Single Speed Tensioners
March 26th, 2008 by ArleighI have a confession - I’m a single speed freak. Ever since I can recall I’ve had a single speed mountain bike or fixed gear road machine.
With Guitar Ted’s (and your) help we will be putting various single speed tensioners on review. Going forward we will dedicate a post per tensioner. What we think, how it set up and so forth. I look forward to hearing everyones feed back as we go through each tensioner we have used.
Tensioners are a good way to get by with your everyday frame. I’ve seen tensioners used to make a 3×1 but with the 3 being the front chainrings. There are ways to set them up properly but normally it is trial and error. Some of my favorite single speeds have been via a tensioner of some sort. Personally I have ridden a decent amount of single speed tensioners. Have had to set up more than I would like to share and can say which have lasted, which hit the bed too soon and which are simply annoying to deal with.
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I would really be interested in hearing about how well the Paul Components Melvin works in a 2 x 1 set up.
how about a soulcraft?
Maybe just a deore short cage?
Dave
I’d really like to hear about fixed tensioners, like the Rennen one, versus sprung ones, like the Singulator. Ooh, and what about using that Rohloff gadget?
Also pulleys versus rollers.
I got one of those Performance-made “Forte’” singlespeed kits for $11.00 on sale last year, and I am quite surprised with it…I figured it would be junk, but so far it is durable and functions beautifully. Besides, the pulley can be replaced with a standard Shimano jockey wheel if it wears out (or a KCNC for extra bling).
It only works in “push down” mode, so the chain has to be pretty short in order to ensure good chainwrap. I’ve found that the pulley needs to be fairly close to parallel to the chainstay in order to keep it from skipping. The stamped steel cogs that come with the kit are nothing to write home about, but they seem to be durable, too, and they’ve got nice, tall teeth so the chain won’t jump off.
I’ve heard many great things about the Rennen tensioner, and also YESS tensioners for some interesting singlespeed setups (full-suspension SS, anyone?). I haven’t ridden with either of them yet.
I put a Gusset bachelor on my bike 3 weeks ago and it has been working well. It’s similar to the Rennen tensioner (fixed) but for some reason it doesn’t have enough adjustment for me to run it in push-up mode, even if I use a half link to get a little bit shorter chain. Mounting it was a hassle, too. I have Phil hubs and since the Bachelor bolts to the axle, the shoulder on the axle bolt didn’t sit in the dropout so I had to fab a shim (alloy chainring nut w/flange filed off and threads stripped out works perfectly) that acts as an extended shoulder. Also, the roller on the tensioner sat too far inboard for me to use the smaller cog on my Dos Eno freewheel so I had to bend the arm so that I could use both cogs. Bending the arm was a nightmare as the axis of the roller HAS to be perfectly perpendicular to the chain and, lacking a dropout hanger straightener (which may or may not have worked) I resorted to trial and error… and there was a lot of error.
Mounting hassles aside, the thing is ridden daily, works perfectly, and is easily adjusted so, ultimately, I’m happy with the purchase. I think that the Bachelor retails for about what the Rollenlager wholesales for but from what I’ve heard (third hand) from a Rollenlager user the price is justified.
For what it’s worth, buying a true single speed frame is not any better. I’m looking to go back to normal frame with a tensioner. It’s a better design then what Single Speed frame builders are currently making.
I have an Eccentric Bottom Bracket (EBB) bike which seems like a great idea, but it’s a flawed design. There is no way to securly mount the bottom bracket without it creaking and rocking. There are a couple of shell upgrades for EBB’s (Bushnell , Co-Motion & Carver) that attempt to overcome the flaws. Even with the upgrades there will always be BB rocking, creaking and energy loss when pedaling.
The Sliding Dropout designs (like Solecraft Plowboy) also seem like a good idea , but now the dropout attaches to the Chainstay with a couple of bolts. Another weakness that will loose pedaling energy. and need frequent maintenance.
A chain tensioner on a normal frame allows the chainstay to tightly connect/brace the bottom bracket to the rear dropout. The result is pedaling force at the chainring is tightly coupled to the cog (chainstay is strong and does not act like a spring).
I’d like to see a SS frame manufacturer come up with a simple clean built-in chain tensioner (based on something like the YESS ETR-B) instead of these elegant contraptions that do not work. How about an industry standard braze-on mount for a quality SS chain tensioner.
My next frame for my SS will use a chain tensioner which appears to be the best solution so far. The YESS ETR-B seems to be my current favorite.
Also, I also have the Paul Merlin which is a nice reliable tensioner, but would not be a good idea for a 2×1 dual cogs (no sliding chainline) It would probably work fine for a dual chainring.