If you keep your rear derailleur properly adjusted and if you avoid abrupt across-several-cogs jumps into first gear, you do not need a pie plate. If you are trying to cram an ultra-6 freewheel onto a 120mm overlock axle or a 7-speed freewheel onto a 126mm axle, you do not want a pie plate.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069