Mountain Biking - Can I take this off?

There is a piece of plastic in between the axel and my highest of gears. I just got the bike and was wonder if I should leave this on it or not. I took the reflectors off (they come standard) is this kind of the same deal. What is it, and does it serve a purpose.

Below I have highlighted what I am talking about in case I didn't explain it well enough.

Thx for your help,

-Joe

http://www.joekiske.com/rearxt.jpg

http://www.joekiske.com/rear.jpg

ya you can. I asked a shop about this the other day. it's just a guard so the chain won't fall off if the rear derraileur isn't tuned properly. it shouldn't fall off if the derraileur is properly adjusted.

Well, I guess I'll wait until after Sunday to take that off then. I'm going to race for the first time and would like everything to go as smooth as possible. I just figured that I might eliminate anything that may get in the way while I'm on the track/trail.

I'll hold off for more responses..
I'm sure that the rear derailleur is tuned correctly because the bike is fresh out of the shop.. Although I have put about 80+/- miles on it within a few weeks.


Thx for your responce,

-Joe

It's there to stop your chain going through your spokes if you drop the chain off next to your low gears. (The bigger the cog - the lower the gear - hence it is next to your lowest gear.)

As long as you're convinced that your rear dérailleur will stay perfectly tuned - take it off.

If the chain does slip into the spokes it can cause both you and your wheel a lot of damage.

Thank you for the correction and the information.
If it really isn't getting in the way it would probably be better to leave it on there. It's not like I'd be shaving off any real weight.

Another question: Do you leave this stay on your bike(s)?

-Joe

You took the reflectors off?! ;)

Shh...

I'll put them back on after the race. I do a lot of night riding.

My road bike didn't come with a spoke protector. My Mountain Bike did and I've left it on.

..... and by the way - I prefer the Contemporary English Version for your signature. :D

1 Corinthians 9:24-25
24 You know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! 25 Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever.

You would think that your road bike would have one for sure at the rate of speed some people go on them.


..25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. http://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Hi ya Wait...

I have popped the chain into the spokes... It's not a good look and the spokes that you break are the ones that are the biggest pain to replace.:p

Yeah, I think I'll keep that bad boy on there. Less hassle than taking it off and maybe having to deal with busted spokes or a busted face.

I see you've added to your signature.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 You know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! 25 Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever. 26 I don’t run without a goal. And I don’t box by beating my fists in the air. 27 I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won’t lose out after telling the good news to others.

I left mine on my commuter after I changed out the cassette, and my Rockhopper didn't have one.

I left mine on my mtb until it got destroyed :D...

I dont have on, and now Im envious!
Wait, if you pull it, can I have it? :D

O.k., I call them "dork discs". I've removed all the ones off of all my bikes. If your derailleur stops are adjusted correctly you don't need it!

You do need some specific tools to remove it. A chain whip and a cassette tool.

L8R

Originally posted by Wait
There is a piece of plastic in between the axel and my highest of gears. I just got the bike and was wonder if I should leave this on it or not

Rule of Thumb: If you have instructions and the tools necessary to remove something without damaging it then you're probably safe to do so. If you don't know how and/or don't have the tools you're probably safer leaving it on for now.

This may sound snooty, but it's not intended that way. To safely remove the overshift shield that protects you from unitentionally dropping your chain in between your largest cog and the spokes you must be certain that the rear derailleur limit screws are set properly and be very attentive to protecting your rear derailleur and rear derailleur hangar from being bent.

If you're just starting to work on your own bike take time to read the manuals -- such as the Barnett's one that's linked off of the Bicycle Mechanics forum on this Web site -- and obtain the tools needed to service your entire drive train (pretty basic and not too expensive) before tinkering. As part of this learning process you'll find out how to properly adjust your chain's length, derailleur stops and to remove the cassette -- which is what must be done if you want to remove the "spoke protector" without splitting it to remove it from around the cassette.

Food for thought.

Thx for all the great responces. I think I'm just going to leave it on there for now. I don't see it doing any harm, and if anything it could help me.

-Joe

Ah, the dork wheel debate. If you're spinning your own wrenches and ready to accept the credit or blame for what you do, take it off. Live dangerously. If, on the other hand, you hand your bike over to a shop where some new guy might back the stop out a little too much, thereby allowing aforementioned chaing to rip into aforementioned rear wheel, keep in on. Fly your dork flag proudly!

Seriously, don't take it off unless you know that the stop is set right and will keep the derailleur from getting into the wheel. I had a stick ride my rear wheel up to the derailleur, which the stick then ripped into the rear wheel. They all three had to work hard to get that to work. At any rate, the wheel survived, but the derailleur was a little flexy. Better safe than sorry (unless, like Austin Powers, Danger is your middle name).

Did I mention my name was a2psykl-Danger-Nut!!!!!

I'm a danger nut too - I promptly remove all dork shields as soon as I fork over the cash/credit card for any new bikes...

I did have one instance where my adjustments had drifted and the chain got jammed HARD into the spokes - it was a mess and took me 10 very frustrating minutes on the trail to remove it. No permanent damage though.

Personal choice man!

Originally posted by a2psyklnut
You do need some specific tools to remove it. A chain whip and a cassette tool.


No, No, No! All you need is a pair of side-cutters! Worked just fine on mine. :D

Rip it out. Reasons stated above.

I'm gonna leave mine on till it breaks. Still trying to decide which reflectors I feel safe taking off given the amount of riding I have to do in town.
Did you do that highlighting with Photoshop, or on the actual bike with a felt pen before you took the picture? Either way, it is well done. :D

lol... It was done with Photoshop.

Ride time - 9:00
Time - 8:45
Status - Gear half packed and I'm still half-asleep.
The Problem - The new cabling is finally "stretched" and set into place from a previous ride. The rear derailleur has been shfiting funny and is in need of some adjustment...but it's too late-and I figure that it's not that bad - I can deal with some skipping gears for one ride because I'm already late...right?

Just into the ride, I shifted towards my 34t cog and heard a "ping!" and then a grating sound as the cranks continued to spin forward but the bike went nowhere. Thinking I had dropped the chain off the small ring, I was surprised to find that the chain was still on the middle ring, and realized that I hadn't tried to shift the front der. down to the small ring. The chain had shifted over the largest cog and down into the spokes - on my brand new wheel. I was able to ride home on the wheel, and am thankful that the derailleur didn't follow the chain into the spokes. These are pics that show a mild version of what can happen when the chain goes over the big cog. Now I'm thinking that I should have kept that "dork disc" on the bike after all......
The picture is a little blurry, but the gouges in the spokes (which are actually quite deep) can be seen. The spokes effected by the chain can be seen as more bent than the others around them. Looks like it could be time for some re-spoking.

This is a pic of the back of the cogset - The gouges are deeper than they apppear in the pic.

I took mine off.

lmao ya know when i first seen this post i was like " i cant belive that is still on your bike" yesterday i was like " dam i wished i had that guys stupid thing on my bike" as my chain skipped off into my spokes! keep it on! its cool to be different! and spoke replacment is so hard on that side of the hub

lol "dork disc"

My roadbike's factory wheelset came with the pie-plate/dork-disc but it's quite small... smaller than my largest cog (27) actually so I just left it on. The Shimano plate that came on my MTB was also small but not nearly as small as the Mavic one and it was removed by a process of evolution on the trail. :D I did recover it and didn't just leave it laying about as trail litter though.

I didn't have side cutters so I used a soldering iron and melted it. took 5 min.

uhh.....you dont NEED a lockring tool and chainwhip...you could be like me and rip it off chunk by chunk with a set fo needlenose pliers.