Although I save a few for the bikes that wouldn't look right without them, most of mine get donated here:

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11755

Most of the time, audios. But, now and again...

I think Sekine was the only bicycle company that could take hi-ten steel pipe and some nothing to write home about components and make a bike that looked like a a million bucks.... That Pie Plate was one of the things that made them look so good.

First time i've heard these referred to as dork discs or pie plates so thank you for the education. A couple of my bikes have them and i've always just cleaned/shined them up and kept them since they ones i have are chrome and i think they add a little something plus i like keeping them original. I can see why the clear ones are called dork discs though.

Oh man that is nice! I'm keeping mine for looks.


I know I'm being hypocritical, but if the metal pie plate doesn't have lots of slits, I think it degrades from a bike's appearance.

As I've gotten older, I care less about whether or not keeping a spoke protector on a wheel is dorky or appropriate. Some older bikes actually look more period with one. Not all are created equal, some definitely look better. I definitely toss the fugly ones. As for the plastic models, I do tend to keep them on my black spoked wheels. I find it helps to limit scratches to the spokes during minor mishaps. But no UV-yellowed ones! They get tossed as well. My Specialized Expedition came with a big clear plastic one. And since the bike sports a Suntour 'Tech' RD, it's staying on!

I have never had a bike here in france with a pie plate.

Must have started in America along time before here.

Weird. I've seen a LOT of olde Peugeots with pie plates. Surely it wasn't only the USA bound Peugeots that had them. Oh, and Motobecanes also.

With the chance of an old plastic Simplex Prestige derailleur breaking and going through the spokes on those old Peugeot bikes I'd say it's almost mandatory to keep the pie plate.

I'm collecting my dorks' disks to eventually make the spoke protector version of this. I figure it will be a great brazing exercise.

I think so, no bike I have had has had one. Also I just looked though my photos of mass bike sales and didn't see any pie plates. Also I have not see a bike with barend shifters

I keep them on. I see no reason to take them off.

Safety first.


As an aside- on the Trek 400 I just picked up- all Shimano SIS- I don't know about the freewheel, but the dork disc is a Suntour. Thought it was interesting.

If its my own bike with a trusted derailleur, I may toss the disc, but rarely would I remove it on a customers bike, its just asking for trouble. I also wouldn't toss it if the disc complemented the rest of the bike in anyway. I tend to leave the Huret, Suntour, or any smaller, less noticeable discs in place. I would toss those huge ugly chrome steel versions that were so common years ago on lower end bikes.

I seem to have been beaten to it ...

Sekine does the best dork discs

^^^^

I'd keep that one on.....

Here you go..... Compare my Gran Turismo with and without Dork Disc.

I actually LIKE the look of the disc on my GP. It's staying.



But on my new Super Tourer, the disc is plastic (and cracked / yellowing anyway) so I'm modifying it by removing the plastic position and leaving the metal center section in place, which is STILL taller than the largest cog!

This is turning into a great thread. Please post more pics, especially if you have something unusual or attractive. I hadn't seen the Sekine disc, and agree that's amazing and should absolutely stay on. I seem to recall seeing some attractive versions put out by Huret and/or Simplex, and someone mentioned a Campy version which I seem to recall. I'd love to see pics of any of those.

I agree that the plastic versions don't look so good when yellow or greasy.

I got my first lightweight when I was 13, a Schwinn Le Tour Luxe. I completely disassembled that bike the first winter I had it, and the first bicycle specific tool I purchased was a freewheel remover - so I could remove the spoke protector. I don't know why, but even as a youngster I didn't care for the look. I used to always toss them out, but now wish I would have saved them. I did keep the last couple of jumbo-sized chrome steel Schwinn versions to decorate the garage wall with. Like many here, I'm more open-minded now, and would love to see more pics on bikes.

Thanks!

This is turning into a strange revelation for me. I think that disc actually looks good on your GT - I think it might actually look better. Nice looking bike - great color. The disc sorta matches the hub flanges, and goes well with the trouser guard on the crank set.

On a sport touring bike, they look okay, as long as they are in good condition. If I don't have a proper replacement, it comes off. For a high performance bike, i.e. with a corncob cluster, they look out of place.

Straighten it or not as you like. Keep it on the bike.

Personal choice, but I'd get rid of it if it isn't in pristine shape.

I think they look great on Schwinn Collegiates/Suburbans, or on French mixtes with upright bars (like the Peugeot above), but not with drop bars. Some kind of balance thing, I guess.

Just an update, I took the pie plate off, attempted to return it to some semblance of straightness, that didn't work, so it went into the blue box.....

None of those are square.

I took the DD off my UO8 over 35 years ago because (a) the bike looked faster, like a PX10, without it, and (2) it added some small weight without seeming to do anything useful. I sure wasn't trying to save the bike for posterity (though I was applying it to my posterior regularly). For the same reasons I did not go out of my way to find DDs for the other bikes.

But I didn't vote in the poll. What you do with it (or by now what you did with it) is entirely up to you.

The combination of the chrome stays, the disc, the old metal cable guide, and the 600 Arabesque derailleur is absolutely beautiful. Feel free to send me a link of the rest of the bike.