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Calculating Chain Length For Bicycle Drives

This document provides formulas and instructions for calculating the length of a bicycle drive chain for different types of drivetrains, including single-speed, internal gearing, and derailleur systems. It explains William Kent's precise formula for single speeds and Sheldon Brown's empirical method for drives with chain tensioners. A universal formula is presented that can calculate chain length for any bicycle by taking into account the number of teeth on the chainring and cassette, the distance between the centers of the sprockets, and whether a chain tensioner is used. Worked examples applying the formulas in a spreadsheet are also included.

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ShauWilliam
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431 views

Calculating Chain Length For Bicycle Drives

This document provides formulas and instructions for calculating the length of a bicycle drive chain for different types of drivetrains, including single-speed, internal gearing, and derailleur systems. It explains William Kent's precise formula for single speeds and Sheldon Brown's empirical method for drives with chain tensioners. A universal formula is presented that can calculate chain length for any bicycle by taking into account the number of teeth on the chainring and cassette, the distance between the centers of the sprockets, and whether a chain tensioner is used. Worked examples applying the formulas in a spreadsheet are also included.

Uploaded by

ShauWilliam
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Calculating the length of a bicycle drive chain

Introduction
Drawing from technical sources that span three centuries, this document explains how to
calculate the length of the drive chain you will need for your bicycle, whether your mount
offers a fixed or freewheel single-speed, internal hub gears or a derailleur change
mechanism.

Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1
Calculating chain length for single-speed and internal gear drives .................................... 1
Calculating chain length for drives with chain tensioners ................................................... 2
General formula to calculate the length of a drive chain .................................................... 2
Practical considerations ..................................................................................................... 3
Worked examples .............................................................................................................. 3
References......................................................................................................................... 4

Calculating chain length for single-speed and internal gear drives

William Kent provides this formula to calculate the exact length of a simple in-line drive
chain running between two sprockets:
L s d = (N+n)/2 + (N-n)/180 + 2C*Cos
where:
L s d is the length of the single back sprocket drive chain (in pitches)
N is the number of teeth on the large wheel (generally the chain wheel)
n is the number of teeth on the small wheel (generally the back sprocket),
C is the distance between sprocket centres (in pitches)
= Sin - 1 [(N-n)/2C] (in degrees)
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Calculating chain length for drives with chain tensioners


There is perhaps no such neat and precise methods of calculating the chain length for a
drive that incorporates a chain tensioner, such as a derailleur drive.
However, Sheldon Brown does suggest a practical method that consists of running a
chain around the largest chain wheel and the largest rear sprocket then overlapping your
chain by a complete link (i.e. by two pitches).
We can therefore combine Mr Kents precise formula with Sheldon Browns empirical
method to achieve the following result for derailleur drives:
L d d = (N+n)/2 + (N-n)/180 + 2C*Cos + 2
where:
L d d is the length of the derailleur drive chain (in pitches)
N is the number of teeth on the largest chain wheel
n is the number of teeth on the largest rear sprocket
C is the distance between sprocket centres (in pitches)
= Sin - 1 [(N-n)/2C] (in degrees)
This formula would also apply to certain non-derailleur drives, notably the Brompton,
which features a chain tensioner that is also an integral element in the fold mechanism.

General formula to calculate the length of a drive chain


Here then is a universal formula you can apply to all bicycle chain drives:
L = (N+n)/2 + (N-n)/180 + 2C*Cos + S
where:
L is the length of the drive chain (in pitches)
N is the number of teeth on the largest (or sole) chain wheel
n is the number of teeth on the largest (or sole) rear sprocket
C is the distance between sprocket centres (in pitches)
S is the Sheldon chain overlap constant:
= 0 in the case of a simple in-line drive chain
= 2 in the case of a drive with a chain tensioner
= Sin - 1 [(N-n)/2C] (in degrees)
Here is the same formula with expressed in radians:
L = (N+n)/2 + (N-n)/ + 2C*Cos + S
where:
= Sin - 1 [(N-n)/2C] (in radians)
Finally, William Kent also provides an approximate method of calculating drive chain
length. After adding in the Sheldon chain overlap constant, this formula is as follows:
L = (N+n)/2 + (N-n)2 /42 C + 2C + S

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Practical considerations
The formulae above require you to express the C distance between sprocket centres in
terms of chain pitches. The basic reason for this constraint is that the pitch is the most
convenient unit in which to express the result L, since this is how you will specify your
chain.
Naturally, you would measure your C distance in a more general unit such as inches or
centimetres. Since your pitch distance would be half an inch for any bicycle you would be
likely to encounter, you may prefer to work in inches, but the choice is yours.
In the case of a derailleur drive, the C distance between centres would be fixed.
Bicycles offering single speed or internal gear transmissions usually allow for adjustment
of this distance via either the back sprocket or the chain ring. You should therefore
measure this C distance with the two sprocket axles at their closest setting. As chains
tend to sag with time, starting close will best enable you to take up future slack.

Worked examples
When Mr Kent set down his quill and sat back after having put the finishing touches to his
excellent handbook, little would he have dreamed that one day, people would no longer
have to grind through his sums by hand but would have machines to do the job for them.
Spread-sheet applications such as Microsoft Excel provide one of the most convenient
ways of dealing with these calculations.
The trigonometric functions of Microsoft Excel work in radians, so we will use our formula
in its radians format:
L = (N+n)/2 + (N-n)/ + 2C*Cos + S

The final column Lr n d is the value of the previous column rounded-up to the nearest even
integer. Since a real-life transmission chains comprises a whole number of links and one
link is two pitches long, these Lr n d values correspond to the actual length of chain you will
need to fit in each case.

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References

Kents Mechanical Engineers Handbook, by William Kent, First published in 1895,


Part 1 Design and Production, Edited by Colin Carmichael, 12th Edition of October
1965.
Sheldon Browns excellent site:
http://sheldonbrown.com/.
This page explains how to estimate chain length:
http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html#chain

Bicycles this document uses as examples:


Raleigh, 3-speed light-roadster (1950), w:26 in. fr:23 in
Raleigh, single-speed roadster (1933), w:28 in. fr:24 in.
Raleigh, 3-speed roadster (1948), w:28 in. fr:24 in.
Thorn Raven Tour 14-speed Rohloff (2007) w:26 in.
Moulton TSR8 8-speed (2011) w:20 in.
Brompton, 3-speed (2001) w:16 in.

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