irwin7638

Does anybody have any experience with this product? It looks like a really good way to help keep the chain and drivetrain clean in winter conditions. I've read a couple of reviews but each were limited to the installation and appearance. Anybody used one for a while? I was thinking of putting it on a Jamis Commuter 3.

irclean

Do you mean These? If so I've heard good things about SKS fenders, but nothing about any of their other products. Since you have the Commuter 3 with an IGH I think you might be interested in a Hebie Chainglider, especially if you ride your bike in the rain or slop. There is a US distributor called Bikefront and it looks like they may have a Chainglider to fit your application. They also carry Hebie's more traditional type of chainguards.

alr

I just had installed a hebie 368, which works with up to a 48 tooth chainring and front and rear derailleurs. I love it. It does not fully enclose the chain, but it does provide good coverage. I had to order it from the UK.

nwmtnbkr

This is the product the OP is interested in.



It has gotten good reviews and is affordably priced. https://velocouture.wordpress.com/200...ks-chainboard/
Sounds like you need the large size if you have a triple chainring. The two larger sizes (3 sizes are available) work with front and rear derailleurs. The only down side seems to be that installation can be tricky so you might want to have your LBS install it for you. OP, good luck; if you get it, please post a quick review.

irclean

The link I posted, "These", take you right to the SKS website and its page for their Chainboards. I doubt the OP has a triple chainring; the Jamis website lists the Commuter 3 as having a single, 42-tooth chainring to power its 3-speed hub. The bike's specifications can be viewed at this link. I think with some common hand tools and some basic bike knowledge the OP could handle the installation.

nwmtnbkr

irclean,

In the comments section of the review linked in my post are the full instructions on installing this chainguard. I would agree that some bike owners could clearly tackle it if they're comfortable with taking the cranks off. Here's the full set of instructions from this link. (The user who posted this has done a great service to those interested in buying this product since SKS doesn't provide great instructions for installation, yet--apparently they've promised to put some online, but there's no link yet.) https://velocouture.wordpress.com/200...ks-chainboard/

"These things are great, but the installation process is just that, a process. Installing an SKS Chain Board takes patience, bottom bracket tools and a grinder capable of removing enough material so that the front derailleur can move up into the high gear.

0. Put the bike up in your repair stand.

1. Mount the L bracket behind the right bottom bracket shell, without putting the crank back on. You may need to face the bottom bracket shell to get a flat fit. The back end of the chain guard may be trimmed to fit in the rear triangle, but the angle of installation is not flat. It should tilt downward slightly, back to front. Watch out for derailleur cables and whatnot.

2. Install the crank and shift up to the big gear. (Make sure high limit screw is adjusted as closely as possible, but don’t make the front derailleur rub on the chain.) Here’s where it gets tricky. You’ll have three friction points (maybe more) that make noise. Worry about eliminating the friction between the front derailleur and the chain when the bike is in the top ring first. To do this, get a dental tool, or permanent marker and make an outline on the inside of the chain guard showing where the front derailleur wants to go. This is where material needs to be removed. Some of the silver chain guard material will need to be removed, perhaps a small corner of it. There is a silver tab on the top of the chain guard that will most likely NOT need to be removed, or you’ll end up looking like our gentlemen here with the whack red duct tape.

3. Take the guard off by the screws and start removing material in the outlined area. There is plenty of material to do this, and it should not compromise the structural integrity of the chain guard. Do not worry about the crank rubbing on the chain board just yet, if it makes noise you’re fine, if it actually sticks and holds up, keep removing material from your front derailleur outlined area. Continue little by little and keep test mating it. Once the you can shift to the big ring, do not have excessive friction rubbing between the front derailleur, the guard, and the crank, you may move on.

4. Now we take on the task of twisting the chain guard while a friend is pedaling the bike to eliminate the noise of the chain hitting the chain guard. There are three mounting points that may be manipulated and twisted to keep the chain from hitting the guard. Try reversing the screws so that the flatter screw heads are on the inside allowing for a tighter threshold in the rear end of the bike.

5. Once the noise is eliminated down to only the noise produced by the crank arm rubbing on the outside of the guard, you’re basically done. This noise doesn’t occur on the road or when under foot, and the RPM in this gear is generally pretty low, which makes noise problems minimal.

