I’m having an annoying issue with my slot drop inbred SS. No matter how tight I do the QR and a surly chain tug on one side and an on-one one on the other my wheel keeps moving (leaving the chain slack). Other than buying a bolt through hub is there anything I can do about this?

If you’ve got a chain tug on the drive side, I don’t see how the wheel can move forward.
Is your chain stretching?

As above, if you have track ends and a correctly installed tug on the driveside, which is undamaged, it can’t be loosening off.

NDS chain tug probably doesn’t make a difference. Neither should braking, as the brake on a slotty inbred is inside the rear triangle (sometimes happens on slotty frames with disc tabs in normal position as the braking force tries to lever the wheel out of the back).

Happened to a mate and he got fed up with it, never got to the bottom of it either. Didn’t happen on new frame (love/hate) with same parts on it but vertical dropout and EBB, so I guess it was something to do with the new chain stretching, or the chain tug/qr bits.

Is your chain the same slack/tight wherever the cranks are positioned? -sometimes chainrings go on not quite central (not sure of it is the chainring or crank tabs/spider that would be the issue), so if you ‘tension’ the chain tug with the crank in one position it fells slacker in another position. Mine does that a tiny bit with old xt crank and steel ss chainring (half inch at tightest and 3/4″ at slackest) but I just live with it.

A few options:-

1) Are you sure it is moving, or do you just have a tight/loose spot? I find that because the splines on my current cog are a bit big, it doesn’t necessarily sit centrally on the rear wheel, so can cause a tight spot and a loose spot where the chain is a bit slack.

2) As above, have you checked your chainring bolts to ensure the chainring isn’t causing tight/loose spots?

3) Try a chaintug on the other side also. Although generally not required, if one side is moving forwards/backwards, it could cause the axle to be at an angle, which will tighten/loosen the chain.

Is your chain stretching?

Don’t think so, the chain is not new, has been used for 2 years previously on an alfine.

if you have track ends and a correctly installed tug on the driveside, which is undamaged

I’m sure the drive side tug is installed correctly, I can directly effect the tension of the chain by adjusting this. When setting it up I can get the tension spot on.

Is your chain the same slack/tight wherever the cranks are positioned?

2) As above, have you checked your chainring bolts to ensure the chainring isn’t causing tight/loose spots?

Once correctly tensioned I can rotate the crank to any position without loosing tension. Also once tension has been lost (after riding) rotating the crank does not appear to make the chain go tighter at any spot.

Try a chaintug on the other side also. Although generally not required, if one side is moving forwards/backwards, it could cause the axle to be at an angle, which will tighten/loosen the chain.

I suspected something like this as the rear brake starts to rub sometimes when the tension is lost. This makes me think the axle is moving on the NDS, hence the second chain tug. This unfortunately does not seem to have made a difference (though I haven’t yet checked it for movement).

Could it be that I’m doing the wheel up slightly off straight (with the axle at a slight angle) and that this is then pulling straight? Id have expected the qr to pull the wheel straight though.

if the NDS is moving back then a 2nd tug won’t help.

maybe draw on the frame around the heads at both ends of the QR with a marker pen so you can see what’s moving relative to what?

good plan, will try that.

Maybe your chain stays are shortening.

😆

I must stop sleep hacksawing!

Check that the QR isn’t bottoming out on the axle before it pinches up right.

Hmm, good point, I guess it could also be bottoming out on the surly tug’s qr adaptor plate.

File the dropout at an angle to stop the QR moving forwards.

Check the QR isn’t about to snap – this is often a sign they’ve deformed in some way and are about to ‘let go’ in a terminal way.

One more simple thing to try is removing the springs from the QR’s I found that one of the spring was stopping the QR from seating properly and stopping you nipping it up tight enough.

I have found that by loosely closing up the QR with the wheel slightly offset towards the NDS, I can then get the chain tug to pull the wheel straight, and then really tighten up the QR’s again. The chain tug needs to pick up the tension, not the QR’s. It also helps really tension up the chain nice and tight. Having said that, I have noticed that the chain is significantly stiffer prior to riding. I have taken to doing a bit of pedal stomping up a hill or two before tensioning the chain again, then it seems to keep tight for the rest of the ride. I can only guess the lube thickens up(?)

Hmm – you don’t mention what type of hub / wheel you have, but just a thought – if the wheel is ‘wobbling’ then you might have done the bearings in one side of the hub*

It gives the appearance of the wheel moving back and the chain slackening despite the high tenstion through the axel.

*Note – see my inglorious exit from SSEC on lap 2.

Hope XC hub with 717 rim.

I have just changed all the bearings so unless I screwed up putting them in I don’t think they are shot. I’ll check though.

I had something similar on a DMR Trailstar as a result of using a disc brake. I had tugs on both sides. When set up with V brakes I had no problems but when changed to a disc brake the braking forces kept pulling the wheel out of alignment. couldn’t stop it happening no matter how tight i set the QR (XT). Contemplated using a bolt through axle or a different QR but in the end went with a different frame (wanted to run gears anyway). The disc brake mount on the DMR was in the normal place on the top of the chainstay, someone else above has mentioned that the position of the mount affects the direction of the forces and that it shouldn’t be an issue on your frame, but maybe not?

Hope Qr’s are pants slap a shimano one in.

Think its an XT shimano one, either that or an On One one, another thing to check later :D.

Update:

After following some of the suggestions above the tension has remained for 3 days now. It looks like wheel was not quite straight (lined up by eye on the middle of the seat stays) when I tensioned it so when ridden the wheel pulled straight and loosened the chain!. I had to tighten the chain tug a fair bit in the new position.

Thanks all for help.

I stuck a threaded solid axle on mine eventually. Not had an issue since on both 26″ & 29″ Slidey Inbreds. Need to carry a 15mm spanner though.

And make sure the dim from the end of the axle to the locknut is less than the thickness of the drop-out.
(As per what that Brant bloke said).
(He seems to know a bit about Inbreds).

I have this problem on a regular basis. Nothing I can do about it though, it’s just my immense power.

Nothing I can do about it though, it’s just my immense power.

I like this answer :D, thighs of steel!

It’s worth checking your track ends are actually parallel. Your wheel will almost always move if they aren’t.