# do i need the plastic spoke protector?



## nokfir2 (Oct 5, 2010)

not sure if that what its called, but do i need the plastic piece in between the cassete and the spokes? mine is kinda cracked. can i remove it? or just grab a new one?


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## RBowles (Jun 1, 2010)

I've seen a lot of bikes that had it removed, but I leave mine on in case the chain comes off and tries to go between the cassette and spokes. I could see the spokes getting mangled if it happened. I could be wrong.


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## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

If you have a bike that is properly adjusted, NO you do not need one. HOwever with lower end parts sometimes the tolerances are not as tight and your RD if it's one of those may still have enough "wiggle room" when adjusted to get over into the spokes, so doesn't hurt to leave it on - I always remove mine, no matter what bike and never had issues, from Alivio to XT.


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## nokfir2 (Oct 5, 2010)

got a enduro expert. sram XO derailer


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

nokfir2 said:


> got a enduro expert. sram XO derailer


If you feel confident that you can keep it adjusted so as not to drop the chain off the big cog, AND have the sense of feel to know when it has been dropped before you try to pedal hard and do more damage, then you can get rid of it.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

RBowles said:


> I've seen a lot of bikes that had it removed, but I leave mine on in case the chain comes off and tries to go between the cassette and spokes. I could see the spokes getting mangled if it happened. I could be wrong.


It happened to me.

Everything was adjusted OK... until I bent the derailer hanger during that ride....

Didn't break the spokes but caused visible damage. And later on those spokes started breaking.


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

Take it off and throw it away. Those things cause more issues than they solve.


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

bad mechanic said:


> Take it off and throw it away. Those things cause more issues than they solve.


What issues do they cause?


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

They're not the most robust things, and can easily spin, make noise, rub, have sections break off, clog, etc. If your drivetrain is adjusted properly, you don't really need one, and if you're super paranoid about putting a derailleur in the spokes then just limit out the big cog.


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## Sid Nitzerglobin (Sep 17, 2010)

As others have said, if you have confidence in the adjustment of your rear derailleur you can take the dork disk off. I guess it could save you in the event of a slightly bent derailleur arm or hanger, but I've only ever seen the spectacular form of this kind of failure first hand so far where the whole derailleur gets ingested by the spokes.

They do tend to break/come off on their own after a bit of trail use IME and collect a bunch of dirt and grime and make it harder to clean the inside of the cassette w/o taking it off the hub.


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## nokfir2 (Oct 5, 2010)

do they make a aftermarket one? amayby somthing better than the crappy cheap plastic ones?


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## Sarguy (Sep 25, 2010)

I had the little tabs break off and mine became loose. I removed it and then had my chain come off once. You have to make sure you stay tuned or only shift on to the big cog with care. It was more trouble than it was worth after being removed, so I had another put on. No more issues.


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## roxnroots (Aug 12, 2010)

Geez, I feel ripped off - my new ride came without the dork disc.


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## BigSharks (Oct 4, 2009)

nokfir2 said:


> do they make a aftermarket one? amayby somthing better than the crappy cheap plastic ones?


Sure, they're called pie pans and you guy them at the grocery store.


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## nokfir2 (Oct 5, 2010)

i use the big cog alot when riding my local trail, always shifting it. sometimes quick and underpressure.. i guess i should leave on.


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## nokfir2 (Oct 5, 2010)

BigSharks said:


> Sure, they're called pie pans and you guy them at the grocery store.


sorry for not being as knowledgeable as you on bicycles.


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

nokfir2 said:


> i use the big cog alot when riding my local trail, always shifting it. sometimes quick and underpressure.. i guess i should leave on.


Take it off and make sure your derailleur is adjusted properly, especially its limits. Also, don't shift under pressure.


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## nokfir2 (Oct 5, 2010)

bad mechanic said:


> Take it off and make sure your derailleur is adjusted properly, especially its limits. Also, don't shift under pressure.


nuthing serious. somtimes just gotta shift goin uphill


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

nokfir2 said:


> nuthing serious. somtimes just gotta shift goin uphill


Just pedal light while it shifts.


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## BigSharks (Oct 4, 2009)

nokfir2 said:


> sorry for not being as knowledgeable as you on bicycles.


I meant no offense- just was the first 'witty' thing that popped into my head. TBH, as long as you keep an eye on your chain, der. setup, and the teeth on your cassette, I wouldn't think you'd have an issue... and in reality, I'd be more concerned with it snapping off while riding (you don't want to leave that lying out in the woods anyway).

EDIT- try not to shift at all going uphill- it puts tremendous pressure on your chain. Better to jump off and walk, imo.


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## nokfir2 (Oct 5, 2010)

so all i gotta do is keep an eye on the derailer limit and adjust the "L' screw if nessary.

shown here at 1:30


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## JacktheFlash (Dec 1, 2010)

lose it, i never had a prob


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## cmdrpiffle (May 8, 2004)

*ughh!*

I refrained from commenting for a bit.

"do i need the plastic spoke protector?"

Yes, if you want to look like a complete noob.

