How To Tighten A Bike Chain In Easiest Way
Are you having trouble or wondering how to tighten a bike chain? If your bike chain keeps falling off or if it feels too loose, then you should tighten the bike chain. No problem; we are here to help you resolve this problem.
This repair guide will discuss how quickly and easily you can tighten a bike chain. We will cover almost all types of bikes, including BMX bikes, single-speed bikes, beach cruiser bikes, multi-gear mountain bikes, etc.
Usually, we have a bicycle stand at our workshop to mount bikes for assembly and repair work. You might not have a bike stand at home. Buying a bike repair stand for easy adjustment and repair would be better. However, All the methods we discussed here to tighten the bike chain do not need any bike repair stand.
1. Lightweight, Strong & Portable
2. Quick Release Adjustable
3. 360-Degree Rotatable Head
4. Foldable Magnetic Tool Plate
Correct tension of the chain:
Move the chain up and down using your finger, and if you can easily push the chain about half-inch up and half-inch down, That will be the correct chain tension, and you do not need to do anything. Otherwise, you need to tighten the bike chain if you feel more than one inch of play up and down.
Preparation to tighten A bike chain:
It does not matter what bike you have; the preparation process is the same for all types of bikes. Ensure the seat height is raised enough, and move all the components attached to the handlebar down so they don’t get damaged. Flip your bike to keep the back wheel off the floor, as shown in the picture.
Tools required to tighten bike chain:
You need basic tools like a socket wrench set, a Powerlink splitter, and a chain tool kit. All these tools are easily available for about 10 to 20 dollars.
Bike Chain Repair Tool Kit
bike master link pliers
bike wear chain checker
chain breaker splitter tool
3-pairs of link connector
48 in 1 Multifunction Socket Wrench
48 Tools In One Socket
360 Degree Rotatable
Perfect Sized Hand Grip
How To Tighten Multi-Geared Bike Chain:
Depending on the chain’s looseness, there are two methods for tightening a multi-gear mountain or road bike chain. If the chain is not too loose, you can use the B-tension adjustment method; otherwise, you must remove some links.
1. B-Tension Adjustment Method:
You will find a screw in the back of the derailleur, which is called a B-screw, and pull the derailleur back. To tighten the slightly loose bike chain, you have to shift the chain into the small chainring and small sprocket at the back. Then tighten the B-type screw, and you will see that chain becomes tight. The chain must be shifted into the lowest gear instead of the high because we face more route-changing issues in the bottom gears.
Our main goal in adjusting the B-screw is to tighten the bike chain by avoiding contact between the upper pulley wheel of the derailleur cage and the largest gate. You need as little b-tension as possible to get the most chain wrap on many teeth. Here is a video tutorial on adjusting B-tension by Kyle Warner
2. How To Tighten Very Very Loose Bike Chain:
Sometimes, you see that your bike chain becomes very, very loose and continuously drops off from the derailleur. In that case, we try to figure out the issue of loosening bike chains to resolve it. Check all the springs of the rear derailleur; if you feel any issues, replace its springs.
If the derailleur is working properly and you do not find any issues, you need to remove some links from the chain to keep it tightened. Follow this three-step method to tighten your multi-gear bike chain.
First Step: As above, shift the chain into small gears, rotate the pedals, and find the joining link or pin on your chain, as shown in the following picture. The next step is to drive out the joining pin using the quick link splitter or chain splitter tool (as required) to pull the chain out.
Second Step: Now, carefully remove the chain from the pulley wheels. Take out two chain links at a time using a chain tool. Simply twist the chain in the chain breaker tool to pop out a little pin. It can be a little bit difficult to apply force, so don’t be afraid.
Final Step: Carefully place the chain back in the smallest sprocket at the front and the smallest cog at the back through the derailleur. Then, join the two ends of the chain together and ensure there is no slack between the chains when the derailleur rests.
Move the chain in the large chainring at the front and the large sprocket at the back of the rear derailleur. There should not be any stretch; it will be the normal position of the chain.
How To Tighten BMX Bike Chain:
First Step: lose the axle nuts of the rear wheels in a counter-clockwise direction using a socket wrench and the correct size of socket for your rear wheel. If you have installed pegs on the rear wheels, you need an extension with the socket. Just lose the nut; there is no need to completely put off the nuts.
