Originally Posted by
Salubrious
The problem here is that the chain tension (or lack thereof) has to be correct- you can just move the wheel around. Generally about 1/2" to 3/4" deflection in the middle of the chain if you pull it up with your fingers. That governs the position of the wheel.
If the wheel is all the way back things get tricky. One reason it might be there is the chain is shot. Another might be because its too long. But taking a link out might make it too short. You can buy half links (ebay) to solve the latter problem. If you've not got a chain link tool, get one (Park makes the best I've had so far), get some scrap chain and see if you can remove and reinstall links properly. Its not hard.
That shouldn't be an issue since I got rid of the old original 70 year old chain. The new one is easy to deal with and I've got a Park chain tool that works very well. I put the wheel all the way back in the drop outs when I reassembled; it was originally in the middle of the dropouts and I'm going to put it back in the original position as found, and will set up the Cyclo external derailer with the full chain and see what the deflection will be. Thanks for that suggestion. I'm going to refit it tonight.