Originally Posted by
PaulRivers
While I can see where you're coming from, I can think of several different situations where one could use some sort of chainring or chainguard on their 52 tooth bike -
1. They want to use their old road bike for commuting
2. They don't have room for more than 1 bike and they want to commute during the week and road ride on the weekend on the same bike
3. They ride to work, then from work join up with their road riding riding group (after work) (probably the least likely as they'd have to bring a change of clothes either way)
4. Any of the above and they don't want to get their ankle dirty with grease from the chain
Of these, I completely buy the first one (though it's a case where the 52T ring isn't needed so much as it's just what happens to be there). I don't buy 2 and 3. A 48x12 gear will get you 30+ mph and anybody riding faster than that isn't going to tolerate a chain guard on their bike. Granted, a lot of people who don't ride that fast want a road bike that comes with a 52T ring, but as I said that's a case of the bike being overspec'd. In any event, I suspect the market is small for that combination.