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Can it be too tight? I'm using a vertical dropout with a slightly eliptical chain ring and as luck would have it, the chain fits without a tensioner. There's no slack though - it turns freely, and will come off the ring when it needs to. Does it need any slack?
no sometimes you just get lucky
try and see is my advice
i broke my tensioner - could have been weeks/months and only noticed when i cleaned the bike.
Rode it without problem afterwards with the non working tensioner.
Bit of slack is so you can get the chain on and off I forget what amount of free play of the chain is within tolerance though.
and will come off the ring when it needs to
I think you need to be more worried about when it 'needs to' changes to 'when it feels like it' 😉
The chain will stretch ,so you will need to get something to take up the slack at some point.
I know someone who used a half link chain without a tensioner and it seems to work ok most of the time.