Mountain bikes & chain tentioners?

[moronic_kaos]

There's a real clear difference between the mountain bikes and cruiser bikes. The bar the chain tentioner mounts to isn't straight on the mountainbikes; it's mounted at a slight angle.

How does one get the chain to align with it?

 

[BarelyAWake]

Not all cruisers have straight chainstays - the tensioner should always be examined for proper alignment regardless of bike "type", it's an easy fix tho just stick the tensioner bracket in a vice and give it a slight twist, check for proper alignment and do again if needful.

Ya might wanna check this out while yer at it: http://motorbicycling.com/f11/chain-tensioner-suggestions-11815.html

 

[Prasinos]

I just put my tensioners in a vice and twist them a bit to get them to line up nicely.

 

[vincent713]

I just install the tension-er tightly and use a big monkey wrench to bend the top part to achieve alignment.

 

[Pilotgeek]

I just throw the tensioner in the trash.

 

[bikebloak]

Mine was simpler. I installed it on the bike. Noticing the misalignment, I just got hold of a 12" adjustable wrench and turned the tensioner to an angle where it would cradle the chain well. Did the job. The tensioner will also have a tendency to move inwards towards the wheel spokes. I solved the problem by wrapping the bike frame with a piece of engine gasket before installing the clamp portion of the tensioner. Then tighten the two bolts to kingdom come. And it worked!!!

 

[vincent713]

Good advice bikebloak!

 

[2door]

Just a word of caution regarding wrapping the frame and clamping the bracket. Eventually whatever you used to wrap with, rubber, gasket material, sandpaper, etc. will compress and loosen and allow the tensioner bracket to move. When it moves under power it will rotate into the rear spokes. That can be a real issue if you're at speed so be careful. Check the bracket often for tightness.

Some chain stays are not round but more eiliptical/ oval in shape and will allow a better fit for the clamp on style of bracket. The real problem comes when the frame/chain stay is small and round.
There are numerous pages on this subject. Use the search feature, keyword, 'tensioner' and you'll have plenty of reading and some good suggestions on how to combat this notorious problem.

Tom

 

[F_Rod81]

I'm not a fan of the chain tensioner at all. But Some bikes will not allow you to run without it because of the vertical rear dropouts.

 

[Mozenrath]

I put the stock tensioner in my mountain bike and it has worked just fine. Once I properly tightened the rear sprocket(to remove any wobbling), I haven't had a single problem with the tensioner going into the spokes or the chain jumping off.

The easiest fix would probably be to just add a spring to the tensioner to keep it straight.