How Tight Should Bike Chain Be?

Needless to say, the chain of the bike is what makes the wheels move. At least, that is the case for the regular cycles. For the eBikes, the matter is a little different. Nonetheless, when you take on the responsibility to replace your own chain or maintain the chain, you might ask yourself a couple of questions.

Among all of them, how tight the bike chain should be is most common. And it is an important thing that you should know, regardless of whether you are maintaining the bike or replacing the chain yourself or not. A loose chain can jump right off the sprockets and lock the wheel. That will make you crash!

On the other hand, an overly tight chain will put more stress on the parts. And that will make them wear out faster. So, what is the right level of tightness? Let’s answer that for you!

Table of Contents

What Should the Tightness of the Bike Chain?

Basically, it should be tight enough only to move about half an inch up and down. If you find that there is no slack in the chain, then the tightness is too much. On the other hand, if the chain moves up and down more than half an inch, it is way too loose.

Now, you might think that the manufacturer of the bike already knows the right level of tightness. And they might have already tuned the component for you before you purchased the bicycle. Well, you would be 100 percent correct in that regard. However, there is a thing known as chain stretch.

No, chains do not stretch out on their own. But the wear on the chain can make the links stretch out. When that happens, the maximum length of the chain will increase. And that would eventually make it sag. For that reason, it is crucial to carry out regular check-ups on the chain.

How to Tighten the Bike Chain?

As we have mentioned, the maximum length of the chain can increase over time. And when that happens, you will need to tighten it up properly. But do not worry; the process is pretty simple. Take a look:

Step 1: Get the Right Tools

Before anything else, you will need to get the proper tools for the project. And these are the things that you will need:

Gloves
Bike repair stand
A socket wrench
WD-40 for lubricating the parts

Step 2: Prepare the Bike

After getting the right tools, you should put the bike on top of the stand. If you do not have a stand, you can just simply flip the bike upside down. In that case, it would be better to put a cloth on the area where the saddle will make contact with the ground.

Step 3: Work with the Rear Tire

Next, you will need to pay attention to the rear tire. First of all, loosen up the axle nuts. That will allow you to properly adjust the tension of the chain.

Then, pull back the rear tire, which will let you tighten the chain. It will do so by increasing the tension. However, do not pull back with great force. Instead, slowly pull back the rear tire and consider the tightness of the chain.

Step 4: Check the Tightness

At this point, you will need to check the tension of the chain. The tightness is just right if you can move the chain not more than half an inch in both the up and down direction. However, if you can move the chain more or can not get the half an inch movement, then you will need to repeat step 3.

Step 5: Lube the Chain

After you achieve the right tightness, you should put things back. Tighten the axle nuts and then lube each of the parts with WD-40. Note that you should use the regular version of WD-40. The others are not suitable for lubricating bike parts.

Final Words

In a nutshell, the chain has the right level of tightness if it moves not more or less than half an inch in both up and down directions. And now that you know that, you can give the correct answer if someone asks you how tight should bike chain be!