Drivetrain parts are expensive and aside from utilizing a bash guard or a gearbox bike, there aren’t many forms of protection. I remember reviewing a 29er enduro bike several years ago and a commenter was put off because it wasn’t specced with a bash guard. “Standard issue for BC riding,” the commenter said, or something to that effect. The person may have also said “I wouldn’t ride a bike without one.”
I remember putting one on a bike years ago and scratching it up like an old jazz record in a DJ booth, and thanking it for all the times it supposedly saved my teeth. Of course, that may or may not have been the case. Bash guards typically stick out much farther than a chain ring and so the odds become greater that you’ll bash your bash guard before you bash your chain ring. Unless of course you’re taking more risks because of the new skid plate.
Bash guards of course add weight on top of their protection, and that may be one of the reasons they’re not absolutely commonplace. But it begs the question: how many people use them these days and why or why not?
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11 Comments
Aug 31, 2022
In my experience a bash guard is more helpful for riding over logs. You don't as often encounter rock piles with such a small radius on top that you end up high-centered. You're not as likely to damage a chainring on a log, I feel like the guard is there to prevent it grabbing and sending you OTB.
I have been needing to run an extra bottle in the lower downtube "giardia position" so I've taken to airing out the log-overs.
Aug 31, 2022
Sep 1, 2022
Sep 1, 2022
It's a waste of time and money to install a bash guard that is held by the BSA threaded bottom bracket cup against the frame to have the bash guard loosen when it gets smacked.
Aug 30, 2022
Sep 13, 2022
Aug 28, 2022
Last time I had a cup on a bike was my 4X... Yus, some bikes use a cup!!
Aug 30, 2022
Aug 29, 2022
Aug 29, 2022
Aug 30, 2022