I am going to get on my soapbox here, gang. Please feel free to knock me off my high horse. I know I can count on you.

I ride my bike with a club and friends who are all fairly "serious" recreational cyclists. Many of these men and women spend thousands of dollars on a new bike every few years. I understand this.

However VERY few use a chain catcher.

For those who don't know, a chain catcher is a small device that prevents the chain from dropping off the small chainring and into the gap between the chainring and the seat tube. They are simple and come in two varieties, the "dog fang" one and the "fork shaped" one. They are so simple to install that even I can do it. I have a dog fang on my Habanero and a K-edge fork shaped one on the other two road bikes. They work. Even if the chain somehow drops, it does NOT get stuck between the chainring and the frame.

When I mention this to my friends, most of them say "oh, I almost never drop my chain, I don't need one."

That said, on any given ride there is almost always one or two short stops where someone drops their chain. And I roll my eyes.

On yesterday's ride, one of the riders dropped her chain and was clueless about it, and kept pedaling, her chain got so jammed that it may have damaged the carbon fiber in the seat tube when it was pulled out.

Comments?

When the system is properly setup and then maintained, ther is NO way a chain will fall off.
But poeple are people and will do stupid things. PROs drop chains all the time, because they shift when they have to not necessarly when they want to. If chainatchers were such a good idea, they will be first to use them.

I can't remember the last time I dropped a chain when using Di2, or if it has ever even happened. But, the drawbacks associated with purchasing and installing one are essentially zero, so why not?

My last two (Trek) roadbikes had them preinstalled and the only slight drawback is aesthetic. Not had a chaindrop in years but seen a few. Definitely damaged the carbon on my first bike because of this. Back when I didn’t keep the drivetrain clean enough.

I'd be more worried about why they are dropping their chain than whether or not they have a chain catcher. Though if this is a Saturday ride from the bike shop where many noobs will be likely to be attending. Then is it mainly the noobs that are dropping chains? Or people with a new to them electronic shifted bike?

Noobs to derailleur equipped bikes will drop a chain. And at stops I'd suspect they were downshifting just prior to the stop and didn't complete the shift before fully stopping. Similarly, even I had issues with my Di2 at first as I had to learn not to touch the shift levers when I picked up the front of the bike to reposition my wheel and other such silly things that with cable pulled shifting wasn't a issue as there wasn't enough force or movement to cause a shift. However for electronic shifting, it only needs a bump of the button. And that also can put the chain in a position to drop when the crank is turned backwards at a stop. As many of us do when we are winding up to go!

If you are going to mandate a chain catcher. Then there are all sorts of other things we probably need to mandate too! Where will it all end? <grin>

I get it. Although I think it's a good idea, I would not push for a mandate. It does seem ironic that allegedly experienced cyclists are ignorant or uninterested in this. Hence my post.

Well if the experienced cyclists in your group are dropping chains, then you should tell them they aren't experienced enough. Chain drops at a stop are, IMO, user error. A problem with the interface between the saddle and handlebars.

I haven't dropped a chain since admitting to myself it was caused by user error. And I corrected my behavior and make sure the shifts are completed before stopping. And to not bump the buttons on my Di2 while stopped.

As above, I mentioned this to one of my friends on yesterday's ride. She responded that she does not need one because she almost never drops her chain, and if she does, it drops on the outside. Towards the end of the ride, she dropped her chain to the inside, kept pedaling, and possibly ruined her multi-thousand dollar new crabon fiber bike frame.

I tried. I really did!!

Makes me ponder why waxing isn’t more popular too.

It doesn't ruin multi-thousand dollar carbon fiber bike frames. If it did, then mine would have been toast in March of 2020. It pretty much just scratches them as it does the multi-thousand dollar aluminum, steel and titanium bike frames.

I hope it's not ruined. I did not see the damage but she was upset enough about the chunk taken out that she would not ride her bike home and made the call of shame. I agree it SHOULD not ruin a frame, in the same way a chain SHOULD NOT drop. It still happens.

