hebie chainglider and other chaincases
 

I'm thinking about getting a Hebie Chainglider, but I have a few concerns:
1. I'm not sure if it will fit right.
2. Even if it does fit, I'm concerned about inefficiency due to rubbing/friction.
3. The only way I can buy one is to import from the UK (which is expensive).

Does anyone have one of these that can comment on the efficiency of the Chainglider?
Would anyone suggest a different fullly enclosed chaincase?
Can anyone recommend a place to buy a Hebie Chainglider or other fully enclosed chaincase in the US?

Or how about making a chaincase? Does anyone have a good recipe for a homemade chaincase?

P.S. Yes I need a full chaincase. It's for my folding bike and there simply isn't enough room on the bus for the bike to go anywhere but on my lap and against my chest with the chain area either rubbing against my body or against the other passengers.

Somthing like this chain bag might be easy to make from tarp, tape,and velcro straps -

http://www.cdisports.com/index.php?m...roducts_id=249

<Sigh>... I would love to get one of those Hebies for my single speed commuter but I haven't seen them available anywhere. Maybe with the new Electra Amsterdams hitting the streets you could get a replacement chainguard from them? Or import a bunch of the Hebies to save on shipping and then sell me one.

Chainguard thread:

http://www.sjscycles.com/forum/post....64&FORUM_ID=25

Quote:

---

I contacted thourn to ask which of the chainguards mentioned in this thread they recommended.

ie. Pashley
Noell
Utopia
Herbie
Hesling Excelle

They replied that the utopia is the best of a bad bunch.

---

Hebie pdf in English:

http://www.hebie.de/pdf/0350_EN.pdf

I would probably due that except that I don't even know if the hebie is any good nor do I know if it will fit.

Do you even know where to get any of these chainguards in the US?

Here is the german site for the utopia:
http://www.utopia-fahrrad.de/Zubehoe...uesten_17.html

Looks nicer than the hebie, but it costs over $200 USD!

Sorry, I was just quoting from the thread.

All my bikes are derailleur geared -- I have no more than an academic interest in chaincases. I can't figure out how you keep the chain from rubbing in them.

If you hate the greasy chain, maybe a belt drive bike?

Been awhile since I read the review of the Hebie in VeloVision magazine, but I remember it being essentially positive. And I do not think you keep the chain from rubbing, it seems to rub by design (I seem to recall the thing "floats" on top of the chain/chainring/cog). I could see that for utility cycling (and not worrying about cleaining your chain) it would be worth it.

An extremenely late reply but I retail Hebie chainguards including the Chainglider in the US. I unfortunately only have one more 38T Chainglider model in stock but have plenty of 44T.
http://www.bikefront.com

Well, since this thread is bumped anyway....

I got a Hebie Chainglider for my folding bike, and it did not work out. It's a classic of German engineering: it fits perfectly if it fits perfectly, but if your bike is in any way different from what the designer considers normal, you're out of luck. So on a folding bike, with small wheels, the chainglider may be much too long. I had to shorten mine. Friction noise was terrible, and now and then something would snag and the whole thing would come off --sometimes in rather spectacular fashion. I stuck with it for about six months, then trashed it.

Sorry to hear that rhm! Folding bikes typically have very short chainstays which was most likely the issue. I've also had issues installing the Chainglider onto a mountain bike frame that had particularly short chainstays also. There is nothing in Hebie's specs that I found that defines what length chainstays it fits but I would not recommend it for anything shorter than 42cm and even then, longer is better.
I suppose in Germany most bikes have a relaxed geometry and aren't "performance" oriented like they are here in the US so this is not so much of an issue for them

I bought a Hebie Chainglider this summer - got it through web from shop in Toronto. http://www.ucycle.com/ BikeManDan can probably help you out, he was just traveling around the world for a bit when I was looking for one. I have a Nexus 8 IGH, so fit was not a problem. The Hebie website can help you make sure it will work for your bike http://www.hebie.de/Chainglider-350-....html?&L=0&L=1

It has worked great, I don't notice any additional drag. My chain stayed clean and lubed through the summer into fall with no maintenance. But the best part is this winter, no salt, ice, etc and no maintenance. We'll see how it goes into spring, but so far so good!