fietsbob

So, would you like them better if they were made in Titanium?

JonathanGennick 

Not sure whom you are addressing this question to. However, I will admit to liking the look of some of the aluminum ones I see on vintage bikes.

Anodized aluminum would be fun. It would be another chance to add some bling to a bicycle.

Agent Cooper

I like them. I kept mine on my bike for years until just recently when I replaced the wheels and broke it.

I've never shifted into my spokes, but it's nice to know it's there in case. But what I really like about the dork disc is that it helps keep chain oil and grime off the spokes near the hub on the drive side, where it's hard to clean.

It doesn't weigh anything so what the heck.

79pmooney

I have never owned a dork disc. They weren't out yet (as I recall) in 1967. My sew-upped bike in '73 didn't have one, nor my racing Fuji of '76 vintage.

I just realized I am wrong. Both the Schwinn LeTour and Miyata 610 had them. I picked those bikes up used and complete as replacement frames and swapped out almost everything, including wheels.

What I am near obsessive about is spoke orientation on the right rear. If the spokes are not inside pulling, that wheel is only used until a replacement is on hand or I have time to re-lace it. I have been observing the damage to spokes from dropped chains for 40 years and the pattern of far more damage from outside pulling spokes is very consistent. Pedaling speed, pressure and how quickly the rider reacts and backs off is hugely important so the worst inside pulling mess is far worse than the best outside pulling but the pattern remains.

I heard the word that right rear spokes should be inside pulling from our shop mechanic and his friend Sheldon Brown in 1976. Been doing it ever since. And checking it on any bike I look at closely.

Ben

bmohan55

I wish had had a Dork disk when this happened to me Saturday. Now i have to replace the wheel in addition to a new derailleur, chain and cable....

techsensei

There are two schools of thought on this. On the one hand, inside pulling is deemed better because when the chain is on the largest cog and a lot of torque is being applied, the inside pulling spoke will push against the outside leading spoke, pulling it away from the derailleur cage. On the other hand, with the pulling spoke on the outside of the flange, if a chain is dropped, the spokes act as a ramp so that chain wants to climb up and out instead of being sucked down into the gap. So there are good arguments for both methods.

kickstart

Wrong.



On my way home from work last Monday, a slight knock on the derailleur caused the chain to jump between the cassette and wheel costing me a derailleur, hanger, chain, and 8 spokes.
The " cool kids" and self proclaimed "master mechanics" who claim dork discs serve no legitimate function on a properly maintained bike are wrong. Stuff happens even to well maintained equipment.

SpeshulEd 

This.

Chain catchers were popular for a day on message boards. I've never seen one in real world. Just pay attention to what your bike is doing, run through the gears when you clean it. It's a bike, not rocket science.

Leebo

1x front with one of those new wolftooth single chain rings, no need for a chain catcher. Not one of my mt bikes has ever come with a dork disk.

FullGas

since the late 80s, none of the bikes I've purchased have come equipped with dork discs...haven't lost a spoke yet.

they do serve as a test of a new rider's wrenching ability...most get removed as soon as the person figures out how to take them off.

jefnvk

I guess I didn't just completely break down and rebuild everything but the spoke to rim connections on the two bikes I just built for a tour then, because both still have the discs on them. I'm obviously not as good at wrenching as the people that suggest removal methods in this thread, at least, they're so efficient they don't even have to remove the cassette to do it: https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...protector.html

StanSeven

Something is definately wrong if a "slight knock on the derailleur" caused that. It might be too long a chain, the derailleur tension lacking, the chain stretched from cross chaining, a gear needing replaced, or something like that.

Can you supply more details on what happened? Maybe people here can help.

kickstart

Nope, 100% new drive train, and wheels about 4 months old on a frame up rebuild I did myself when I upgraded to disc brakes,, everything adjusted properly. I service the chain, and do a once over every Sunday. Hit a traffic cone on Monday, and bam.

Ironically, the bike had a dork disc when I got it, and didn't move it over to the new wheel for the usual reasons given in this thread.

StanSeven

Ah, ok. I can see now how that happened.

Milton Keynes

The one on my hybrid seems to be made of very lightweight if not cheap plastic. I doubt it weighs more than 1/4 an ounce. I did take the one off my old mountain bike but it was old, yellowed, brittle, and falling apart.

79pmooney

I don't give it a lot of thought. But I do examine the damage every time I see it. And what I see bears out my position. I have experienced the feeling of the spokes trying their best to expel the chain (inside pulling) and sucking the chain in (outside pulling). (The latter was many years ago. I now ride about one mile in one hundred on outside pulling right rears. (And I build my front wheel symmetrical and inside pulling. Figure a stick between the fork and hub is not that different, just the stakes higher.) Half of my rear wheels are asymmetric and outside pulling on the left side. (Flip-flop fix gear wheels. Inside pulling right side regardless of the side I am using.)

Ben

Ben

OldsCOOL

Dork Disk.....gone. I maintain my own bikes and keep them in proper tune.

ddeand 

I don't know if I still have them on my bikes or not. Probably not on the 1985 Gazelle since I built the wheels myself. Maybe on the CX and mtb bikes. I don't think having them or not affects my riding a bit. If having a "dork disc" offends the arbitrary sensibilities of the bike police, I sincerely hope they'll find a way to work through it.

Milton Keynes

And to think when I removed the one from my mountain bike because it was all broken up, I thought it would look bad without it and wondered if I should replace it. New bike has one and I'm going to leave it on until it suffers the same fate. I really don't care if anyone thinks I'm a dork for having it or the wheel reflectors. I've long ago decided that I don't care what people think about me based upon shallow criteria.

Miele Man

I'd far rather that people think of me as a dork than of me being stuck miles from anywhere because my derailler got bumped or the chain in some other way got into the spokes. I've toured in Northern Ontario (Cnada) where I never saw ANY vehicle for DAYS at a time. Definitely not the place you want to be stranded. Ditto for crossing many desert states.

Cheers

Champlaincycler

I had my chain jump inside on my steel/touring bike. No spoke damage but it wedged in the hub somehow that I couldn't free it. Needed to break the chain just to get the wheel off the bike. Then had to remove the cassette to get the chain off. How many of you carry tools to remove your cassette on the road? Not me.

I bought my retirement bike last fall, nice road bike that has a dork disc. Not taking it off, at least until I reach High School Wrestling weight as the extra ounce or so doesn't bother me. You'd know I'm dorky just by looking at me anyway, no need to look at my rear wheel. Just my penny and a half............

bobwysiwyg

I'm with you. Me thinks too many folks are too image conscious.

calamarichris

I suddenly have the urge to put a dork disk on my bike, just so I can add insult to hapless lads who get ridden off my wheel.

Sweet. They don't cost or weigh much.

ThermionicScott 

Even the big chrome one is only 3.2oz. Imagine the humiliation!

SpeshulEd 

You guys want to know a secret. No one really cares if you choose to keep it on...and it really doesn't affect anyone if someone chooses to remove it.