Casps keep dirt, road goop, and other nasty stuff out of your presta fitting. To Cap, or not to Cap is as personal choice. IMHO.

Maybe for Cyclocross, but not on a road bike. Unless you never wash it for an entire season.

amen!!

Or what they ride.

I do run caps on all my bikes... none of them have the dork disc, even my 72 schwinn varsity( was gone when I got it)
I I left the reflectors on my commuter bike........ all my other bikes I strip all that off......dork disc, reflectors, kickstand,I only take off the stupid wear a helmet stickers and the assembly stickers....if the pedals are plastic I change them out( I destroy plastic pedals in no time) my schwinn varsity and single speed rockhopper will never be rode at nighthttp://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=463536http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=463537

Our season is 12 months. than the next 12 months.

A couple of things...it's "I couldn't care less", saying you "could care less" means that you could actually care less.

The point I was trying to make before I was asked about my cycling fashion choices, is that caps on presta valves serve no real purpose other than protecting the tube from being punctured while rolled and in the packaging. Dork discs are also unnecessary with a properly aligned rear derailleur. And for the most part, reflectors are pointless if you have a good set of lights. There's absolutely no harm in leaving them on, but most people take them off because they're unnecessary and many people feel a bike looks better without them.

Are aesthetics and how others perceive your bike important? That all depends if you could or couldn't care less.

I've never had a bike with a dork disc and I've never had a problem but I do check the stop setting on the derailleur.
I leave valve caps on to keep crud out. (I often ride in wet or dusty environments and the knurled nuts on my Presta valves don't seal as they have a slot at the bottom.)

Alternatively...
 

...look how beautiful this chrome SunTour original disk looks on this bike:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=463568

But, I'm not a fan of plastic ones that become yellowed and brittle. They become a maintenance issue after 10 years or so.

Caps for Schrader valves, no caps or nuts for Presta.

Oh, yeah. That's beautiful Phil.

I commented on the same thing earlier in the thread. Even cheap 10-speeds from back in the had nice-looking spoke protectors.

It wasn't until I had seen a few vintage bikes that I realized where the term "pie plate" had really come from.

I suspect that I am not alone in how I treat these two devices:

1. I use the valve caps until I loose them, than I don't worry, or think much, about them. I don't think any of my bikes have the valve caps on them right now; but I could be wring.
2. As far was the spoke protector disc, I leave them on until they rot off and start rattling about. My folding bike has one on it; but it is not attached and slips around. I will probably, eventually, get rid of it.

3 pages of drivel about crap no one wants on their bike :crash:

Exactly.
So why do manufacturers/LBS include them on a lot or almost all of the bikes they sell? Even some very pricey ones that they have to assume are being purchased by experienced riders?
Is it a liability thing? More so for the disc I would assume ofc?
Why incur the extra production cost of the disc?

Its probably one of those things mfgr's see as "What a new bike should look like". I think the disc is a good thing for someone who will never touch a derailleur. But, a serious road racing bike? Shouldn't come with that. My opinion, anyway...

Consumer product safety laws. Reflectors are mandatory. Pretty sure spoke protectors are likewise mandated by law. Valve caps are probably market-driven. Buyers expect tubes to come with caps, and it's really only a tiny fraction who would be happy otherwise.

I agree with this. I also believe it depends on how you acquire a bike. If you buy one off the showroom floor, it will most likely have all the extra bits. If you order one from the shop and they assemble it, these items will most likely be gone, at least in my experience.

You're welcome. I've always found it helpful to speak and write correctly so others can understand your thoughts more clearly, especially in situations where not everyone speaks the same language.

Learning is a pretty cool thing, isn't it!?!

I never even thought to look, much less look down.