Originally Posted by
pastorbobnlnh
I've always wondered why Schwinn spec'd the chainguard? It would seem to me to be more of a place to collect extra dirt and debris that would otherwise fall away. The end result would be premature 14T wear and earlier contamination of the internal lubrication. Just my guess.
According to an
article titled Derailleur Reliability in the March 1970 Bicycling magazine it was designed to prevent the chain from riding off the outside cog when shifting rapidly, especially under power. While I suppose it could add to debris on the outer cog there would be no contamination of the internal lubrication since all such freewheels also had Schwinn specified seals.
