Rear tensioner of some sort

[Ebon Dragon]

Well i've been fed up with derailleurs for quite some time now and on my new bike i want to make sure i dont got one... the slap is fricken annoying. Well anything you guys can suggest me to do that fits into this category?


1. I'm going to be running 3 gears maximum change time like 30 secs? (Obviously manually) and something that wont wear when its being loosened/tightened alot.

2. NO SPRINGS I HATE FUCKING CHAIN SLAP

Gears im going to be running are 22/20/15 i was thinking something along the lines of running the chain short as possible so the tensioner doesn't have to move alot in the 22t ring.... running the tensioner in the push up position when its in the 20.. and in the 15 id have it running in the pulling position. Think i can pull it off? Right now im mostly thinking of a Soulcraft convert.

[Elan]

lock out your derailleur. and cary a 5mm to switch gears with. that is your only choice. it is a good choice though.

you cant have 3 different sized gears and not have springs. your chain would either not even come clsoe to fitting on the larger cogs, or your chain would be completely useless on the smaller ones.

[CoppellStereo]

I know DMR makes a chain tensior called the STS Tension Seeker, and it bolts into place with no springs, the only thing though is i dont know if you can change the chain line on it
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/images/dmr%20sts.jpg

[Elan]

yea, you have no choice but to run single speed with the DMR. thats out.

everyone i know runs a locked out der. and has no chainslap whatsoever. set it up right and you never have to worry about it.

[Ebon Dragon]

About the locked out derailleur... do i have to run some sort of cable to worry about the horizontal alignment?

[Elan]

yo ucan use the limiting screws, but then imp retty sure all your adjustability is gone. the best bet would be to use a end of brake cable (put the round bead where the barrel adjuster usually goes and set it.)

..i dont really know, never used one myself. but if you want gears to change thats your only option. i dont see why you couldnt run a friction shifter or somthing. to eliminate chain slap all you would have to do is make your chain absolutely short as possibly on your biggest cog, then tighten all of hte limiting screws and set screws to the point where you only get the three gears you want and every spring has maximum tension.

[freeridercam]

that's actually easier than you'd think.

[Ebon Dragon]

Yeah i think im just gonna run the ol locked out derailleur/barrel adjuster trick... thanks everyone

[RomanR]

Locking it out is the easiest way to make the chain slap decrease a ton. For the shifting gears, you can run a gear cable (cut it about 2.5" long) through the barrel adjuster, and try to set it up so that it is on your trials gear (the top most gear you'll use) the barrel adjuster is a few threads from being completely unscrewed. This way you'll have enough of a range to shift 3 gears down.

I run a modified xtr derailleur as a tensioner, with pretty much no cage, and only one pulley (think how an xtr derailleur looked if it was like a surley tensioner). I still run it with the short gear cable and barrel adjuster, and i can get a range of 3 gears with 8 speed spacing. Because it pulls the chain down like a surley tensioner for example would, the chain gets pulled real good, and there is barely any movement from it when doing moves etc. I don't use a chainstay pad, just a strip of duct tape.

Here are a few pictures of it, in case you're interested in doing something along the same lines.

http://www.observedtrials.net/otn/2XTR.jpg

http://www.observedtrials.net/otn/1XTR.jpg

http://www.trials-shack.co.uk/romanr/bike/white8.jpg

[chronic]

I used that deraillure-chain tesioner idea and it works well. Although I dont even have a deraillure hanger anymore. So I used one of those old school deraillures which are held on by your axle. The only problem I had was the spring wasn't really strong enough to tension my chain like I wanted. So I wound it tighter and it works awesome. By adjusting the barrel bolt, I can change between two gears ;)