Shortening chain/Tensioner on Cranbrook

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Caramanos2000

New Member
Aug 14, 2009
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Puerto Rico
Can I run my kit without the tensioner on my cranbrook or do I need it? Any tips on shortening the chain?

How come when I stretch the chain between the top of the sprockets, and then stretch it at the bottom, as soon as I let the bottom go (while the ends are clamped together, the chain flops down (sags) and has loads of slack even though I stretch it as much as I could?

Am I missing something, some help with this would be great, should I loose the tensioner if its possible on my cranbrook? Somehow I think the chain would hit the fram and rear tire without it :(
 
2door

2door

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Sep 15, 2008
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Littleton, Colorado
Generally speaking, yes you can run without a tensioner...if, you have some other way to tighten the chain. That will require either rear drop outs that give you some adjustment or you'll have to shim the motor at the rear mount (not a good idea) All roller chain will wear and the kit supplied chain is notorious for premature wear that will require some method of taking out the slack. If I recall the Cranbrook is a single speed (no gears) so no derailer to take up the slack in the pedal chain. This complicates the issue because if you tighten the engine drive chain by moving the rear wheel you also tighten the pedal chain. This is where a chain tensioner comes into play. It is used to maintain the drive chain tension and not effect the pedal side. Much has been written here regarding the tensioner. Do a little research and you'll find a lot of advice, opinions and ideas to ponder about the chain tensioner issue. Keep in mind also that the tensioner is just that. It is not intended to adjust for misalignment between the engine and rear wheel sprocket. It helps to guide the chain onto the rear sprocket but not meant to move it from side to side more than about 1/4 to 3/8" Anything misalignment more than that and you need to address it by other means.
Tom
 
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Caramanos2000

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Aug 14, 2009
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Puerto Rico
As always youve been a great help 2doordnut thanks for the help man. I will shorten the chain as I see fit and then use the tensioner supplied till I come up with something better.

As for shortening the chain, ive been using a dremel to cut the little pieces that join the link and then some pliers to actually take the links off.
 
Salty Gator

Salty Gator

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Aug 3, 2009
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Caramanos2000 said:
As always youve been a great help 2doordnut thanks for the help man. I will shorten the chain as I see fit and then use the tensioner supplied till I come up with something better.

As for shortening the chain, ive been using a dremel to cut the little pieces that join the link and then some pliers to actually take the links off.
Click to expand...
A chain popper tool is the way to go with this....buy one or have a bike shop pop out how ever many links you need then just use the master link to connect again....I go to a bike shop and they are more'n happy to do this and they never charge me either since it only takes like....2 minutes...


Good luck,
Salty.shft.
 
chrisE

chrisE

New Member
Mar 1, 2010
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san pedro,ca. U.S.A.
hello, what i did with this was got the pedal chain and wheel tightened to the right tension then put on the motor chain on and removed all the slack and counted how many links i needed to remove (measure twice cut once) which sounds like what u did. i was able to do this without having to use the tensioner, but if u must one thing you can do is use a half link ( not sure on the durability of this) heres the link http://www.sickbikeparts.com/catalo...id=68&osCsid=c915acd35dd0f8d99dd747935ddda8be
hope this helps
 
W

Whizzerd

Member
Nov 20, 2009
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Muncie,IN
I've done three Cranbrooks, maybe this will help. Remember, you don't just take out one link but a minimum of two since you have inside links and outside links. I would guess that the SBP half links be at least as suitable as master links. I prefer to run the tensioner on the pedal chain side. Less stress IMO. Walmart sells the Bell chain breaker, around $5.00 and Harbor Freight sells a reasonably priced HD chain break suitable for the 415/420 motor chain.
 
K.i.p

K.i.p

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Nov 8, 2009
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CNY
Thanks for posting the link to the 415 1/2 link. I've only stopped at one motor sports store and could not turn up a match. Any other suggestions for local purchase?
 
K.i.p

K.i.p

New Member
Nov 8, 2009
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CNY
.....that's cool thanks, any chance this 415 chain is used for something else? Lawn mowers, go carts, or something. I've got various specialty dealerships around of that nature, and I wonder who to check with second.
 
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