noglider 

The small dork disks that are barely bigger than the biggest cog protect the wheel from the chain but not from the derailleur, so they do half the job.

OldsCOOL

But that doesnt necessarily mean they are only half as dorky.

noglider 

Heh. They are a third as dorky but a half as useful, therefore a better usefulness/dorkiness ratio.

OldsCOOL

A dork disc flipper?

OldsCOOL

Oh man, worse than I thought

Fahrenheit531 

I've always looked at a dork disk (new word in my vocab) as something that was either on the bike or wasn't, and it never even occurred to me to change that status one way or the other. But inspired by this thread, I have removed the steel DD from my Tempo. Reading the pros and cons with real interest, and then intrigued by the idea of running two chainwhips at once like some kind of ninja (Uniglide!), I headed on down to the co-op with questions galore: Is the aesthetic improvement really that significant? Does it justify tempting the chain-throwing, spoke-and-derailleur hating gremlins that I know are lurking along the road just waiting to pounce? Why did I never care one iota about DDs until now?

I didn't ask the co-op guys those questions. They were the stuff of deep introspection.

Disc removed. Bike looks a lot more pure with the last piece of nonessential safety gear stripped away.
And nobody will ever notice but me.
Well, me and dorks like me.

himespau 

I wonder how much protection the plastic ones (preferably before they yellow and get brittle) actually provide. If they're strong enough to do anything.

Rocky Gravol

My dilemma is which dork disk to use,
on my current project.

The nos plastic Huret,
or the nos chrome Suntour.




The old one is obviously well used.

jimmuller 

My dilemma has always been which dork disk not to use. Or rather, to not use.

For audio purists, should we not refer to it as a dorc disc? They are rather compact.

gaucho777 

IMO, it depends on the bike, but never(!) on a race bike. I'm okay with the nice metal ones, especially if they have some decorative cutouts like the Sekine disc shown above. I decided to keep the dork disc on my Nishiki, but I don't think it serves much purpose since my limit screws are set properly.



Btw, when were these Campagnolo spoke protectors made?: https://Ebay listing: Campagnolo Spoke Protector Was this part of the Euclid MTB group perhaps?

non-fixie 

It's simple: if you're an American, you want a spoke protector, if you're a European, you do not.

At least that's what they thought at Peugeot:

dweenk

@gaucho777 IMO, it depends on the bike, but never(!) on a race bike. I'm okay with the nice metal ones, especially if they have some decorative cutouts like the Sekine disc shown above. I decided to keep the dork disc on my Nishiki, but I don't think it serves much purpose since my limit screws are set properly.



Very nice Competition you have. I had one that I bought in Campbell, CA back in the 70's. It came with Suntour barcons, my shifter of choice ever since.

eschlwc

i notice right away. but i notice everything about a pretty c&v roadie.

i prefer 'bike geek' to 'bike dork.' it's much more fitting.

also ... that photo posted earlier of the decorative sekine spoke protector pulls the eye away from a gorgeous shimano 600 arabesque derailleur. it's really a crime to do so with one of the most beautiful derailleurs ever made.

Fahrenheit531 

Yeah, I tend not to use either term really. But context. haha

Fahrenheit531 

So who's the dork now? Yep. That'd be me.

Sans disk, I have a new source of friction. It's very slight, but enough to gradually start the wheel turning backward with backpedaling; my guess is contact between the hub and freewheel. Did I need to add a spacer during my reduction of dork?

kingston 

I believe the difference was government regulation not consumer preference. Same thing with the reflectors.

The Golden Boy 

So who has a Suntour Dork Disk they want to get rid of for like $5 and shipping?

Stucky

Ah, but that's where thou art wrong. Back when I was young and didn't know squat about bikes, the only way I could tell a "good bike" from a department-store BSO/POS, was the absense of the big metal disk on the rear wheel of the former. Such made it instantly apparent that there was "something different about those bikes". I suspect that such a philosophy is in operation today- even subconsciously, in the minds of those who observe us today, who "somehow" just "know" that there is something differentiating our bikes from their children's Walmart-specials. So you see, Potholehopper, in order to maintain dignity and keep up appearances; and to distinguish ourselves from children and alcoholics on children's bikes, we must play the part, and remove the extraneous gov't-mandated "safety-device"- which was mandated because the gov't looks upon ALL bikes as children's toys- to differentiate our bikes from the toys with which they are classed.

Fahrenheit531 

Does Sansin/Sunshine have any relation to Suntour? If so I've got a nice chrome number for ya, no charge.


Great truths veiled in epic hillarity. Love it.

The Golden Boy 

PM Sent!

OldsCOOL

More related to Specialized.

OldsCOOL

Bullseye. Nailed it. This also applies with stem shifters and turkey levers to make up the unholy trinity of vintage bikes.

jimmuller 

So I'm building up a road bike for a 50+ y.o. friend. His wife runs triathlons, but he's been riding an MTB from which he recently took a spill. We believe that was because it is not a great bike anyway and has poor handling. Plus, a road bike's weight distribution is better, but let's not argue that point.

So should I give him the unholy binity of TLs and DD? I'll be sure to set the brakes up well so that the TLs don't run out of travel. I will also adjust the RD well. Even so, where does my moral responsibility stop? I'm thinking I should do everything I can to (a) keep him safe, and (b) get him to ride it.

That would seem a no-brainer. TLs and DD, yes. The bike will end up better than it was when new and far better than his MTB.

OldsCOOL

Can he keep up with his wife? Just keep him on a bike at this point.

jimmuller 

Of course not. She's good. He doesn't bike much, though he is in shape, is a yoga instructor. You could say this bike is whimsical. But I want him safe.