Key Points :

– The most important place to eliminate friction is when the front derailleur is sandwiched between the chain and the chain board in the big ring.

– Ordering the right size is crucial, count the teeth.

– Sometimes it just doesn’t work, the gap between the crank arm and the front derailleur is simply too narrow.

– If you want to settle with not having a big gear, that’s fine, but I like to use all the letters in the alphabet, call me a zealot.

Any other ideas? Clarifications? It took 2 hours on my first attempt. It took me about 45 minutes on my second attempt in my undisclosed bike shop. So that’s about 45 dollars at any other reputable shop, and is certainly worth it if you can find a tech willing to install one of these things."

irwin7638

Actually, the installation was the last of my problems. The derailleur is not an issue since I don't have one on this bike. I really want to know if anybody has been using one for any length of time, and how they hold up. Are there any adjustment problems, does it help keep the drivetrain clean in crappy weather, what are your overall opinions after using it for a while?

xtrajack

I had one installed on my bike. I ran into issues regarding derailleur clearance. I took it off, and installed it on another bike. It looks real nice. Unfortunately that bike hasn't been ridden since, so I have nothing to report.

yoder

I have one and love it. It is so solid. I have it on a bike with an IGH (like the Jamis Commuter 3), so admittedly no possibility of derailleur issues. Having a solid chain guard has turned out to make a huge difference to me. I'm always ready to ride in all clothes without having to make adjustments, and it does keep everything cleaner.

K6-III

The 38t variant works great on one of my IGH bikes. Not the prettiest chainguard, but chainguards in North America are hard enough to come by.

irwin7638

Thanks to everybody for your comments, I will give it a try soon.

Marc

coldfeet

I just got through installing one of thes on a Kona Lanai, typical 24 speed MTB.

Seriously fiddly job, very much a "fitting" process. One of the more serious problems was that the Suntour Crank arm has a little knob on the reverse, (chain catcher?) that was just in the wrong spot and was rubbing against the guard, 3mm bigger hole on the guard, or 3mm further in on the arm, no problem. Just had to be right on the edge. In the end, I took a hacksaw to the knob, unfortunately, I put a small gouge in the edge of the crankarm, will have to watch that for cracks, eventually, I'll get a better set of cranks.

The dérailleur pushes against the guard in top, and causes the crank to rub slightly, I'll either wait to get to work where I have a heat gun and try to form the plastic a little, or grind off some material, may just leave it if it doesn't annoy me too much when riding.

Coverage and durability, I'll say that it looks and feels tough enough to last, SKS has a good rep for that, I might change the self tapping screws that mount it to the back piece for a nut and bolt, you would want to make sure you have enough clearance before doing that. The Front rings are fairly well covered, with full coverage fenders, I'm expecting the chain to stay a lot cleaner, will report when I get to ride in some serious slop. (that won't be long around here) I am going to try finding a small foam disposable plate, and using that to form a cowl for the inner front section of the guard, I should be able to tape it to the inner mount, and tape it to the outer part neatly. This might be considered a bit over the top, but if successful, should really make the shielding very effective at the front.

Coverage at the back is not quite so good, particularly when in the bigger rear cogs, I spent a little while getting the rear mount as close to the small cog as possible, switching the pan head bolt to the inside to give more room and so on, this allows a little more coverage for the chain when on the larger cogs. I'm going to find a suitable piece of plastic to cover the area where the rear tire sprays water on its downward travel to improve things there.

I am fairly satisfied, now, with the fit, I think it's going to seriously improve chain life this Winter. Not the easiest thing to fit, I'm not that good with tools however, your mileage may vary.

coldfeet

So, got a few hundred km on it now. initailly, kept front cogs pretty clean, but was obvious some snow was getting on there, so cut up a foam disposable plate and slid it in behind the front mount, finally just got round to taping it up with black electrical tape so it doesn't look so obvious. Keeps the dirt off very well, I now need some lube on there, but haven't picked up any visible dirt at all. Next step is to manufacture a shield for the rear wheel to keep the water from washing off the lube.