Chain catchers on road bikes, yay or nay?
 

My friend recommended I get a chain catcher on my road bike so that the chain doesn't damage the frame when it gets dropped. I know pros use chain catchers on their bikes, but are they really necessary? I haven't really dropped a chain due to rough roads but I have on small crashes. What do you guys think? Do you guys use them?

I do not. curious tho, how much damage would a chain cause? do you have a carbon frame? or is it a paint/finish concern?

I don't think many pros actually run chain catchers, but even if they do, the reason definitely has nothing to do with avoiding scratching/damaging their frame.

I always run a chain catcher. Set up properly, it will prevent "chain suck" or dropped chains. Of course, I live in a land covered in cobblestones and steep ramps. Not everyone does.

It's not necessary, but it is money well spent. I want to say K-Edge (or K-CNC?) adds only a single digit number of grams...others are in the teens of grams.

Dropped chains have been known to happen even on the best of maintained bikes. The last thing you want is a chain to get wedged between the crankset & your fancy new carbon frame. But it's also a time consuming PIA to get it stuck under the small chainring along the bottom bracket spindle if your bike is constructed that way.

I run K-Edge chain catchers on all my bikes except for my commuter. Started using them after a riding mate dropped an chain and cut the chainstay on his Pinarello. Seemed like cheap insurance. Now that all my bikes are steel its primarily for cosmetic/paint protection. I do occasionally drop a chain and you can feel it pop back on so it's still worth it.

They're cheap and easy insurance. In my eyes, they're a no-brainer.

My shifting is set up so the chain doesnt fall off. And my road bikes are ridden on paved roads so there isnt any bouncing around.
Even on my gravel bike, the chain doesnt fall off. If I were concerned though, I could engage the clutch(or maybe it is engaged this whole time, I dont think about it) to help with chain retention.

If I rode on cobbles, sure I could see a guide/catcher being useful. Otherwise, just have derailleur limits set and shift at the proper time, and the chain wont drop.

My Scott Addict came with a Deda Dog Fang installed. It has helped me several times when I've dropped my chain. It's not about frame damage for me, but all about getting the chain back onto the chainring easily.

The space between the inner chainring and the frame is small, but it's just wide enough to allow the chain to drop down in between, and getting it back out of there can be a chore.

The Dog Fang keeps the chain from dropping into that narrow space. Whenever I've dropped a chain, I simply shift up and soft pedal until the chain gets back on the chainring.

I don't think a chain catcher will prevent chain suck, which occurs when the chain gets stuck on the chainring instead of disengaging at the bottom.

A catcher and a dork disk!

gm

Who is going to look at your bike close enough to tell if you have one?

Always thought about it but never needed one. so far.

It sounds like a good idea, though I have to say I've dropped chains several times and it's never been a big deal. If soft-pedaling while shifting up to get it back on the ring doesn't work (this works > 90% of the time), then stop pedaling, stop, get off and use a finger to move the chain back onto the small chain ring. Maybe my bikes have greater clearances so the chain doesn't get wedged, that's never happened to me.

I've got one. It's helped a couple times and doesn't hurt anything, so why not? I tried using one of those k-edge style ones that attach to the FD bolt, but getting that, and the FD adjusted at the same time was annoying, so I switched to one that directly attached to the seat tube below the FD. Unlike the Deda Dog Fang, mine was a lot more adjustable (in and out and fore and aft rather than just up down and rotationally). I wish I knew where I'd gotten it so I could get a couple more. Yes, my inner limit screw is set so I should never need it, but it's nice to have the added insurance.

I have little need for a chain catcher and have not used one. But then again I no longer ride aggressively and all my bikes are steel. And yes they do have light scratches from previously dropped chains but no scars. I use a 51/34 compact crank and friction shifters, so the potential for dropped chains is high if I am not careful.

Now days I ride so slow I may as well go to a single speed 34:34 ...Ha

I had a chain fall and get caught between the chain catcher bolt and the crankset. It took me over half a hour to get going again and I destroyed a Dura ace chain and gouged the inside of the crankset yanking it out.

Removed the chaincatcher since, in the odd case of a dropped chain it took all of ten seconds to put it back on 🤷‍♂️
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Hmm, learned something new...a chain catcher will prevent the chain from "passing the little ring when shifting down from the big ring under load, usually because you forgot to shift before starting a steep climb." Is there a term for that, because for 20+ years that I called it, and no one until now said I was wrong, and then a quick google search, and geez, I'm just Fred with a huge FTP. :eek:

You need to retrain Siri, dork disk is a weird autocorrect for clutched rear derailleur. Or is it Canadian English?

Chain catcher was not set properly, it should be a frog's hair off the top f the rivet pins (which requires a little fiddling to get right). Once set properly, your chain won't fall off the inside. For what it's worth, I've done the same thing, I just reset the catcher.

I know a guy who terminally sawed the bb shell of a Cervelo via repeated chain drops. Seems beyond oblivious but it happened. He'd have been a good candidate for a chain drop gadget. I imagine the newer Shimano downshifting design has reduced the number of dropped chains.

Have one that came as part of SRAM Red FD (compact crank if it makes a diff). Trivial to set up so haven't given it much thought. But I have dropped a chain inside on carbon a couple times with no damage so I don't see it as a big deal for that, more just to keep from having to get the chain back on.

scott s.
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I've ran one since I had a chain drop on a gravel ride that cut up my chainstay and bent the crap out of my chain. I had to cut a decent section out of my chain to get back to the car.

I put one on my bike when I ran 10 speed, they seemed much more susceptible to dropped chain for some reason, but, never had one on my 11 speed setups and never dropped the chain. However, my Domane came with one stock.

I have one on my Cervelo. Sure I run a 1x with a narrow wide but it's for extra peace of mind. Cheap mod.
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