Second Step: After losing nuts, apply pressure against the seat using your feet, as shown in the picture. Pull your rear wheel back with any of your hands out you feel comfortable with.
Third Step: before tightening the nuts, ensure the wheel is not rubbing against the frame. Then, partially tighten the nut from one side in a clockwise direction and switch to the other to keep the wheel’s balance. Continue the process until you completely tighten both side nuts.
Now, move the pedal to check the tension in the chain because sometimes it may be tight on the first attempt. Don’t forget to confirm that the wheel is not rubbing against the frame.
Also Read: 7 Easy Steps To Tune-Up Bike At Home
How to tighten single-speed bike chain:
If your bike has only one sprocket in the front and a single-speed cassette in the rear wheel, or even if you have a fixie geared bike with three internal gears shifting system in the rear hub. The same process will work for both bikes.
First of all, move the bike chain up and down. If you feel more than one inch of movement, you can easily tighten it by pulling the whole back. You may think this method to tighten a bike chain seems similar to what we discussed for BMX bikes. However, there are some differences in the process of alignment of the wheels to get the job done.
First Step: If you have a fixed-gear bike, remove the rear shifter controller using the Allen key. Then, loosen the bolt on both sides to move the wheel around easily. Then, pull the wheel back to increase the tension of the bike chain.
Second Step: check the wheel’s alignment using fingers and ensure that the wheel is in the center. To check the alignment, move the wheel back and forth to ensure an equal distance between the wheel and frame on both sides of the wheel. If you feel a tight finger on one side, then slightly move the wheel in the opposite direction.
Third Step: Tight the bolt from the wheel’s left side and ensure the chain is still tight. Now, press the wheel with your hand, as shown in the picture, toward the right side while tightening the bolt from the right side of the Excel.
To check the tightness of the chain, slowly move the pedal push the finger on the chain at different spots, and make sure that the chain is not too tight at any point.
How To Tighten The Beach Cruiser Bike Chain:
If the beach cruiser bike chain is getting loose, let’s see how to tighten it. There will be a coaster brake bar connected to the frame on the non-chain side of the rear wheel. You need to loosen it and lose both side nuts a little bit to move the wheel backward freely. Now follow the above process to align the wheel and tighten the bike chain. At the end, tight up the coaster brake holder against the frame.
Professional Tip To Check Chain Wear:
As you ride regularly, your bike chain gets longer or stretches over time, which affects your overall performance. Here is the most accurate and easiest way to figure out if your bike chain needs replacing or not. You just require a chain checker tool. If the value is less than 0.5, then it doesn’t need replacing, and if the value is more than 0.5 percent, then you will need to change your bike chain; otherwise, it will damage your derailleur and front cassette.
Why you should trust us:
At Best Bikes Lab, we have expert bike riders, bicycle mechanics, and experienced bike racers. They have around 15 years of cycling experience and have reviewed more than 2600 cycling tools, gears, mountain, hybrid, road, electric, and BMX bikes. We regularly use different types of cycling tools to assemble bicycles for testing.
Our team members:
Some of our team members are still working as cycling coaches and mechanics at bicycle workshops, and some of them have written different cycling guidebooks to help beginners and professionals learn bike riding skills.
Brian Walker is our senior editor and has more than 13 years of experience riding mountain, gravel, and electric bikes. He is a qualified bicycle repair mechanic and has run his independent cycling workshop in New York since 2012. Brian regularly participates in preparing repair guides for our readers.
Stephon Batz is our most senior road bike tester and has spent over 15 years in different cycling competitions. Before joining us, Stephon spent over 10 years working as a professional bike mechanic and sales manager in a bike shop in Springfield, Illinois. He spends most of his time assembling different bikes for our testing reviews.
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Conclusion:
One of the common practices that we see in our routine cycling life is the looseness of our bike chain. Many people don’t know how easy it is to tighten the bike chain just as kids play, and they pay heavy amounts at bike repair shops to fix this simple issue. Sometimes, they even pay extra to replace the chains, cassettes, or rear derailleurs without any reason. Everyone can not afford heavy charges from bike repair shops. Therefore, we prepare this repair guide for those who want to increase their bicycle repair skills and save money by regularly adjusting their bikes in time. We hope this review helps you learn how to tighten a bike chain.
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