Lose it. If your rear derailleur upper set screw is properly adjusted, the chain isn't going past the large cog.

Same thing with factory supplied spoke reflectors.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

nokfir2,

I suppose you get the idea: the dork disc is seriously *UNCOOL*!

Having it on your bike will wake up the *Fashion Police* in no time.

I you cannot get it off, you need to buy another wheel.

---
actually, I am trying to remember if anyone has ever said the disc caused them any real problems. No, I cannot remember anyone having mentioned any real problems in addition to the *uncoolness*. "spin, make noise, rub, have sections break off, clog, etc" don't count as serious problems. Damaged spokes after bending the derailer hanger do.

Anybody want to refresh my memory further?


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## nokfir2 (Oct 5, 2010)

i cut it off.

i got alil confused adjusting the derailer cuz i didnt see it really move when i adjusted the L screw. so i turned it all the way in until it wouldnt shift into the low gear. then opened it 1/4 turns until it would shift into it.


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## gs46 (Dec 5, 2010)

I have removed it from all my bikes (2) and had no problem, keep your rear derailer in tune!


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## nate. (Oct 10, 2010)

My rear wheel ate a derailleur last tuesday. The plastic ring that was on there did nothing to stop it. If broke 2 spokes, bent the week to hell, blew up the derailleur, and bent the hanger.


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

perttime said:


> Anybody want to refresh my memory further?


They may not count as "serious" problems, but for all the good a protector does, it's not worth it.

If you bend the derailleur hanger enough to send it into the wheel, then you're generally going to pull the end of the pulley cage into the wheel, not the body itself. The protector, unless it's huge, isn't going to protect from that.

Also, ask the long time riders here if a protector would have ever been useful. With very few exceptions the answer will be "no". Personally, in over 15 years of riding, there's never a time when a spoke protector would have been useful.


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## b-kul (Sep 20, 2009)

i take them off and fashion them into throwing stars. lethal man.


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## infoman66 (Dec 5, 2010)

What is safe for sure.
It would not have existed if not needed. 
Regardless of what was a well tuned bicycle, plastic there as prevention, if something goes wrong. 
Unless you are profi biker who is an expert in setting up and maintaining the bike - then you should not need the plastic.


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

infoman66 said:


> What is safe for sure.
> It would not have existed if not needed.


That's crap. A bicycle, and life in general, is full of useless crap which is just there for the lawyers.


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## Noclutch (Jun 20, 2010)

Well just this evening I put the chain over the 36t when just messing around in the yard under low load. Felt it "hit neutral"? Stopped and looked down - sure enough the chain was in between the 36 and the pie plate. I had replaced a derailleur a couple of rides ago and forgotten to adjust the top limit!! (apparently I did a double-shift click up form the 32)
Boy did I get lucky. On my real rides I never use 36 anyways. But, I guess it did something as I probably did 3-4 crank rotations in neutral. Under load, who knows.... would probably just have lunched it but saved some spokes?


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## b-kul (Sep 20, 2009)

infoman66 said:


> It would not have existed if not needed.


loads of stuff exists that has no pratical value.


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## roxnroots (Aug 12, 2010)

Nearly 20 years riding 4 different rigs, the first three which came with dork discs, none of which ever served any actual purpose other than to age, turn yellow and brittle, and eventually break up and fall off. No one I ride with has one and at least some higher-end mtbs seem to be built without them altogether anymore.

I'm willing to live on the edge risking the chain/spoke catastrophic failure thing.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

I had a pie plate screw up the freewheeling function on one of my bikes a while ago. It didn't cause bad enough chain suck to actually damage anything, but it was pretty annoying and I was afraid the freewheel needed to be replaced until I figured it out.


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## jeffgre_6163 (Jan 23, 2010)

AndrwSwitch said:


> I had a pie plate screw up the freewheeling function on one of my bikes a while ago. It didn't cause bad enough chain suck to actually damage anything, but it was pretty annoying and I was afraid the freewheel needed to be replaced until I figured it out.


Had the same thing happen on a mates bike yesterday
7km in to our 35 ride his chain snaps - urelated to the dork disc but [I had repeatedly told him to stop changing under load] as I was fixing it with a SRAM power link I noticed the free hub was not turning smothly.
A quick check revelled a broken dork disk, a couple of the tabs had broken off causing it to run off centre rubbing on the free hub body.
On the side of the track we hacked it off.

A very important point.
This was not some cheap old hack.
His bike is a 6 month old 2010 Giant Anthem 3

I picked up my new 2011 Giant Trance X1 2 months ago, forst thing I did was chop the stupid dork disk off


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

bad mechanic said:


> Also, ask the long time riders here if a protector would have ever been useful. With very few exceptions the answer will be "no". Personally, in over 15 years of riding, there's never a time when a spoke protector would have been useful.


About 5 years ago it would have prevented spoke damage, when I bent the derailer hanger just enough to get the chain in the spokes.

Soon after that I went singlespeed.

... So my answer to the original question is:

If you have it on your bike, don't bother to take it off.
Having it will not cause you any problems and could save you some headaches and money.


