I’m in the process of replacing worn out bits of the drivetrain on the (now almost 3 year old) Fuego, and have been pondering whether I can improve the chainline at all (which is currently very tube-y).  The current plan is to go for the double terracyle idler under the seat, and a single one on the boom to hoik the return line over the front wheel.  However, being somewhat tightfisted, I’m wondering what the implications of just running the return straight to crankset alongside the front wheel is, cutting out an idler for the sake of adding in a short length tube.  All the “fast people”TM do this, but then they also probably have fancy wonky forks and don’t have to deal with buses and sharp left-handers.There’s not a huge amount I can find on the web on chainline for commuting recumbents, and even fewer pictures of what works and what doesn’t.  The current plan is to get hold of a load of side-on pictures of bikes (hopeful posts are currently on YACF and citycyclingedinburgh), highlight the chainline, idlers, tubing and any other fancy bits with bright colours, include them with the rider’s comments on how it works, and then stick them all together in a blog post as a reference for anyone else who’d be interested.  If anyone has come here without passing via either of these fora it’d be great if you could donate a side-on picture of your beloved steed along with any pertinent comments (model of recumbent, is the chainline standard or have you tweaked it, does it work well, etc), I’ll then colour it in and post it (together with credit and references etc), and then maybe we can all steal each others ideas! The picture at the top shows what I’m planning. Something like green for drive side and blue for return. Thin and light is bare chain, thick and dark is tube. Idlers are round. Obviously. And similar pictures for a whole load of different recumbents.  Anyway, watch this space. Recumbent Chainline Gallery coming to a site near you!

I’m in the process of replacing worn out bits of the drivetrain on the (now almost 3 year old) Fuego, and have been pondering whether I can improve the chainline at all (which is currently very tube-y).  The current plan is to go for the double terracyle idler under the seat, and a single one on the boom to hoik the return line over the front wheel.  However, being somewhat tightfisted, I’m wondering what the implications of just running the return straight to crankset alongside the front wheel is, cutting out an idler for the sake of adding in a short length tube.  All the “fast people”TM do this, but then they also probably have fancy wonky forks and don’t have to deal with buses and sharp left-handers.

There’s not a huge amount I can find on the web on chainline for commuting recumbents, and even fewer pictures of what works and what doesn’t.  The current plan is to get hold of a load of side-on pictures of bikes (hopeful posts are currently on YACF and citycyclingedinburgh), highlight the chainline, idlers, tubing and any other fancy bits with bright colours, include them with the rider’s comments on how it works, and then stick them all together in a blog post as a reference for anyone else who’d be interested.  If anyone has come here without passing via either of these fora it’d be great if you could donate a side-on picture of your beloved steed along with any pertinent comments (model of recumbent, is the chainline standard or have you tweaked it, does it work well, etc), I’ll then colour it in and post it (together with credit and references etc), and then maybe we can all steal each others ideas!

The picture at the top shows what I’m planning. Something like green for drive side and blue for return. Thin and light is bare chain, thick and dark is tube. Idlers are round. Obviously. And similar pictures for a whole load of different recumbents.  Anyway, watch this space. Recumbent Chainline Gallery coming to a site near you!