15 Responses to “Three Drivetrain Guards”

• Pete says:
  

  Any of these available separately from the bike? There is a real lack of decent chainguards out there for bikes that didn’t come with one.

  Posted on 3.25.11 at 12:26 pm
• Aaron says:
  

  I second Pete’s question.

  I know the Bryant chainguard is available separately (eg: http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222368570/825/Civia-Bryant-Chainguard.html)

  As is the ugly as sin SKS chainboard (http://www.sks-germany.com/?l=en&a=products&r=chainguards&PHPSESSID=5db1bebd3f72bf10a73f52eac292e1c1)

  But there’s a real dearth of options when it comes to decent chainguards. I’d love to see a relatively comprehensive round-up of the standalone chainguard options on the market (and especially with compatibility info).

  Posted on 3.25.11 at 12:34 pm
• Mr Nouveau says:
  

  @Pete: Velo Orange makes guard much like the one pictured on the Detour Delux, above. I put one on my ’09 Raleigh Superbe.

  The Civia and Raleigh guards pictured both come to a point just be hind the chainwheel – I find I need to where a trouser-clip when wearing cuffed pants, as I badly bent my guard onetime when the cuff caught on the up-stroke. Anyone else have this problem, or is it just me? :.)

  Posted on 3.25.11 at 12:39 pm
• Alan says:
  

  @Mr Nouveau

  I gave up on cuffed pants a long time ago… :-)

  Alan

  Posted on 3.25.11 at 1:18 pm
• Jay says:
  

  I tend to just cuff my pants, and I also don’t ride in light pants, generally.

  I feel like I would still continue to cuff them even with a chain guard, though. If you leave your pants uncuffed and you have a chain guard like those above, don’t you still risk getting crud on your pants from the lower part of the chain that isn’t covered?

  Posted on 3.25.11 at 1:22 pm
• bongobike says:
  

  Jay,

  Yes, you still risk getting crud on your pants leg from the lower rung of the chain with these chainguards. I would say it depends on how wide or flared the bottom of your pants leg is and how soft of stiff the fabric is. So if it is wide and made of soft fabric, easily blown by the wind, it will probably contact the chain where it’s not protected. If it’s a stiff pair of blue jeans with a narrow leg, then probably not.

  Posted on 3.25.11 at 2:02 pm
• Alan says:
  

  Agreed. If it’s a belt OTOH…

  Posted on 3.25.11 at 2:04 pm
• Joseph E says:
  

  If you want to wear nice pants, or any light-colored cuffed pants on which oil stains are not acceptable, a partial or full chaincase is a great solution. And a full chaincase also greatly reduces drivetrain maintenance if you ride on wet roads or mud, by keeping the chain and sprockets clean.

  Now, if you think finding an after-market chainguard is hard, try looking for an after-market chaincase!

  Posted on 3.25.11 at 4:51 pm
• Mr Nouveau says:
  

  @Alan

  :.) It’s that “riding in my work clothes” thing. Sometimes, you gotta wear the cuffed ones…

  Back to chainguards: There really is a limited selection of after-market guards out there. And it’s really bad if you have an older bike with a large chainring. I haven’t been able to find anything that will work with over 50 teeth.

  Posted on 3.25.11 at 4:52 pm
• Mark Potts says:
  

  @Mr Nouveau,

  I actually have that VO chainguard on my xtracycle and have had that very problem on a number of occasions. In fact, it happened to me again today while riding in jeans that just happened to have the bottom seam flipped up on the inside. Although I have been able to bend the guard back into place, it is very annoying that this keeps happening and I am thinking about clipping that point off to see if that helps.

  Posted on 3.26.11 at 9:53 am
• Don Bybee says:
  

  I put the Velo Orange chain guard on my Fuji Cambridge. I am loving it and the look is great with the black and silver scheme of the Cambridge. I continue to use pants straps because I think that the constant brushing of light colored pants against the chain guard will probably discolor the pants pretty quickly. Another benefit, and the main reason I put the guard on the bike, is that it keeps the u lock and cable locks out of the oily chain. Once this happens, then everything that comes in contact with the locks also becomes greasy.

  Don
  Sacramento, California

  Posted on 3.26.11 at 4:56 pm
• Pete says:
  

  I own the VO chainguard, but it is nowhere near as elegant as the ones shown.
  If you can combine the chainguard with a chain ring guard, like the sugino one, you might be able to avoid the chain stain at the bottom of the pedal stroke without a full chaincase.

  Posted on 3.26.11 at 5:00 pm
• somervillain says:
  

  I find “hockey stick” style chain guards like the ones shown above mostly useless. I continue to get my pants grease-stained with them, with the added complication of snags that might not happen without them.

  The VO porteur chaincase should solve this, and I’m going to be putting one on my wife’s new Soma Buena Vista shortly. But they are very tricky to install and will only work with certain cranksets.

  Posted on 3.26.11 at 7:48 pm
• R. Wright says:
  

  Glad to see chain guards being hi-lighted. Why not also offer a full coverage model? The bottom ca also mess up your paints.

  Posted on 3.27.11 at 1:55 pm
• DavidMP says:
  

  I agree that these are not good enough; not when you ride in snow that has been salted/sanded for months and progressively turns into slush, mud and dust.

  I took the one form my 2010 Raleigh Detour Deluxe off and put a Hebie Chainglider on right away (I had to change the rear sprocket to 18t form 20t) and my chain is still as clean as the first day.

  http://www.hebie.de/Chainglider-350-38-42-44.hebie350chainglider.0.html

  Posted on 3.28.11 at 11:06 am