What's the plastic spoke (Casette)guard do?
 

After a recent ride, I noticed part of this plastic guard had cracked away . Will this cause a problem?
What's it there for? The wheel is a Ksyrium elite with a shimano 9 speed casette.

Larry

Crack the rest of it off of your wheel and throw it away. It is designed to keep your derailleur from hitting the spokes if you should overshift. If you keep your bike well adjusted, you don't need it.

spoke protector

Not necessary if your rear derailleur is properly adjusted. I would remove mine even if it weren't cracked. Has nothing to do with the fact that they're also known as "dork disks" :D

Ditch it, useless if your rear der is working properly. Much more common in the friction shifting days when it was easy to overshift. K Elites are a pretty high end wheelset to be having a dork disk on them.

Take it off. These have no place on properly adjusted derailers. In fact, they will cause more problems if they are cracked. When cracked, they can get themselves shoved inbewteen the spokes and the cassette. You won't have a freewheel once it gets stuck.

If you overshift your largest cog you don't thrash your spokes. Limit screws..

Get rid of the plastic one, and get yourself a nice chrome steel "pie plate" like I have on my bike.

Yo! Bike Forums, pimp my bike.

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3j6z2/s...ictures/S5.jpg

cruentus, kickin' it old skool (word!)

Nah, you just want us to think you've got a rear disk brake. Sort of like the, and I'm not making this up, Spinner Hubcaps with fake Disk brake" that I saw at the local wally-mart.

Steve
Who once pimped his ride, but there is only so much you could do with a Gremlin

Cruentus is either cultured or ignorant of what the word means. However I do use a spoke saver but need it more than most riders because I am inclined to frequently changing range of cassettes and chain lengths. I have only damaged spokes on one occasion about thirty years ago, but that was enough. P.S. I am 84 years old, so I did have Latin in high school.

I'm just a bloody minded fiend.

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3j6z2/s...ctures/orb.jpg

BTW, are you really 84 years old? Do you still ride your Penny-farthing?

With today's much improved derailers the chain will not into the spokes if it properly adjusted. But what about if you crash & thrash the derailer itself. Then the disk migh be needed to prevent the chain from shifting into the spokes, right?

The only reason I ask is because the disk on my bike was recently replaced. It crasked & broke just after 5 years of riding my bike. Didn't crash or anything it just broke. I had it replaced after my LBS mechanic told me it is more for in case you crash which can send the chain into the spokes.

criminy. that bike sure is clean. nice job.

oh yea, I'm wondering as well, what does the word mean, my 6ht grade latin teacher was so intollerable I had to switch to spanish.

oh bloody minded, duh, I missed the clue, then used the old WWW to look it up. thanks for the picture. als a helpful clue.

Those stupid spoke protectors, pedal reflectors, front and rear reflectors, wheel reflectors -- all courtesy of those folks at the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Added to bikes several decades ago to "make them safer." A recent addition to this array are the little nibs on the front fork drop out. They replaced an ugly, extra metal thingy -- trying to prevent someone from losing their front wheel because they were incapable of tightening their quick release (or axle nuts). The nibs, of course, negate the function of the quick release. Mine succumbed to a file and some touch up paint shortly after I discovered the problem -- along with the wheel reflectors.

Our Treks came with plastic spoke protectors. My wife's started dragging against the cassette a couple days ago. It's gone, now, removed right after that ride.

The fact that you know the term Penny-farthing implies some level of education!

I ams gradumates form collage.

What is the best way to remove the plastic spoke protector on a Trek Navigator?

best, or easiest?
One involves a pair of pliers and some leverage. the other involves taking off the cassette.

The CPSC also made campagnolo change their quick releases (straight vs. curved) and brake releases on the record group.

The result of an overshift is not pretty, after getting the chain out from between the spokes/freewheel you will begin to start hearing sharp pinging noises as you ride. The noises being your spokes snaping........ Should not happen w/properly adjusted derailuer.

It's interesting since I started this thread how what goes around comes around. Thanks for the good info.Presently I'm serving as an impaneled expert for the CPSC on a matter unrelated to cycling. The reason their actions appear so simplistic and redundant to our common knowledge is that the CPSC doesn't act on our behalf in their actions, they speak for the "Typical" consumer. In other words they look at the entire universe of user abilities, focus on what the central 60% would do and ignore the profoundly ignorant and the skilled users. Most of us are in the latter category so we feel we're being punished.

Larry

Oddly enough I bounce between the profoundly ignorant and the skilled user and never come to rest in that 60% average zone. Murphy has my number on speed dial. :eek:

Naive question:

straight vs. curved levers quick releases? what were they (CPSC) thinking?