Chain Thong
 

Anyone else try a chain thong?
I finally installed one on my beater bike, and am hoping it'll keep the chain cleaner and last longer.
Most of the schmutz that contaminates a chain is stuff that is thrown up by the front tire. -Sheldon Brown

http://www.calamarichris.com/images/...hainthong1.jpg
http://www.calamarichris.com/images/...hainthong2.jpg

It looks like hell, but it doesn't weigh much and the enclosed chain on my Dutch opafiets has lasted for more than 20 years now.
http://www.calamarichris.com/images/...locomotief.jpg

Will report back after a few hundred miles. :)

First time I've seen one. Where'd you get it?

well, i thought i wanted one. looks great in the pics (bike, too!).
it is plastic. i'd much prefer aluminum, and cable ties don't fare
well in winter here. gimme a serious clamp.

here ya go

http://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...hainguard.html

Just out of curiosity, why do you have your cables crossed under the down tube?

California cross! It's obligatory if you live in California.

http://sheldonbrown.com/cables.html#crisscross

It improves the cable routing from the shifters to the cable stops on the downtube.

Not my choice and I wouldn't have done it. A bearded retrogrouch did it when my frame was replaced under warranty.

You have a PowerMeter on your beater bike?

I've got a chain thong too, but I don't think the OP and I are referring to the same thing ;)


On a more sensible note, that does seem like a good idea, it probably wouldn't work in the presence of huge amounts of muck, but on a road bike it'd probably have enough of an effect to be noticeable.



Why not? I've got several bikes set up with the California Cross in place, it makes the curve of the cables so much smoother!

You have schmutz on your rollers?

The crud on the chain comes from the inside in the form of metal wear and oil.

I'm not sure it will do much. Any stuff coming off the front wheel is still going to hit the lower portion of the ring and bottom run of the chain. And, without a full coverage rear fender, much of dirt and crap that gets on the chain when riding in the wet comes from the rear wheel. You can see it piled on top of the BB, chain stays, and even FD.

Not quite. While some of that is wear by product, the vast majority is road dust.

There simply isn't that much wear byproduct, and it's in the form of superfine dust and in any case wouldn't migrate to the outside of the plates. One glance at a chain and it's obvious that what's glued to the outside isn't superfine metal dust.

Yep. It's my sufferbike, the one I sweat on. My beater. Been neglecting it for a while, but that's about to change after breaking up with the gf.

Yep. The headwind fan keeps me pretty cool, but I still drip a fair amount of sweat on my rollers. And tears & drool sometimes. Rollers (with Killer Headwind resistance unit) are for training, not for displaying.

Based on the Sheldon Brown link above and my own experience, I disagree. As a test, I'm going to put a thin coat of heavy/sticky gear oil on the front of the chain thong to demonstrate how much dirt flies up off the front tire. I'll take a pic of it and post it next week.

wooooooo, lookin' good! thanks!

OP: Well I guess we can agree on one thing with you; it looks like hell. Suggest might consider a pair of fenders with mudflaps. They work really well and will also capture the carpet fuzz and cat hair that gets kicked up by the roller [;)

This is an informative thread. I should get my wife a chain thong or a chain guard, because she gets a chain mark on her leg every single time she rides.

I never read about that criss-cross idea. I might try that, too.

Hardy-harhar. :) Familiarity is a magician that is cruel to the beautiful and kind to the ugly, and it'll become less ugly to me if it means my chains last a long time. :thumb: Going to be taking the beater bike out on the road more this summer. We don't really get much rain here in North San Diego County, but the downside to that is the roads don't get the natural rinse of a good rain now and then.

in addition to the powermeter, I also observe that you have Dura Ace on your beater bike

For the win

Most people don't advertise wanting their wife to have a chain thong, on bikeforums

Some people have very high standards.

Whatever you do, please don't ask to see a photo of the good bike.

Yeah, but most of those components on my beater are from 2005. 7800 is all I have on my bikes, and the dang stuff never seems to wear out (Except for the dirty chains of course, which is the reason for trying the thong. haha)
http://www.calamarichris.com/junk/11...nproject09.jpg
http://www.calamarichris.com/images/...ok-dropins.jpg
http://www.calamarichris.com/images/...es-sprocke.jpg

Edit: And it's not high standards, just a lack of car payments, alimony, child support, kids, and pretty soon mortgage. http://www.calamarichris.com/smiley/ohyeah.gif

@FBinNY, you had to go there.
That said, I enjoyed seeing the pictures of the bikes. And glad to know that Dura Ace is living up to its name on the durability side.

@calamarichris, I like your stable of bikes. It looks as if you're almost as tall as I am. I also have some nice older steel frames built up with newer (but not quite as new, or expensive) parts.

In rebuilding a CrissCross, I did the cable cross. Made sense to me, didn't know if others had done it or not! Yes I do make sure the right hand controls the front brake too!

I don't think california crossing makes much sense for older shimano with the external shift cables but it definitely makes the routing better for under the tape style shifters and an internally routed frame.