Originally Posted by
rickbuddy_72
Ah, this is where I get to be the graybeard. I have a 1974 Paramount I raced back in the Dream Time when my power was much, much higher. It has no alignment screws in the dropouts. We simply aligned the wheel as best we could and hoped everything stayed straight as we tightened down the back axle. If we pulled the wheel out of alignment then it meant we hadn't tightened things down correctly. Doing this back in the day and you'd get a ribbing from the other racers.
Even backing off the screw tension I find the screws very useful as they keep the wheel aligned as I'm bolting down the rear axle.
I think the mating between steel dropouts and steel wheel nuts can be very good. Same with titanium dropouts with steel wheel nuts.
The problem comes with aluminum dropouts (inserts) and steel wheel nuts. The aluminum may let the axle nut slide under heavy torque. This was an issue with the one of the iterations of the DF3. I think the DF3 saw 3 different styles of dropouts before they moved to the DF4.
Also, it's my understanding that the screws aren't to be used for setting the chain tension (even though they are called "chain tensioners"). The wheel is set by hand (as you describe above) and once set, the screws are pushed against the axle to
maintain tension as a security measure. So, the more descriptive term might be "Chain Tension Maintain-ers".
To further express why I prefer that method. I've tried setting the tension using screws then tightening the bolts and I've had odd things happen because the geometry changes slightly when the bolts clamp and move the dropouts closer together.
I've never had issues doing it the way I described above.
That being said, I've never had to use tensionsers with my Tiemeyers (ti dropouts), TK1 (ti dropouts) or my Snyder (steel dropouts). I did have to use them with the LOOK 496 and Dolan DF3. The DF3 did not have integrated tensioners. So I had to use BMX "lolipop" tensioners which were a pain in the butt.