Is it possible to buy/DIY a chainguard for a triple chainring with >50T? Most of the aftermarket guards like the Chainboard by SKS only go up to 48T. Is there a reason for this? The bikes I'm looking at buying are 52T or 53T. I'm hoping to stop my right pant leg from catching.

Please do not reply with "roll up pant leg and cover with sock" or "use velcro strap", I have done both. The purpose of my post is to find a solution that doesn't require the preparation of the previous two methods every time I want to ride.

I believe that 48T is the largest chainring size on "Trekking" cranks and the largest officially supported chainring size for most MTB/Trekking FD's. There are very few flat bar shifters and front derailleurs that support more than 48T, and the market for chainguards among the drop bar and brifter segment is probably very small. This is probably why SKS and Hebie chainguards have 48T as maximum.

There are chainguards for 52T and above, but they are usually of the "ring" /bash ring type that replaces the outer chainring.
You may be able to find a so called "chain disc" in size 52T. The largest I know of is Kool Stops Chain Disc that goes to 50T.

It wouldn't be that expensive to change the outer chainring to a 50T so that could definitly be an option to consider.

This chain guard from VO allegedly works with 50T chainrings:
https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...hainguard.html
Perhaps a good starting point for DIY solution?

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Regards

Would not be too hard to make one out of a worn chainring. Just grind the teeth down a bit so that it does not grab your pants. And then mount on the outside of the spider.

jim

I ran into that problem with the ring on my folder. I started out with the largest Chain Disk that was available, but that was not enough. I then carefully studied how the pants get stained and realized that this consistently happens in the vicinity of the crank. I ended up cutting out 2 triangular pieces out of alu that I first glued and then riveted, I think with some L bracket, to the Chain Disk by the crank. I.e. when the crank is up, those pieces cover the sides of the crank so that the three form together the shape of a volcano with the crank being the core of the volcano. This arrangement works pretty well and I do not need any velcro straps.

https://cgi.ebay.com/New-Driveline-ch...item45f6c36680

I am awesome.

See if this link will work for you, and good luck!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Drivelin...#ht_5073wt_989

2 places to look for the chain guard discs made in a lot of sizes
Bike Friday, and Schlumpf, the Swiss manufacturer of the 2 speed crankset.

yea you can file the teeth off a bigger chainring...
a lot bigger if you expect to not get your flapping trouser cuff greasy or torn..

then get the 3 chainrings on the same bolt, triple bolts.

I suspect the reason nobody makes a 52T-compitble chain guard is that the combination doesn't really make sense. A bike that has a 52T ring should get paired with spandex. Granted, older quasi-racing bikes are becoming city cruisers these days and bike manufacturers continue to produce bikes that look good on a spec sheet rather than bikes that have practical uses, so I can imagine how you might have a bike in mind that makes sense for a chainguard but has a 52T ring. I can't, however, imagine a situation in which you'd ever need a 52T ring on a bike that you were using in ways that made a chainguard practical.

Out of curiosity, what's the bike?

That looks cool but I wonder how it would work on a triple crank; would you set it as the outer ring, then put the 52 in the middle and I don't know a 39 on the inside? If you have to shift rings on the triple, why not just swap the 52 for a 48?

My 10 yr old's bike came w/ one of these:

https://store.somafab.com/ogkchainguards.html

While I can see where you're coming from, I can think of several different situations where one could use some sort of chainring or chainguard on their 52 tooth bike -
1. They want to use their old road bike for commuting
2. They don't have room for more than 1 bike and they want to commute during the week and road ride on the weekend on the same bike
3. They ride to work, then from work join up with their road riding riding group (after work) (probably the least likely as they'd have to bring a change of clothes either way)
4. Any of the above and they don't want to get their ankle dirty with grease from the chain

Of these, I completely buy the first one (though it's a case where the 52T ring isn't needed so much as it's just what happens to be there). I don't buy 2 and 3. A 48x12 gear will get you 30+ mph and anybody riding faster than that isn't going to tolerate a chain guard on their bike. Granted, a lot of people who don't ride that fast want a road bike that comes with a 52T ring, but as I said that's a case of the bike being overspec'd. In any event, I suspect the market is small for that combination.

Hey, well I...strongly disagree with you on #2, though to be fair there's a difference between a "chain guard" - like the long one that's really obvious you have it on your bike - and a chain ring that you don't really notice unless you're really looking at the parts on the bike. I was able to get a chainring on my commuter bike - it's awesome, I just don't have to worry about wearing jeans with it, it just works. I can see where you're coming from with the chain guard (though there's always the possibility of someone taking it off for their weekend riding), but I can see a chain ring.

I can definitely see the same thing with #3.

I think part of our disagreement is that you're coming from a perspective about someone "needing" a 52t front ring. Yeah, I agree, for the most part they don't "need" to have one. But I can't even find a dura-ace single ring online (from performancebike or competitive cyclist) - do they even sell them separately? All I find is $500 cranksets. If I can personally definitely see someone buying a bike to ride in spandex with their club on the weekend, but also wanting to be able to ride it more casually to work during the week. Do they need to spend $500 on a new crankset to replace the one that came with their bike? Seems kinda crazy. I'd rather have an extra plastic ring on my crankset than drop that kind of cash and not have the extra high gears on the weekend. I mean...of course you're welcome to have a different opinion.

Rip Current S (ebike) is 52T, riding thru snow, sand, mud and gravel throws up massive amounts of debri often directly onto chain at more consistent speeds than regular bikes. 20-30mph. Also a concern is the casual clothing worn during riding often because of driving approach. Meaning some ride more like motorcycles than bicycles, with sparsely used pedal power here and there. Road grime etc thus becomes a signficant reason for 52T chainguards. Still searching myself, niche market, rapidly gaining marketshare, high hopes manufacturers catch up!

Schwinn Varsity, 52-40 with a nice shift ramp and chain guard bigger than the FD so your shoelaces are safe forever

nice! Im talking more chainring cover, like motorcycles or cruiser bikes have, moreso for snow, rocks, mud and sand etc, lol shoelaces included!

I so wish that chainwheel guards were available as aftermarket items. I'd prefer to not have to make any adjustments to my trouser leg before getting on my vintage Trek 520. The 2020 Kona Sutra came with one so, that made it attractive to me over competing bicycles. I love how I can just grab the Konacado, get on and ride, and not have to worry about the outer chainring grabbing/tearing at my trouser leg inseam. I'm sorry, but there's no way in hell that I'm going to go put on a pair of tights, just to transport myself somewhere by bicycle. That is an unreasonable expectation to make, and contributes to fewer people wanting to bicycle. Therefore having no chainwheel guard available is an anti-bicycle business decision.

I have a bashguard on a Specialites TA 52/42/26T triple but that used to be a tandem-specific item and is only possible because the 50.4mm BCD is really flexible in mixing and matching parts.




You could also check out some of the older French chainguards on French eBay. This is a 45T ring with bashguard and it still has plenty of room for a bigger ring I think.

Your problem is not that 50T is not big enough, you just need to machine yourself a 11sp corncob cassette with cogs from 4 to 14T

oopx zombie