Originally Posted by
merlinextraligh
True. However the majority of people that start these "Can I remove the plastic piece..." threads, don't have the foggiest idea how to remove a cassette. UMD's suggestion which I second, is if you don't understand how to do that, you might want to think twice about removing the dork disc.
If you don't own a chainwhip, that's an indicia that you probably haven't wrenched enough on your own bike to fully trust your ability to make sure the chain isn't going into the spokes.
Of course, there have to be exceptions where people have the knowledge and experience, but not current access to the tools.
I still think as a general rule, if you haven't done a reasonable amount of your own maintenence, including adjusting derailleurs, swapping cassettes, replacing chains, etc., you might be better off leaving the little plastic thing alone.
+1 - It's also a question of style.
Cutting it off, especially when the appropriate tools are owned and readily available, says a lot about a person.
These would be the same people who have undoubtedly referred to a hammer as a "persuader" before.
EDIT: and for the record Rovals are in fact ugly. Even uglier in person. I die a little everytime I see them.