Quote:
Originally Posted by zero_dgz
So for any Waldos that may pass by in the future and wind up reading this, the Secret Wisdom about chain adjuster backing plates bears repeating since people tend to get the wrong end of the stick on this one.
The adjustment plates do not bear any load during operation or riding. At all. Ever. Even during "hard" off road riding.
All the chain adjustment mechanism does is provide a convenient way to pull the axle rearward in a controlled manner when the axle nut is loosened. All of the load is borne by the axle nut and the head on the axle on the other side. The adjusters can be missing completely and your bike will still be 100% safe to ride (although you will become annoyed the next time you adjust the chain in that case). They can be made out of the cheapest, flimsiest, lousiest Chinesum to no ill effect whatsoever.
You can replace them with anything. The go-to solution all the off road nerds I've ridden with employ is to just replace the plate with a regular fender washer if it gets lost in the field someplace.
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All true, but none of that prevents them from looking like complete crap. To each their own.