Single speed chain tensioner.

[tjdixon911]

I'm looking to single speed my bike, looking for recommendations on a chain tensioner, something descreet and reliable.

Thanks.

[stuarthat]

Mtb or road, had ss for years never used a tensioner

[tjdixon911]

MTB.

This is the bike;

[anonymous-user]

There are some online tools that let you work out the necessary gear ratio for vertical drop outs based on chainring and sprockets sizing and a regular 1 1/8th chain, but you’ll always have some slack, you could use a half link to get round that problem but it doesn’t take much to snap a chain if it’s under too much tension.

The DMR tensioner is as good as they come, they are fairly discreet, I’d just get one of those. You’ll need some spacers too for the freehub and get the alignment right!

[TobyLerone]

Paul Components make some proper gear. Well made, but it's not too cheap.

https://www.paulcomp.com/shop/components/drivetrai...

[Norwegian Blue]

Shimano do a similar tensioner to that for a lot less. It's in the Alfine range so designed for hub gear conversions.

[Julietbravo]

So I had an old road bike that I wanted to turn into a single speed (flat commute to work, rear mech was junk, didn't want to spend any money) and so bought a chain tensioner like this one: link here Only having the one jockey wheel put enough tension in the chain to stop the thing jumping off. The ones that look like mini rear mechs just seemed a bit complicated for what I was trying to achieve. I left the rear cassette on, and shortened the chain to fit around the most appropriate gear.

I also discovered why frames with horizontal drop outs fetch a premium on ebay - you simply pull the wheel backwards to tension the chain and don't need a tensioner wheel.

[Captain Raymond Holt]

tjdixon911 said:

MTB.

This is the bike;

I just came by to say, I like this.

[Fluffsri]

I bought my SS kit from this shop when Charlie was running it, didn't need a tensioner as I've got slotted dropouts.

https://www.bikemonger.co.uk/chain-tensioners-209-...

found the kit here to be good as well, they only have 1 tensoiner though

http://velosolo.co.uk/shopsingle.html

[tjdixon911]

Captain Raymond Holt said:

I just came by to say, I like this.

Thanks, I think this is the first time anyone has given me a compliment about one of my builds, the frame was a warranty replacement (I had an alloy one before and they upgraded to the carbon version with the replacement) I then set about making a "lightweight" mtb, alot of components went straight across but I added the Carbon Forks (3T) rest of the spec (briefly) is;

Hope XC wheel set (with boost adapters)
XT cranks (non boost)
SRAM GX 1x11 gears (to be removed for SS - I have the gusset Xd drive single speed kit)
Thompson Seat Post / stem
Superstar Components carbon bars
Charge spoon saddle
XT Brakes
Hope Headset

It feels like it weighs less than my road bike (but never weighed either) I was commuting on it over the summer - it wasn't much slower over 12 miles!

Also thanks everyone for the suggestions, I will have a look at the options and get one ordered and report back with updated pictures.

[firemunki]

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FSOOSSD/on-one-doofe...

Nice and cheap and I can normally use more base layers as can others in the office to split postage.

I've one on my SS road commuter thing and it's been flawless (let's not speak of the slipping freehub though...)