I’ve got a rigid frame and if I don’t set the chain to A LOT of slack before fighting the axle nut, the chain will be way too tight. Am I missing something? Or is something wicked off? I know the chain tightens after doing the axle nut, but should it be “a lot”?
I have a small amount of play (1/8”) with my axle slots. I always set the bike on the ground and run a strap through the wheel and strap it to the rear engine mount area so that things don’t shift when I torque the axle and I imagine it won’t shift when I’m riding. I noticed one day that my axle locators weren’t butted against the adjusters. So now I always check that before putting the tools away. You might not have two axle plates that are perfectly parallel and the axle might be shifting on one side as it tightens up.
What I even do is just get them slightly tight with a ratchet/wrench. Maybe like 10 ft lbs. Then I just take a sledge and smack the tire and make sure it butts up against the adjusters. Then tighten.
Haven’t had an issue since I started doing that