If you’re starting to cycle regularly, then it’s more than likely that you’ve had your first encounter with a loose bike chain. A loose or detached chain is a common occurrence, and you can quickly learn how to tighten a bike chain to make things easier.
All you’re going to need is the right tools. The bike chain is one of the essential components of any bicycle. Whenever you pedal, the bike chain transfers power to the wheels, which allows you to move.
So what actually happens when your bike chain becomes loose?
Effects of a Loose Bike Chain
The bike chain is responsible for transferring power to the wheels, which causes the bicycle to move. When the bike chain is loose, the rate at which the chain transfers power to the wheels drops significantly.
If the chain is too loose, you won’t be able to propel the bike forward. It’ll still be rideable but, you’ll need to stop and tighten the bike chain before riding onward!
With that being said, let’s look at everything you need to know to learn how to tighten a bike chain.
Getting the Proper Equipment to Tighten Bike Chain
Before you can start learning how to tighten a bike chain, you need to get the proper equipment. If you don’t have the appropriate equipment, then it’ll be challenging for you to tighten your bike chain.
Here’s a list of the tools you’re going to need to learn how to tighten a bike chain;
- Cloth/Old Rag
- Dry Bike Lubricant
- A Bike Stand
- Gloves
- Socket Wrench
After getting all these tools, you’re ready to learn how to tighten a bike chain! It’s also a good idea to learn how to get bike grease out of clothes. There’s a definite possibility that you might get some on your clothes during basic maintenance.
How to Tighten a Bike Chain?
How to Tighten a Bike Chain – Single-Speed
Most people just starting with cycling, whether they’re looking for a mountain bike or a hybrid bike, tend to pick a single-speed option. Single-speed bikes only have one gear.
These bikes feature a cog that turns as you pedal. In turn, that causes the wheels to turn. Now that you have a basic understanding of how a single-speed bike works, here’s a step-by-step guide on tightening a bike chain on a single-speed!
Step 1: Set Your Bike Up
To get started with learning how to tighten a bike chain, the very first step you need to take is to set up your bike on a bike stand. By setting your bike up on a stand, you’ll be able to efficiently work with all the different components.
If you don’t have a bike stand, turn your bike upside down. You’ll need to use something to keep the bike stable and in place, but it’s an excellent rudimentary solution if you don’t have access to a bike stand.
Step 2: Loosen The Rear Axle
Step 2 is where you’re going to need to get your socket wrench. Use the socket wrench to remove the axle nuts that connect the tire to the bicycle. You need to unscrew these nuts to be able to move the rear wheel.
If you have any basic knowledge on how to use a wrench, you’ll be able to do this step of learning how to tighten a bike chain reasonably quickly. All you need to remember is “right tighty, lefty loosey,” and you won’t have any trouble with the axle nuts.
Step 3: Adjust The Rear Wheel
This portion is arguably the most challenging part of learning how to tighten a bike chain. By adjust the rear wheel and pulling back on it, you can increase the level of tension in a chain. The more you pull back the rear tire, the tighter the chain will be.
It’s crucial to ensure that you do the entire process slowly. If you go too fast, you can potentially end up snapping the Chapin completely.
As you pull back the rear wheel, keep checking the tension to see if you’re getting the right level of stress in the chain. The optimal level of tightness is when you can move the chain half an inch in either direction.
Step 4: Checking the Level of Tension
While you should be checking the level of tension as you adjust the rear wheel, it’s vital to perform a thorough check after you finish with all your adjustments.
As mentioned before, ideally, you’ll want enough tension in the chain to ensure that it can move ½ an inch in either direction. If you pull the rear wheel back too much, you’ll have a bike chain that’s way too tight.
In the case that you pull the wheel back too much, you’ll get a bike chain that’s too tight. You can identify whether the bike chain is too tight by trying to turn the pedals.
If the pedals don’t turn properly, it’s a clear indication that the bike chain is too tight and can help save a lot of hassle. You don’t want to put everything back together with a chain that’s too tight.
Step 5: Fix the Rear Tire Back In Place
Once you’re satisfied with the level of tension in the bike chain, you can start working towards fixing the rear tire back in position.
After the axle is in position, screw the loose nuts back and attach the tire. Make sure that you use the socket wrench to ensure that the bicycle can achieve the ideal level of tension.
When you’re fixing everything up, you also need to ensure that the tire aligns correctly against the bike frame. When the tire aligns correctly, it doesn’t make any contact with the frame or the bicycle chain.
Step 6: Test Out the Bike!
After everything is set in place, you should look to test things out before going out on a ride. The first essential check you need to make is seeing whether the bike chain moves in both directions. Half an inch is the optimal level of tension that you need.
