Tightened Chain - clicking freewheel

[dhd.evans]

My chain got slack on my Pinnacle Dolomite singlespeed and it jumped off the rear cog into the wheel a few times. I tightened the chain by shifting the crank forward on the bottom bracket (a Pinnacle related solution) but now when I'm freewheeling I get serious clicking noises and the chain pulls the wheel forward from time to time. Any ideas/solutions?

 

[DCLane]

I get serious clicking noises and the chain pulls the wheel forward from time to time. Any ideas/solutions?

Pulls it forward? i.e. the wheel moves in the frame?

If so it's not tight enough in the frame.

 

[dhd.evans]

Pulls it forward? i.e. the wheel moves in the frame?

If so it's not tight enough in the frame.

That's... not a bad diagnosis. I've a 30mi ride next week for work so will tighten the wheel before I set off tomorrow. Will post updates!

 

[mjr]

Big torque wrench is your friend.

 

[Lonestar]

I had a clicking that went on for thousands of miles on the fixie.Changed the pedals and do you know what? The clicking has gone.

Had done everything else.Bottom bracket chain and it was driving me bonkers.

 

[dhd.evans]

So, tightened the nuts (giggedy) and the chain is still tugging the freewheel forward; methinks i've overtightened the chain when i tried to stop it jumping. Being new to singlespeeds and chain tension i wonder if this is a 'rookie error' as it where? Thoughts?

 

[Lonestar]

So, tightened the nuts (giggedy) and the chain is still tugging the freewheel forward; methinks i've overtightened the chain when i tried to stop it jumping. Being new to singlespeeds and chain tension i wonder if this is a 'rookie error' as it where? Thoughts?

Is it a proper fixie frame? Got a pic?

 

[dhd.evans]

Is it a proper fixie frame? Got a pic?

This is a stock picture; bike is a Pinnacle Dolomite Singlesped (2017 model).

It's got a bottom bracket that you can pull or push forward to tighten the chain (held in by bolts):

 

[Lonestar]

Singlespeed.(doh)

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacl...-road-bike-EV264164#modal__product-zoom-modal

Could see it better on here.

 

[Cycleops]

Having the chain jump off the rear sprocket would suggest the wheel/sprocket isn’t aligned correctly with the chainwheel but this shouldn’t be possible. There is obviously something wrong, I should take it back to Evans as you could end up having an accident. The chain should have some free play in it.

 

[Andrew1971]

Are your bottom bracket bolts tight enough to prevent it from spinning round.
Andrew

 

[dhd.evans]

Are your bottom bracket bolts tight enough to prevent it from spinning round.
Andrew

Should be, i did tighten them to within an inch of their lives but also worth checking.

 

[XC26]

Firstly, don’t over tighten anything to the point that it causes damage. Looking at your photos, it appears that your chain tension is adjusted using an eccentric bottom bracket rather than the rear wheel position within its forks. In fact, your rear wheel appears to sit in vertical dropouts which means there is no horizontal movement/adjustment to tension the chain. On this kind of bike, chain tension is achieved by loosening the nuts that clamp the bottom bracket within its eccentric, oversized enclosing shell, rotating the bottom bracket to a position that provides the desired chain tension and then retightening the clamping nuts to the recommended torque.

Is the chain actually pulling the rear wheel forward and out of the dropout or is it pulling the bottom bracket backwards in the shell, in either case causing the chain to become slack. From the photos, I can’t see how the rear wheel could be pulled forwards without coming out of the dropouts. Is your chain over-tensioned? I would recommend having a bit of slack on your chain, usually just enough to waggle it up and down a bit midway between chainring and sprocket. Often you will find that if you tension the chain to what appears satisfactory and then rotate the pedals, the chain can either be too tight or too slack at different positions of the pedals. So you need to ensure that the chain is not too tight in any position.

 

[dhd.evans]

It definitely feels like the freewheel; took the wheel out and rotated the axle, clicking and then it catches when trying to reverse. Wonder if it has anything to do with the collision I had last week...

 

[Cycleops]

You didn’t mention that before! That opens up a new possibility and the alignment I talked should be looked at.