinning. As long as you can not push the chain off you shouldn't worry about it falling off.


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## oldfixguy (Nov 15, 2009)

I set my chain up to be as tight as possible without causing binding. Walk the wheel back, give a very firm finger tight to both nuts and then give the cranks a slow turn. As the chain rolls by I pick up the chain in the middle sort of checking where it loosens and tightens. When I find where it is tightest I stop the crank, back it up and give the crank a very light push. I can then see if it is binding up or not (the chain will actually drag things to a halt). If yes, I readjust. If no, then I'm good and go about tightening the nuts down. Once fully tightened, I give it one more go to again make sure there is no binding. I cannot think of any drawbacks to doing it this way. A firm chain that is not binding and properly aligned will cause no additional drivetrain noise or premature stress/wear and there is no chance of the chain coming off.


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