Please tell me what a dork disk is. I want to make sure I don't have one. Lord knows I don't want to be called a Fred.

No, but now we can call you OCP.

The dork disk is the plastic disc that is between your spokes and your casette. Sometimes it's black, sometimes it's clear. It's there to protect your spokes from your chain and all that it entails.

we're not going to tell you untill you post a pic of your bike and we get to laugh at you.

Is there any picture floating around BF with all the parts of the bicycle arrowed and labeled or something so that someone who's new to the hobby can look at and learn their way around the bike?

It seems so freakin simple - it's just a bicycle, but yet there's approximately 1 zillion terms that I have no idea about floating around these forums with regard to the parts of the bike. I have skimmed through one of those glosary things someone put together, but without being able to look at a picture at the same time it's hard to picture all the different tubes, stems, gears, cassettes, discs, levers, gadgetmadohickey's, etc.

and what's OCP stand for again?

mines still on my bike

i dont have any tools here at school to take it off. haha

Scissors work just fine.

Sheldon Brown is your friend, though his site has Pie Plate instead of Dork Disk.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_sp...spokeprotector

Read Sheldon's site, memorize the articles and glossary, and you'll be good to go!

" ... and what's OCP stand for again ..."
Obsessive Compulsive Poseur

People who buy fancy expensive bikes, then ride 5 miles to meet at Starbucks and compare carbon fiber water bottle cages

hands work even better, take the wheel off, and start prying at it like your pissed and it'll come off in a few pieces

Its true function is to attract as much grit and grime as possible in a hard-to-clean place.

A nicely broken-in dork disk will also make a special noise as it rubs against the back of your largest cog. This is deliberate: It is telling you that you have forgotten to pedal.

A very wise member of this very forum (or, perhaps it was another cycling forum...mea culpa) came up with what I think is the best koan regarding dork discs:

Until you can remove a dork disc without damaging it, you should be required to continue riding with it in place.

*clears out schedule and takes vacation time for the entire next week*

I'm on it.

As said it goes on the wheel after the largest cog and over the spokes. If the derailer is not addjusted properly when you want to get into the largest cog in the rear with the chain and it goes beyond (too far) the cog the chain will chew up the spokes as the wheel spins. This happened to me a few years ago and destroyed a wheel. However if the derailer is adjusted properly it should not go past the largest cog and this dork disk is not necessary.

I don't quite understand something - what about this (seemingly useful) device makes it dorky?

I prefer to think of the dork disc not as a fredly item, but rather as a poor man's somewhat aero half-disc partial wheel cover...

I didn't know you could remove it without damaging it atleast a little!

because it's superfluous on a properly adjusted bike and, worse, an extra 4 grams!

It also protects wheel if chain partly breaks and pulls derailler toward spokes.

Yes, a very well maintained bicycle should not break a chain, but...

Al

well, what if i know how to, but just dont want to spring for a full tool kit

Sometimes, a dork disk is not a dork disk. Some may argue that it really isn't necessary with today's indexed shifters, but there was a day, not very long ago, when Spoke Protectors served a real purpose.

Keep a few extras on hand - https://www.amazon.com/Spoke-Protecto.../dp/B000AO9QJC

Huh? If you broke a chain, wouldn't the rear derailler move the opposite direction? (towards the smallest cogs)

These are also useful items:

Wheel reflectors
Fenders
Chain gaurds
Front and rear reflectors
4ft high neon safety flags
hub cleaner straps
helmet mirrors

They are also all dorky.

True, but if you're in Seattle, these are very unfortunately a necessary evil from September through March. Today, for instance, I had a wet stripe up my backside on my commute in to the train . . .

Ah, beautiful Spoke Protector Disk! What have you done to be become derisively labeled as dork?

But it's time to reclaim what has been stolen from you. Embrace your nebishness and kneel to the Alter of Fred. All will be Forgiven.