After checking the chain, you can also check whether the rear tire is spinning as it should. If it’s coming into contact with the frame or the chain as you’re riding, then you haven’t installed the axle properly.
When the rear tire is touching the frame, you’ll need to unscrew the axle again and fit everything correctly. However, if you’ve done all the previous steps correctly and everything checks out in testing, you’ve learned how to tighten a bike chain properly.
How to Tighten a Bike Chain – Multi-Speed
Learning how to tighten a bike chain on a single-speed bike is simple enough. However, the same can’t be said for a multi-speed bicycle. When a chain comes loose on a multi-gear bike, it’s a bigger problem.
A loose chain means that there’s a higher chance of your foot getting caught in it and resulting in a severe injury.
If you feel like the chain is loose on your multi-gear bike, then your best bet is taking it to a reliable mechanic or learning how to tighten a bike chain on a multi-speed bike yourself. Here’s a step-by-step guide on everything that you need to know.
Step 1: Position Bike Correctly
When you’re learning how to tighten a bike chain on a multi-speed, it’s even more important to position your bike correctly so you can access all the components. Once again, a bike stand can make a significant difference and allow you to put the bike in the right place.
If you don’t have a bike chain, you can turn the bike on its back. However, make sure that you keep the bike stable and in a fixed position. You don’t want to end up accidentally damaging your bike.
Step 2: Locate the Derailleur Screw
A derailleur is a component that’s only found on multi-gear bikes. The derailleur is usually around the rear wheel of the bike.
Once you find the derailleur, the next step is locating the derailleur screw. You’ll find the letter B next to the screw. After finding the screw, you can tighten the chain by turning it in a clockwise motion.
Step 3: Accessing the Rear Tire
It’s a little more challenging to access and detach the rear tire on a multi-gear bike. Multi-gear bikes tend to feature rear brakes as well as front brakes.
Consequently, you’ll need to disconnect the brakes from their cables before you can start adjusting the rear tire.
Step 4: Adjust the Rear Tire
Once you get access to the rear tire, you can start sliding the rear axle to help increase the level of tension in the chain. It’s a reasonably straightforward process.
However, when you’re tightening a bike chain, it’s essential to remember that you need to take the process slowly. If you make large adjustments, you might end up tightening the bike chain too much.
Once you’re done making the adjustments, you can lower the brake lever to give you a rough idea about the level of tension on the chain.
If it’s not as tight as you desire, lift the lever and then continue making more adjustments. Keep changing things until you find the sweet spot of tension.
Step 5: Put Everything Back Together
If you’ve been able to do all four preceding steps without any trouble, then you’ve successfully learned how to tighten a bike chain on a multi-speed. If the bike chain feels sufficiently tight, you can work towards putting everything back together.
Once you manage to put everything back together, you’ll need to test whether the tire can spin freely and doesn’t make any contact with the frame.
If the tension of the bike chain seems optimal, you can fix everything back together and start riding again!
Wrapping Up
By following these basic steps, anyone can learn how to tighten a bike chain. You can suffer from a loose bike chain at any given moment, so every cyclist needs to learn this skill. That way, you’ll easily be able to address any potential issues with your chain.
A helpful tip to remember while tightening your bike chain is always wearing a pair of rubber gloves. When working on a bike, there’s no doubting the fact that you’re going to get your hands a little dirty. Gloves will help keep any unwanted dirt and bike grease off your hands!
How to Tighten a Bike Chain – FAQS
Q. What happens if my bike chain detaches completely?
The chain is an essential component in every bike; it connects to the pedals and powers the wheels. If it came off completely, then you wouldn’t be able to pedal your bike at all.
Q. Will a bike repair shop help with a loose chain?
If you don’t know how to tighten or reattach a bike chain yourself, then you can take it to a repair shop. They’ll be able to fix a loose chain in no time!
Q. Is there any way to stop the bike chain from getting loose?
Because of the nature of bike components, there’s no way you can stop your bike chain from becoming loose. With wear and tear, the chain will eventually start coming loose, even after regular maintenance.
Q. How can you tell if the bike chain is too tight?
Check if the pedals are turning. If the bike chain is too tight, the pedals won’t turn at all. If that’s the case, you’ll need to loosen the bike chain until it reaches the optimal level of tension.
Q. What to do immediately after your bike chain becomes loose?
If you’re riding your bike to college, let’s say, and your bike chain comes loose, then those that don’t prepare might panic and end up injuring themselves. If your bike chain is loose, then you should pedal slowly, try to reach your destination, and work on tightening the chain!