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## jeffgre_6163 (Jan 23, 2010)

perttime said:


> If you have it on your bike, don't bother to take it off.
> Having it will not cause you any problems and could save you some headaches and money.


Not true at all.
Check my post above yours, that only happened on Sunday.
In the 22 years I have been associated with MTB all I have ever seen them do is turn brittle, yellow, crack, rattle and generally be a PITA.
If the one on my mates Anthen can't last 6 months with out failing get rid of the stupid thing


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Your dork disc made the freehub run a bit sticky, so you had to take it off?

I'd have preferred that to the damaged spokes that I got without one.


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## mitzikatzi (Sep 9, 2008)

perttime said:


> About 5 years ago it would have prevented spoke damage, when I bent the derailer hanger just enough to get the chain in the spokes.
> 
> Soon after that I went singlespeed.
> 
> ...


For me it was 1 year ago. 5 spokes needed replacing.


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## mumbles (Jul 22, 2006)

Face it, we all look pretty dorky in our helmets and lycra, taking off the dork disk is not going to change that!


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

nokfir2 said:


> not sure if that what its called, but do i need the plastic piece in between the cassete and the spokes? mine is kinda cracked. can i remove it? or just grab a new one?


Has it occurred to anyone that the the reason dork discs never seem to do anything is because they (the discs) have done their job?

Seriously, before you say that they never do anything, how would you know that they did, considering what they do is keep the chain from falling off the big cog?


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## Steve121 (Mar 24, 2010)

I dont know why all the fuss everytime someone talk about this little plastic disc.

Seriously...

To remouve it,you need to take off the wheel and cassette... To remouve something that is basicly there to protect.

Just keep it there and dont bother with such small insignifiant details.Enjoy riding instead.


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## xenon (Apr 16, 2007)

If the plate is cracked, you'd better break it off. Otherwise sooner or later it will interfere with the cassette.
Instead of the plate, if you want to protect the spokes just in case, you may use zip ties, like in the pics:
https://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/500/medium/fasteners.jpg
https://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/500/medium/fasteners2.jpg


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

nokfir2 said:


> not sure if that what its called, but do i need the plastic piece in between the cassete and the spokes? mine is kinda cracked. can i remove it? or just grab a new one?


Is there ANYTHING we mtbr folk will not spend two pages arguing about?


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## Noclutch (Jun 20, 2010)

nokfir2 said:


> do they make a aftermarket one? amayby somthing better than the crappy cheap plastic ones?


If they did and it were an aniodized billet or titanium version with custom lazer etched graphics or lettering, then only the really cool guys would have them :thumbsup: 
Me, I settle for a plain aluminum one.


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## Sid Nitzerglobin (Sep 17, 2010)

kapusta said:


> Is there ANYTHING we mtbr folk will not spend two pages arguing about?


Hehe, was thinking the same thing.

I personally forcibly removed mine from my Rockhopper and have left them on my Roubaix and my Camber for now (will probably wind up pulling the one from my Camber sooner or later if it doesn't commit seppuku first). Haven't had any chain suck or bent derailleur issues on any of them so far, but I did get hit in the helmet by shards of my friend's spoke protector as it self destructed while riding behind him. Another good reason to wear eye protection at all times.


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## GFAthens (Sep 10, 2009)

You should remove the dork disc. It will cause more issues then it solves, and they just dont look clean at all.


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## Knight511 (Nov 26, 2010)

mumbles said:


> Face it, we all look pretty dorky in our helmets and lycra, taking off the dork disk is not going to change that!


:laugh: !!!WINNER!!! :laugh:


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

I saw a nice lightweight metal spoke protector on a friend's bike a while ago. It was a LeMond and I believe the guard came stock, so I have no idea where to find one. Maybe a Trek dealer would know.


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## DWill (Aug 24, 2010)

xenon said:


> If the plate is cracked, you'd better break it off. Otherwise sooner or later it will interfere with the cassette.
> Instead of the plate, if you want to protect the spokes just in case, you may use zip ties, like in the pics:
> https://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/500/medium/fasteners.jpg
> https://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/500/medium/fasteners2.jpg


Yep, zip ties on the spokes looks a LOT less dorky...... :thumbsup:


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## Gsromich (Nov 22, 2009)

My 1970s something road bike has a metal one too. I took the one off my mtb because it broke and it looks dorky. Im too lazy to take it off all my other bikes


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## jlinn (Jul 10, 2012)

*Leave it on*

I have ruined 2 wheels because of the chain shifting into the spokes. The first instance occurred due to the lower limit screw of the RD being out of adjustment. The second time the screw was adjusted correctly but I down shifted too quickly when transitioning from downhill to uphill and threw the chain in the spokes anyway. Perhaps these instances were caused by poor maintenance and operator error (don't down shift too quickly while pedaling uphill if you can help it) but both instances could have been prevented with a spoke protector. If you care more about how your bike looks than how it operates, go ahead and take it off, but if you don't want to take the chance of ruining your wheel, leave it on.


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