Strange Problem with chain going tight

[steveg]

I check chain tension weekly , checked today & chain was a lot tighter than normal ..... , checked tightness of rear axle bolt & it was fine , never had a chain go tighter .....
What do you recon has happened ? , only thing I can think of is that rear wheel must have moved slightly , which is very worrying

cheers Steve

Probably got a kinked link, maybe due to wear or dirt. Did you turn the wheel round to see if it was the same everywhere along its run?

[steveg]

Checked chain on paddock , no tight / kinked links , the chain is fine , its just adjusted too tight , Its been fine for the last 4 weeks , I always adjust chain slightly loose & def it was not this tight , the only thing I can think of is the rear wheel moved slightly , I believe the pointy rear axle should by 100 nm ?

Will keep any eye on it

Cheers Steve

Originally Posted by steveg

I always adjust chain slightly loose

Please forgive me if I'm sucking Grandma to suck eggs here but just checking... What do you mean by slightly loose? (cos I'm a little worried) My K5 book says 20-30mm.

As I understand it the chain needs to be adjusted so that when the front sprocket, swing arm pivot and rear axle are in line it's long enough to reach round with a little slack. The reason for extra (the 20-30mm quoted) is that unless you ratchet strap the back of your bike to the deck when you adjust it, they aren't in line and so don't need to be as long. As soon as you get on the bike then some of the tension is taken up and as the suspension works when riding then potentially 'full scale deflection' if you like could be reached.

Tighter than that and you'll potentially be putting bearings at all three points mentioned above under unnecessary stress and strain (not to mention the C&S themselves). Looser and you risk it jumping off.

Having waffled on so, I haven't really addressed your point about how it could get tighter - sorry - but I can at least confirm the book torque for a K5 rear axle is 100NM.

[steveg]

I always adjust chain slightly loose

What I mean is I always make sure there is 30 mm when I'm sat on the bike , I would rather run the chain slightly looser , than run a chain too tight.

Need to leave safety margin ( eg if hit bump in the road etc ) , so that chain does not run too tight , causing tension on c&s & gearbox output shaft etc .

Cheers Steve

pretty hard to imaging the wheel moving and if so id expect it to loosen the chain not tension it......id just reset it...write down the position.... and check it regulary..