Rear sprocket alignment issues!!!

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betacrash

New Member
Jun 8, 2010
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Cincinnati
Me and my brother have been working on my bike and we are totally stumped at getting the rear sprocket to properly line up. First we went back and forth on which way the dished sprocket should go on. We decided that every grainy picture that we saw on the internet showed the teeth dishing towards the wheel. We tightened it up real good and heard a strange clicking noise. We found that the chain was rubbing against the spokes. So we thought the obvious answer was to reverse the sprocket and have the teeth leaning away from the wheel. Now we are off a good 1/4" or more causing a click as the teeth try to mesh with the chain. I believe that this is a 415 chain since it is much heavier and bigger than the chain that is on my bike.

Here is my question.....

Which way should sprocket go? Is there a definite way or is it just what works? And what methods should I use to get this aligned? Thanks for listening.
 

nidyanazo

New Member
May 25, 2010
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It's supposed to go towards the wheel, but it's not always right like that depending on the bike.
On quite a few I've installed it needs to be dished out away from the spokes.
 

betacrash

New Member
Jun 8, 2010
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Cincinnati
i want to throw this m f'er off of an f'ing cliff.

i flipped the sprocket but it is still kicking off of the sprocket. how do people get these to line up correctly? the idler is just retarded and makes everything worse. im sorry for being negative.

i moved the idler closer to the pedals and it appears to have helped some.

i will file the tips of the sprocket and hopefully that will help.

any other tips would be greatly appreciated.
 
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2door

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Sep 15, 2008
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The idler, or chain tensioner MUST align with the chain path. Often this requires putting a slight twist in the bracket. If viewed from the rear you can easily see that the stock, kit supplied bracket misalignes the tensioner pully due to the angle of the chain stay as opposed to the chain. Get the tensioner aligned, your chain tension correct, about 1/2 to 3/4" slack in the chain, and you should eliminate most of your problems. Make sure the sprocket is exactly centered on the rear hub and there is no wobble either lateral or horizontal.
Tom
 
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corgi1

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Aug 13, 2009
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Is your wheel set up ,,,sproket-rubber spacer-spokes-rubber spacer-3 plates w/3 holes ?
 

corgi1

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Aug 13, 2009
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Ok then I guess using the larger chain and lining up the Idler wheel with the chain direction (and the wh.sproket being centered )w/the 1/2 to 3/4 slack in the top chain run as the guys stated above,,,,and the part of fileing the tooth points from the side a little is a good Idea too,look at the way the pedal crank gear teeth looks
 

betacrash

New Member
Jun 8, 2010
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Cincinnati
Ok then I guess using the larger chain and lining up the Idler wheel with the chain direction (and the wh.sproket being centered )w/the 1/2 to 3/4 slack in the top chain run as the guys stated above,,,,and the part of fileing the tooth points from the side a little is a good Idea too,look at the way the pedal crank gear teeth looks
i thinnk i am good to go now after doing some adjusting but i am still going to file the teeth before i ride. looking at the crank i see that the teeth are sharp like a knife rather than pointy so I will go ahead and file the backside of the teeth down. thanks for all the help.
 

Rusty_Nail

Active Member
Oct 11, 2019
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I'm still having this same problem myself. Can't get the sprocket centered no matter what I've tried. I know its a 26" wheel. Maybe too many spokes?(Trek 930 mountain bike) I know at least one of the bolts is partially blocked by a spoke so it can't go straight in. It's very frustrating! Anybody in the Easy Bay area of CA that could help me with this? Can't finish my build if I cant get past this step.
 

curtisfox

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2008
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I'm still having this same problem myself. Can't get the sprocket centered no matter what I've tried. I know its a 26" wheel. Maybe too many spokes?(Trek 930 mountain bike) I know at least one of the bolts is partially blocked by a spoke so it can't go straight in. It's very frustrating! Anybody in the Easy Bay area of CA that could help me with this? Can't finish my build if I cant get past this step.
Rag joint are designed for 36 spoke wheel, if you have anything else you are going to have trouble........Curt
 
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Rusty_Nail

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Oct 11, 2019
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I got it nearly perfectly centered but had to leave one of the nine bolts to do it being the ninth hole is blocked by the spokes. Still is very secure. Just need to get it true. Just the slightest of wobble, but less than the width of the chain. Would still prefer the CNC hub and sprocket assembly if it will fit on a tapered hub. Just not sure what the hub diameter is.
 

Robert T Spurlock

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Oct 30, 2019
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i thinnk i am good to go now after doing some adjusting but i am still going to file the teeth before i ride. looking at the crank i see that the teeth are sharp like a knife rather than pointy so I will go ahead and file the backside of the teeth down. thanks for all the help.
Another thing I would do is eliminate the master link on the chain on my bike the outside edge of the plastic roller of the tensioner would grab and pull the clip off of the master link and I'd be stuck on a trail looking for it till the clip finally broke. Im trying to find a spring tensioner with a little gear for better alignment
 
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Rusty_Nail

Active Member
Oct 11, 2019
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Yeah I would have to agree with those who say half the parts that come with these kits are complete crap and poorly designed like the rag joint sprockets. What a pain in the a** to install and align. It's one of the reasons I'm looking at getting a cheap Walmart bike so I can install a CNC sprocket. The bike I currently have has a tapered rear hub so can't install a CNC sprocket on it.
 
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Vilo23

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Oct 25, 2020
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I really struggling here. My son and i have spent 2 days in trying to keep the chain on. I cant tell where my issue is and what i need to tackle. Can anyone suggest best way to or a priority order to work through
 

curtisfox

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Dec 29, 2008
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Straight edge on both sprockets must lay flat on both surfaces, front and rear. Anything off will have to be corrected, if using rag joint you must center the rear so now up and down offset, rap tape or something around the hub to do this, then make sure no wobble ............Curt
 
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