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How tight should my chain be

In order to understand how tight you chain should be, you should first understand what happens when it is not tight enough.  If you are not experiencing any of the symptoms of a chain being too long (or loose), there is no reason to shorten it.  The following are a few symptoms of a loose chain:

• Chain Slap - You chain is beating the crap out of your chainstays when you ride.

• Sluggish Shifting - A chain that is too long is one of the least likely causes of sluggish shifting, but shortening a chain will make your shifting more "Snappy".

• The rear derailleur will not take up the slack of the chain in some shifting combinations.

Chain Length

The Shimano method is to put you chain on the largest Chainring (front) and the largest Cog (rear), then cut the chain so that there is one spare link in the chain.  You do this with the chain on the gears without the derailleur.  Be sure to keep in mind that one link is actually two sections with a pin in the middle.  Most people would call it two links, but it is actually considered one.

A simpler way, which I usually use, is done with the chain on the bike, with the rear derailleur.  First shift, as in the Shimano method, into the largest Chainring largest Cog configuration, then look at your rear derailleur.  It should be fairly straitened out.  If it has a bunch of slack in it, your chain is probably too long.

Park tool has a great FAQ on this.  Follow this link.

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This Page Last updated: January 10, 2002.