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I have a Kalkhoff Image 5.b Season (with coaster brake) which was in need of having its chain replaced. Having moved within the last year I have been using this bike as my main way of getting to work everyday since then. I am not an experienced bike mechanic but have decided I better get the hang of it myself as it is my only means of transportation besides public transport.

Anyways, I bought a new chain and tools to do the job. But I cannot figure out how to adjust the chain tension on the bike. The dropout appears vertical to me and I have been unable to locate anything in the manual regarding adjusting the chain tension. There are several screws on the bike frame itself - and I would suspect some of them might be related to this. I have tried loosening/tightening the ones that looked the most plausible to me - but so far without any productive results.

Rear wheel drive side Rear wheel drive side 2 Rear wheel drive side 3 Front sprocket Rear wheel brake side Rear wheel brake side 2 Rear wheel brake side 3 Rear wheel brake side 4 Rear wheel brake side 5

Closeup of the other side of the bolt on 2nd image:

enter image description here

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  • Could you please add some photos?
    – Berend
    Commented Nov 16, 2022 at 18:07
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    Looks like there’s a way to slide the entire dropout assembly horizontally as it’s not part of the main frame? Other than that does the motor slide forward at all or is there an eccentric bottom bracket?
    – Warren Burton
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 9:05
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    If the BB is eccentric it looks eccentric, extra complex. There’s a few bolts to lock it in place when correct and the spindle won’t be centered in the shell. Look them up online for a photo.
    – Warren Burton
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 9:22
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    That sliding part looks to me like the frame is prepared for a belt drive, since it's on the right side only.
    – Berend
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 9:56
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    @Berend Kalkhoff makes belt drive bikes with what looks to me to be the same frame. So that would make sense.
    – kastermester
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 10:03

1 Answer 1

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Given that the bottom bracket does not seem to be eccentric, and there is no chain tensioner of any kind, I'm trying to make a guess based on the photo's.

This looks like it could be a bolt used to adjust the position of the dropouts, although it's a bit hard to tell. There should probably be a similar bolt on the left side.

Possible adjuster

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    I tried going out adjusting stuff again. I'm not exactly sure what did it this time, but after taking that bolt out entirely - and the similar one on the other side, as well as loosening the bolts that we suspect are there to fit a belt drive I was finally able to adjust the dropout horizontally. Thanks a lot for helping me investigating in the right direction :)
    – kastermester
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 13:09
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    I now managed to assemble the entire bike again (minus the broken bolt...). Thanks so much for your help! I'm both glad and frustrated that I was sort of on the right track, but would have been lovely to not break the bolt. Now I just hope I can get a local shop to sort that out for me :)
    – kastermester
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 13:45
  • Great answer - I learned something too. Keep up the good work !
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 18:38

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