Novice Home Mechanic

[ChristophJones13]

Hi!
I am wanting to wean my dependency on “the shop” for repairs I am sure that I can do on my own. For my current repair, I am wanting to tighten my chain.
I ride a Cannondale Bad Boy (year?) and know that I need to use a pin spanner to tighten the chain. However, I do not know how to loosen the bottom bracket. I am not sure what to loosen and do not want to create more work than needed by fumbling unnecessarily.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
🙏

 

[boydj]

What problem are you trying to solve? Does your bike Have derailleur gears? If it does, then the only way to tighten the chain is to remove a link.

Why would you want to 'loosen the bottom bracket'?

If you have a hub gear bike, then you tighten the chain by backing off the rear wheel nuts, pulling the wheel back slightly, keeping it centred, and tightening the nuts again.

Check the Park Tools website for some videos showing basic mechanics.

 

[ChristophJones13]

Thanks for your reply.

I am still learning, clearly.

I found some answers since I posted.

I have an eccentric bottom bracket and when the wedge is loose, allows me to tighten the chain.

Props to this guy:

View: https://youtu.be/hNrRgz-CyGc

 

[iluvmybike]

There is usually a couple of bolts under the bb which you need to slacken off to then adjust the bb poistion for the required chain length/tension. Be sure to check the required torque when doing them back up as you don't wnat to destroy the bb shell

 

[iluvmybike]

What problem are you trying to solve? Does your bike Have derailleur gears? If it does, then the only way to tighten the chain is to remove a link.

Why would you want to 'loosen the bottom bracket'?

If you have a hub gear bike, then you tighten the chain by backing off the rear wheel nuts, pulling the wheel back slightly, keeping it centred, and tightening the nuts again.

Check the Park Tools website for some videos showing basic mechanics.

He has an eccentric bottom bracket that's why. This allows rotation of the bb shell to take up chain slack.

 

[ChristophJones13]

There is usually a couple of bolts under the bb which you need to slacken off to then adjust the bb poistion for the required chain length/tension. Be sure to check the required torque when doing them back up as you don't wnat to destroy the bb shell

There is usually a couple of bolts under the bb which you need to slacken off to then adjust the bb poistion for the required chain length/tension. Be sure to check the required torque when doing them back up as you don't wnat to destroy the bb shell

Thanks!
when you say check the required torque, is it a manufacturer’s recommendation or is there a way to measure that?

 

[iluvmybike]

There should be a manufacturer's recommended tolerance and you need to use a torque wrench to ensure you don't exceed it (easy to do on those particular bolts!)