Clark W. Griswold
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 13,516
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
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A spoke protector of plastic is junk and a properly adjusted derailleur should not go into the spokes and if it does generally you have way more problems.
No elitist snobbery in taking proper care of your bike and making sure your derailleur is properly adjusted. That is just what you should do with a bike. Poor adjustment leads to issues that plastic won't solve.
However some of the metal ones on vintage bikes are actually kind of neat ish and probably would actually do some good if your derailleur was poorly adjusted and the chain got into the spokes. If I had one and didn't have the tool to remove it I would probably just leave it.