I am going to get on my soapbox here, gang. Please feel free to knock me off my high horse. I know I can count on you.

I walk with a club and friends who are all fairly "serious" walkers. Many of these men and women spend tens of dollars on new mittens every few years. I understand this.

However VERY few use mitten clips.

For those who don't know, mitten clips are small device that prevent mittens from dropping to the ground. They are simple and come in two varieties, black and brown. They are so simple to install that even I can do it. I have. They work. Even if the mitten somehow drops, it does NOT get stuck between your arm and your jacket sleeve.

When I mention this to my friends, most of them say "oh, I almost never drop my mittens, I don't need them."

That said, on any given walk there is almost always one or two short stops where someone drops their mittens. And I roll my eyes.

On yesterday's walk, one of the walkers dropped her mittens and was clueless about it, and kept walking, her mitten got so dirty that it may have sullied her sleeve when it was put back on.

Comments?

My carbon gravel bike (1x) has a catcher factory-installed, very low-profile and unobtrusive. My 25 year old steel roadbike also has one installed. In spite of the absolutes stated above, I see no reason not to have one (other than preferences of vanity/elitism or believing you don't need one). Cheap insurance against paint or structural/component damage.

To really drop a chain, one needs to fail a link (master, missing, or ordinary) and leave the chain behind you laid out nicely in a line on the road / trail / path / etc.

Some higher-end CF bikes I've seen look like they have a small metal plate on the outside right chainstay just about where a hungry and misguided chain might start chewing. Others apparently don't.

I've seldom had problems with wayward chains wandering into the chainstays or into the spokes - but it has happened rarely, fortunately without damage. On a properly-adjusted bike under ideal conditions pedaled by spherical frictionless riders, the chain should never leave the drivetrain. And yet there are very common lightweight devices that can mitigate the wreckage. But multiple BF threads have been written about the pros & cons of the one between the spokes and large freewheel/cassette sprocket. I can only suppose it keeps us all busy & typing.

Are you also using a spoke protector behind your cassette?

REAL walkers don't use mitten clips. They use Idiot Mittens*.

*the ones with a string that runs from mitten to mitten under your coat.

You mean a DORK DISK? No, the chance of throwing my chain into the spokes is remote unless I bend my derailleur. The chain drop DOES happen. Interestingly, entry level bikes do have one of these even though they don't have a chain catcher.

But I like how you think!

What about the catcher on the outside between the big chainring and the crankarm. Do you have one of those?

Nope. Could probably swing it back on with the crankarm if that were to happen.

Chains drop off during downshifts all the time, even when the equipment is precisely installed and adjusted.

Pro teams use chain catchers. Quite a few, actually.

K-Edge says that their chain catcher is used by over half the pro teams.

Mine certainly doesn't have that plate, or anything resembling such, though whether it deserves inclusion with the 'higher-end CF bikes" of which you make mention may deserve a thread of its own.

(I had a pic of the chain / stay conflict but seem to have deleted it. What to my eye is the removal of the overlying opaque paint + clear coat layer doesn't look to have affected the underlying CF structure, but still....)

This is on a mechanical Shimano 105 groupset Specialized 2023 CF Tarmac SL7 BTW, not approaching the mid-range price point. I'm thinking of crafting a CF+epoxy chain catcher of my own design to bond to the at-risk chainstay to avoid further insults should a mis-timed shift reoccur.

Maybe yes, maybe no. I've had it happen both ways.

I'm all for improving reliability. I mean - why not?

I suspect this may have initially come across as a serious case of mansplaining. The fact it later actually happened will not have reduced the irritation

When removing my bike off my Kicker Core (or however it’s spelled) the chain dropped and I had a helluva time getting it out. Ended up scoring the paint. Got a chain keeper ASAP and no more greasy fingers. Figured it was cheap insurance.