[unlisted]

Hi all,

I adjusted my chain slack last night. It was out around 35mm and I brought it back to about 25mm.

I have two concerns here.

First. I realize that 10mm is a good amount of slack to take up, but I feel like I had to turn the adjusters a lot to do it. You can see the difference between where it was and where it ended in the attached picture (hopefully it came through)

Second. After I’ve reached the desired slack, should the adjuster/lock nut be flush with the back of the swing arm? The gap seems strange to me.

Might be a stupid question, but I’m pretty new to the whole thing. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Jack Straw]

The inner adjusting nut should be flush against the swing arm end.

Forgive me for asking but did you tighten the adjuster on BOTH sides of the swing arm and did you adjust each side the same number of wrench strokes?

The gap you show in the photo  can be caused by pushing unevenly on the rear wheel while the axle is loosened thereby cocking the wheel in the swing arm.  Pretty much everyone has done this inadvertently at one time or another.

It's a good idea to check the chain tension with the rear wheel on the ground as swing arm arc can alter the tension slightly.

Yours is not a stupid question at all.  The fact that something looked wrong speaks to your observation skills.

There are faint hashmarks on the adjusters on both sides to aid in proper adjustment. You'd be smart to double check them.  Some of us use a slim yard stick to measure from the axle center to the swing arm pivot center to ensure sprocket alignment.

BTW, welcome to the forum and never be shy about asking questions as there are plenty of experienced wrenches here who'll be glad to help.

[unlisted]

Ok cool, that’s what I thought. Thanks for clarifying. Is it just as simple as tightening the nuts back up to the swing arm with the axle nut tight and in place I wonder?

Yes, I did move both sides with equal turns to the adjuster and I made sure I had the hash marks on both sides of the swing arm in the same place. Thanks for checking and thanks for the welcome!

What would you suggest I do to fix this?

[Jack Straw]

If the axle nut has been properly tightened and the chain tension/hash mark alignment is still correct just take a second 12mm wrench and "un jam" the two nuts. Then snug the inner nut up to the adjuster stop.  The second nut  acts as a jam nut to ensure the inner nut from backing off.

Does this make sense?

[unlisted]

Yes, absolutely.
Thanks again!

[Starpeve]

If the axle nut has been properly tightened and the chain tension/hash mark alignment is still correct just take a second 12mm wrench and "un jam" the two nuts. Then snug the inner nut up to the adjuster stop.  The second nut  acts as a jam nut to ensure the inner nut from backing off.

Does this make sense?

Also making sure that you don’t turn the adjuster nut whilst tightening the lock nut! (2 spanners/ wrenches)

[Karl Fenn]

That gap is not right you need to make sure the back lock nut is flush to swinging arm, then hold it using two spanners, and make sure the wheel is on the ground, if we used to adjust chain on motocross bikes with the wheel in the air the chain would be tight when back on the ground.