sbhikes

I was wondering if anybody had any good ideas for how to protect your leg from the chain? I was thinking maybe I could makes something out of plastic or something, maybe even from some leftover packaging from something else. I really like to ride my bike with normal clothes on rather than spandex. Makes riding more useful.

cyclingshane73

Chain Guard

Some one posted this neat little device on another forum. Maybe its what you are looking for.

Shane

operator

Funny thing is they come standard on most mtb's you get at department stores and almost never with road bikes nor recumbents.

sbhikes

No, I meant along the side. The chain will rub on my inner thigh.

sch

The standard bent chaingard is 1/2" drip irrigation tubing held in place with a sheet metal clamp and
the chain is threaded through the tubing. The tubing is dirt cheap even now but is sold in 100'
lengths so you get a bit extra . Several suppliers to the recumbent riders sell short lengths though. You will have to study the bike for places to put a clamp, but a single
clamp can keep 12-16" of tubing in place. With a steel small diameter tubing frame, a bracket around the
tube is easy. Monotubes of steel are beefy enough to be drilled and tapped/self tapped with a screw to hold a clamp in place. The tubing is available through lawn irrigation suppliers or nursery/orchard suppliers depending on where you live. My bike uses 4 lengths of this tubing. An additional benefit is
the chain whip/bounce is curtailed. What bent do you ride? Steve

megaman

I was getting chain grease on my shoe. I ordered knee savers and they did the trick. They are actually pedal extenders. They're expensive at $45 a pair, but now I won't ruin any more shoes.

sbhikes

None yet . I ordered a Thunderbolt from Lightening Cycles. They should be building it right now. I drove to their factory to test it out and my inner leg did hit the chain.

It occured to me that maybe I could get some kind of packaging, such as a plastic container that a shower curtain rod came in or something like that and just tape it to the bike. It would be light, flexible and disposable. PVC pipe sounds good. Does the chain ever rub on it?

I guess I'll have to have the bike in my hands to really get a good idea what I could do.

sch

The drip irrigation tube is thin wall black polyethylene and the original tubes are holding up well at
10040 miles and 4.5yrs of riding. It is not the same as thicker walled polyethylene water pipe
which is much stiffer. Steve

tayman

I use "drip irrigation" tubes on both my RANS Rocket & BikeE... I bought a 10' piece at the local Home Depot, and made 3 chain guards out of it..... 3 years and no trouble as of yet....... Good Luck...

sch

I had seen 3/4" irrigation drip thickness tubing at the local HD but not 1/2". Would be nice to have
a source with less than 100' coils. Fortunately it seems to last a long time. Steve

sbhikes

Ok, well I have the drip irrigation tubing, but it is curved. Tried sticking some sticks in it and setting it in the hot sun on the roof in hopes it would soften and straighten out. No luck. Still curved.

Also, the chain sticks out from the frame a different amount depending on which gear I'm in. I'm not sure how best to attach the tubing if it needs to be flexible in how far from the frame it is.

Sorry, I'm not very mechanical. Left to my own devices I'll probably end up using twisty-ties from the produce department.