So you decide to stop pedalling and stand up over that lumpy bit, Clatter! Bang! Slap! says your chain as it abuses your chainstay and jumps suicidally from your chainrings… Back on the flat your mate says he never has that problem, rumble rumble rumble agrees his DCD.

Sound familiar? Not to me it doesn’t. Years and years ago I spent £25 on a 6″ bit of aluminium and a spring, some said I was mad, but I’ve had the last laugh!

The product in question is the Bullet Bros Chain Tensioner, I dunno if you can still get them but I think it should get the Tomorrow’s World invention of the year (for 1994 or whenever it was released…)

The bit of alloy sandwiches nicely twixt dropout and QR, and sticks out horizontally backwards, from the end of it a spring pulls on your lower jockey wheel adding extra tension to your chain. So when you go over lumpy bits your chain is much more likely to stay on your chainrings.

This all helps to avoid the situation where you’re looking down at your chain instead of where you’re going at 25mph. Which is nice.