Do I need this?
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Round Rock, Texas
Posts: 189
Bikes: Giant Contend SL 1 Disc
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 156 Post(s)
Liked 78 Times
in
52 Posts
Do I need this?
can remove? Seems to be a chain guard so if the rear derailer is properly adjusted should be no concern to remove this ugly plastic ..... correct??
jag
jag
Likes For sdmc530:
#4
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,363
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,219 Times
in
2,366 Posts
It depends. What do you reach for when the shifting goes wonky? If the answer is a screw driver, leave it in place because you are likely to need it. If you say the little black screw thingy on the back of the derailer (bonus points if you know what to call it), then take it off.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Likes For cyccommute:
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,904
Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2604 Post(s)
Liked 1,933 Times
in
1,213 Posts
It can preserve the wheel if something happens -- for instance, the derailer gets out of adjustment or a stick throws the chain. OTOH after a few years the spoke mounts can break and it'll rattle. I've left them on until they start rattling and I wear out a cassette -- it's not worth the effort to remove, for me, until both those occur.
If you're more concerned about style points, remove it immediately. If you throw a chain, then you may have to replace a quarter to a half of the spokes on the rear wheel, but you're cool in the meantime.
If you're more concerned about style points, remove it immediately. If you throw a chain, then you may have to replace a quarter to a half of the spokes on the rear wheel, but you're cool in the meantime.
Likes For pdlamb:
Likes For AlmostTrick:
#8
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Round Rock, Texas
Posts: 189
Bikes: Giant Contend SL 1 Disc
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 156 Post(s)
Liked 78 Times
in
52 Posts
It depends. What do you reach for when the shifting goes wonky? If the answer is a screw driver, leave it in place because you are likely to need it. If you say the little black screw thingy on the back of the derailer (bonus points if you know what to call it), then take it off.
no not a screwdriver...
#10
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Round Rock, Texas
Posts: 189
Bikes: Giant Contend SL 1 Disc
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 156 Post(s)
Liked 78 Times
in
52 Posts
It can preserve the wheel if something happens -- for instance, the derailer gets out of adjustment or a stick throws the chain. OTOH after a few years the spoke mounts can break and it'll rattle. I've left them on until they start rattling and I wear out a cassette -- it's not worth the effort to remove, for me, until both those occur.
If you're more concerned about style points, remove it immediately. If you throw a chain, then you may have to replace a quarter to a half of the spokes on the rear wheel, but you're cool in the meantime.
If you're more concerned about style points, remove it immediately. If you throw a chain, then you may have to replace a quarter to a half of the spokes on the rear wheel, but you're cool in the meantime.
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Pasadena, CA
Posts: 4,848
Bikes: Schwinn Varsity
Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1931 Post(s)
Liked 742 Times
in
422 Posts
Not joking. I am poking. I would never turn any of my bikes upside down to remove wheel. Ruins leather saddle instantly.
If you don't mind saddle marked up.....go for it!
If you don't mind saddle marked up.....go for it!
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Roswell, GA
Posts: 8,319
Bikes: '93 Trek 750, '92 Schwinn Crisscross, '93 Mongoose Alta
Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1438 Post(s)
Liked 1,092 Times
in
723 Posts
You don't NEED it but you might be glad you have it if a stick or other mishap puts your chain inboard of the cassette and into your spokes, as pdlamb mentioned earlier. Even if perfectly adjusted your derailleur can get bumped while parked or otherwise without you knowing it. I put/leave them on but I am a belt-and-suspenders kind of guy and I don't care about being stylish.
#15
SE Wis
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 10,515
Bikes: '68 Raleigh Sprite, '02 Raleigh C500, '84 Raleigh Gran Prix, '91 Trek 400, 2013 Novara Randonee, 1990 Trek 970
Mentioned: 40 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2747 Post(s)
Liked 3,398 Times
in
2,057 Posts
#16
It's MY mountain
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Mt.Diablo
Posts: 10,002
Bikes: Klein, Merckx, Trek
Mentioned: 70 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4338 Post(s)
Liked 2,981 Times
in
1,617 Posts
#17
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,363
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,219 Times
in
2,366 Posts
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#18
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,363
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,219 Times
in
2,366 Posts
You don't NEED it but you might be glad you have it if a stick or other mishap puts your chain inboard of the cassette and into your spokes, as pdlamb mentioned earlier. Even if perfectly adjusted your derailleur can get bumped while parked or otherwise without you knowing it. I put/leave them on but I am a belt-and-suspenders kind of guy and I don't care about being stylish.
As for “sticks”, in nearly 40 years of mountain biking, I’ve never had a stick jam into the derailer and push it past the limit. None of my bikes have spoke protectors and few of the ones that came with spoke protectors every stayed on for long. Properly adjusted, the rear derailer is next to impossible to get to move the chain into the spokes. In my experience...about 10 years at my local co-op...the overshifts have almost always been caused by someone trying “fix” the shifting with a screwdriver.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,552
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5224 Post(s)
Liked 3,584 Times
in
2,344 Posts
someone say stick in a derailer?
but the spoke protector did not come into play
but the spoke protector did not come into play
#20
Droid on a mission
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Palm Coast, FL
Posts: 1,005
Bikes: Diamondback Wildwood Classic
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 317 Post(s)
Liked 280 Times
in
195 Posts
No problem, that'll buff right out
__________________
JoeTBM (The Bike Man) - I'm a black & white type of guy, the only gray in my life is the hair on my head
www.TheBikeMenOfFlaglerCounty.com
JoeTBM (The Bike Man) - I'm a black & white type of guy, the only gray in my life is the hair on my head
www.TheBikeMenOfFlaglerCounty.com
#21
Senior Member
Exactly. I had this happen to me once - the bike fell over and bent the derailleur hanger in the process. I didn't notice it being bent at first, and when soon after that I tried to shift into the large cog, the derailleur cage got caught in the spokes and the hanger snapped in two, while the chain didn't move past the casette.
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,681
Bikes: too many sparkly Italians, some sweet Americans and a couple interesting Japanese
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 569 Post(s)
Liked 583 Times
in
409 Posts
I despise upside down bikes also for the damage done to shifters, especially Shimano name plates. When I see a cyclist working on the side of the road on a tire I always ask if they are good, but if they have their bike upside down I slow down as they are much more likely to actually need help.