Spoke Protector Disk, AKA "Dork Disk"
 

About a year ago, but:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09155.html

I found that a bit silly/ridiculous haha.

But anyways, has anyone actually encountered an experience where the chain overshifted into the spokes, causing the wheel to get stuck, resulting in a quick fall? Some people forget they're using clipless pedals =p

This thread is worthless without photos ...

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09155b.jpg

the lengths at which we as a society will go to protect people from themselves is limitless. Proof positive that people don't know anything. Its almost as bad as the "this coffee is hot" warning. I would think things like a frame spontaneously combusting or something would warrant a recall. not a stupid piece of plastic that anyone worth their salt removes before they even leave their LBS.....

Face/Palm

Hahaha. I dare someone with a Cannondale to take their bike in and get the shop to put the dork disk back on.

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On the other hand, I destroyed a derailer once for lack of a dork disk (or at least having one would have saved it), so I guess I'm laughing at myself, too.

i don't see much need to put one on but if it's there why remove it?

I broke a rear mech and bent a spoke on an old steel bike. Still don't use a dork disc, but yeah, they can be pretty useful!

If the chain's running of the cassette, you need to adjust the derailleur, not get a dork disc.

i'm sure this resulted from someone setting up their bike wrong and having the derailleur hit the spokes. then blaming cannondale for their own mess up. its the american way.

You had to see the giant honkin black dork disc that they shipped my new Scott with.

They really should make those guys use them in the Tour de France.

Whose idea were those anyway? Somebody research this and post a link.

You have your instructions. I'll need this by noon today by the way.

Was it the wrong color??

I haven't, but I encountered a rider who did. She was carrying her bike across the 14th St. bridge, and I stopped to ask if everything was OK (thinking that the bike only needed an adjustment or something).

It was fzucked. She had been buzzing down the hill next to the Capitol. The RD had indeed overshifted and caught in the spokes, which bent a few and even broke a couple. The RD and its hanger were bent and completely useless. The rim was warped and would not clear the frame anymore, so it wouldn't turn worth a crap. The tire had flat-spotted through the cords where it skidded against the pavement. She said she barely kept it upright before being able to stop.

Don't know why she was shifting onto the big cog while going downhill, or even if that was her intent. She said that she had just gotten it back from the shop that day, too.

meh, if a rd would not need it if its adjusted correctly, also... if i ever have a crash where the rd would be pushed into the bike spokes... i think i would have more things to worry about than my wheel/rd

My Scott didn't come with one. It seems that whomever sent you yours knew who they were selling it to. :p

Because it's dorky. It looks cheap, it's extra weight, etc.

I'd love to see a carbon dork disk.

If the guys in the TDF were to use them then everyone on BF would be putting them back on their bikes.

I saw a guy annihilate his RD and take a few spokes out as well in a cross race. I don't think it was due to derailleur misalignment. Most likely would have been a bent hanger from a crash. I think we all hit the deck at some point that day.

Would a dork disc have prevented it? I don't know.

Slightly off topic, but I saw a posting in another forum about "lawyer tabs" that are on forks to make riding "safer."

Apparently these prevent a front wheel from coming off if the QR is loose.

I had never even heard of these before, none of my bikes have them.

Are they now standard issue on road bikes, or only "low end" bikes for idiots who don't know to keep their QR tight??

It was F Me Black.

They are on every bike sold in the US in the last 20 years or so. You may well have them and not even notice. It's just a little flange on the drop out that requires you to loosen the QR a few turns after opening it.

You can file them off if you have steel or aluminum dropouts.

I will have to check. My current roadbike is a custom made in 1985, and I KNOW it does not have them

My new roadbike, a Habanero Custom Ti, assembled and waiting for better weather, has a ritchey wcs ud carbon fork and may very well have them, I will take a closer look.

Neither have dork disks, although I bet it would give them a slight aero advantage.

edit: I checked and the new bike's fork DOES have the little tab on each side. The old bike does not.

I'm living on the edge - no dork disc or lawyer tabs. It's amazing that anyone was ever able to ride bikes before these inventions.

You probably even used shifters back when you had to take your hand off the bars.

as grumpy mentioned i could see how maybe they would be useful racing cross with how much things get banged around. a properly adjusted rd will put the chain in the spokes with a slightly bent rd hanger...and going down in the mud is not that uncommon.

plus, with cross racing the bike is usually covered in mud and grime, who cares how it looks or about a few extra grams.

for the road, yea, they're pretty disposable.

+1, I'd like to see a bike designed by lawyers. I wonder where they'd put the shoulder harness and the air bag. :lol: