If you ride a Shimano road drivetrain 1x OR off-road, you should do this for much better chain retention. Shimano road rear derailleurs have two different cage tension settings and ship in the 'low' tension setting.
Okay, not so much a 'hack' as it is a relatively unknown and underutilized spring adjustment on every 10 and 11 speed Shimano road rear mechanical derailleur that I have ever seen (I haven't owned/touched the newest R8000 Ultegra or 9000 and up Dura Ace). We see so much whining about needing a 'clutched' rear derailleur for gravel/cyclocross/adventure road, but this free and easy adjustment gets you close enough that you won't be asking Santa for a clutched Shimano road rear derailleur.
The written directions with some pictures are here at the Park Tool website. I said something about no videos existing and kjmcawesome challenged me to make my own. He said he would upload a video trying to beat my time, but since mine is edited where I dropped the set screw on the floor, he gets a pass.
![](http://<iframe width="560" height="315" src="[url]https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/97P7G94rE7M"[/url] frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>)
Other MUSTS for proper chain retention.
1) Size your chain correctly. This imaged linked from MTBR says it all.
If in doubt, size up slightly.
2) If going 1x, use a narrow wide ring. This isn't optional. I'm amazed how often I see ST posts where people don't use a narrow wide ring for 1x and then say that 1x doesn't work. I don't care if you have a chain guide, get a narrow wide ring*.
*I have seen plenty of people in cyclocross with a chain guide standing on the side of the course and cursing at their bike. I have never had a chain guide on my cyclocross bikes and the ONE chain drop in 3 seasons was when the mud was so thick it literally lifted the chain off the ring and I had to scrape out enough mud around the BB/frame to put it back on. My rear derailleur ripped off a minute later when the mud clogged it, so maybe God was trying to save me from cracking a 6 month old carbon fiber frame with an overbuilt derailleur hanger. I have never dropped a chain on my 130mm full suspension mt bike (without a chain guard, but with a clutched derailleur) using the above recommendations either.
Okay, not so much a 'hack' as it is a relatively unknown and underutilized spring adjustment on every 10 and 11 speed Shimano road rear mechanical derailleur that I have ever seen (I haven't owned/touched the newest R8000 Ultegra or 9000 and up Dura Ace). We see so much whining about needing a 'clutched' rear derailleur for gravel/cyclocross/adventure road, but this free and easy adjustment gets you close enough that you won't be asking Santa for a clutched Shimano road rear derailleur.
The written directions with some pictures are here at the Park Tool website. I said something about no videos existing and kjmcawesome challenged me to make my own. He said he would upload a video trying to beat my time, but since mine is edited where I dropped the set screw on the floor, he gets a pass.
Other MUSTS for proper chain retention.
1) Size your chain correctly. This imaged linked from MTBR says it all.
If in doubt, size up slightly.
2) If going 1x, use a narrow wide ring. This isn't optional. I'm amazed how often I see ST posts where people don't use a narrow wide ring for 1x and then say that 1x doesn't work. I don't care if you have a chain guide, get a narrow wide ring*.
*I have seen plenty of people in cyclocross with a chain guide standing on the side of the course and cursing at their bike. I have never had a chain guide on my cyclocross bikes and the ONE chain drop in 3 seasons was when the mud was so thick it literally lifted the chain off the ring and I had to scrape out enough mud around the BB/frame to put it back on. My rear derailleur ripped off a minute later when the mud clogged it, so maybe God was trying to save me from cracking a 6 month old carbon fiber frame with an overbuilt derailleur hanger. I have never dropped a chain on my 130mm full suspension mt bike (without a chain guard, but with a clutched derailleur) using the above recommendations either.