Whiteboy Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 ok well looking to get a tensioner n wondering is there any advantage of non sprung to sprung tensionrs n visa versa. only problem i had a while ago when i made a tensioner (non sprung) is that would be perfect tension then half rotation later slack. i was runing a freewheel so may be prble. now i got king on rear so thinking of trying a non sprung tensioner they worht it?whiteboy xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 I would always say non sprung tensioner over a sprung one anyday, its the feel of the drivetrain that i like. I hadn't noticed it at all before i had my freshproducts tensioner but as soon as i put it on the bike the chain and chainline felt much sharper and responsive. i can now feel the difference everytime i go on someone's bike and they're running a rear mech or mr control style tensioner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 problem i had a while ago when i made a tensioner (non sprung) is that would be perfect tension then half rotation later slack.The exact reason why sprung tensioners are better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiteboy Posted April 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 have been told that may be due to my cranks (tensiels) that the threads on there are not completltly straight mening my chainring will have slight ovalnes to it may try one of those new ones from on one the doofer or wat it called as it only be a tenner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prawny Baby Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 at the end of the day tom, ive heard nothing but problems from everyone running just about every form of tensioner eventually, apart from the rohloff, which is basicly a fixed mech anyway.......all the dmr style ones give up eventually, as they use V brake springs, and they just dont cut it in the long run....the fixed tensioners are POO in my opinion.... ive heard nothing but moaning from everyone whos got a fresh tensioner. they refuse to accept theyre no good, yet complain about varying chain tension, and the tensioner slowly loosening off over time......IMO, you will never beat a mech with a few simple mods.....ive got a 105 mech, which is about 3 years old now.....ive locked it out, and ive removed the inner cage and secured the jockey wheels in place with longer bolts, so the chain can be taken off the back of it easily.in my opinion, NOTHING will work better than this, as the mech spring is FAR stronger than any dmr style v brake sprung tensioner, and it keeps a constant chain tension. it also looks far more stylish IMO....stick with mechs. the single speed tensioner is a nice idea, but in reality, it saves SODD ALL weight, doesnt look as nice, and means you cant change gear even if you want to.........ive got a full cassette on the back, with my 17t driver placed in the middle.i dont run a shifter at all, but i can change gear and have it reliably running on any of the other 6 cogs in less than a minute.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walker Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 Look at this fixed tensioner, it keeps the chain at constant tension.-Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 Many chainrings are not quite straight nowadays, so depending on the position of the cranks, the chain may be loose or more tense. Therefore if you do have a rotten chainring (which doesn't mean just cheap, because the expensive ones are also faulty) it's best if you use a sprung tensioner. A non sprung one is best when the chain tension doesn't change while rotating the cranks/wheel. A non sprung one will probably be ok with a front freewheel because they're usually straight and thus don't affect the chain tension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 Sprung tensioners are better than non-sprung, definitely. In theory. The reality is that the Fresh (non-sprung) is probably better than the DMR (sprung) because it can't wear out in the same way. That's more down to the design of the DMR though. The main problem with tensioners like the Fresh is that there is no give in them at all. As soon as you touch your chain, it can't go anywhere. So it moves on the dropout and you have to get your allen keys out and fix it. I thought non-sprung tensioners weren't worth bothering with at all until I used the Leeson KISSS (As demonstrated by Walk_aw). The roller is soft and springy (to some extent) and it's fixed VERY securely to the chainstay so it won't budge so easily.You can't beat a mech for tension, although I like the low-profile of the single speed tensioners more. Not only are you less likely to hit it, you're also less likely to do any damage, as there is less leverage on the hanger. So there is no best of both worlds really, although the Rohloff probably comes close in my books. The only problem is the damn price tag! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philking Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 I, with the help of tom rigg, have made myself a really good sprung tensioner - better than the shit fresh products thing i have been battling with for the last couple of months. The design was origianlly created by tom, so all credit to him. It is really in prototype stage but after my ride today it beats anything i have used before. I even landed a sidehop directly onto it and rode off fine without having to adjust or check anything.The problem with fixed tensioner is that they are SH*T. I am absolutely appauled at the fresh tensioner, and i would not reccomend it to anyone. It has a servere lack of adjustability and comes loose after about 1 minute of riding small stuff.With regard to the rear mech it is good, but rather bulky if you side hop to the right - a problem for me. However this problem is not solved by any tensioners either.... untill now Basically, none of the tensioners that are available work properly (exept maybe the leeson one, but i dont know how it works, anyone care to explain?) so you may aswell stick with a locked out mech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipkickbs Posted April 5, 2006 Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 Most of the fresh products hype was the fact that your hanger all of a sudden became indestructible. At present there is no sprung tensioner which can offer protection for your hanger, so although most people prefer the design and practicality of a sprung tensioner/mech, they are just not as suited to trials as something which is pretty indestructible. Then of course with the non sprung tensioners, there is always the problem of keeping tension, and in some cases (me: ) getting tension in the first place. I had a fresh tensioner, and no matter what gear ratio I tryed, it just would not tension my chain. So I'm back to a good old mech now, but have also aquired a near broken hanger So i would say non sprung are better for trials, but are less versatile. Then sprung tensioners are technically better, but not really suited to the abuse they get put through. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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