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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Low riders need em to get over the speed bump in front of the package store…
Last time I had a cup on a bike was my 4X… Yus, some bikes use a cup!!
My bike is long and low so I had a buddy 3D print a guard for it.
Most people ditched ring-mounted bash guards as 1x drivetrains and direct mount rings became the norm. However, I’ve seen way too many chainrings fold to risk it and have employed some type of bash guard since ’00. The OneUp is ideal as the bash plate will allow for oval ring sizing.
My local area has some fierce rock gardens, and so I put one on my xc race bike thinking that I would take it off when I got used to it, and it is still on there!
It depends on where your local riding is imo. I’m all over the AZ, Moab n Fruita, bash guards a must for all the rocky trails… And yes, a frame with a lower bottom bracket height is also HUGE factor…
This is a requirement in Arizona trails.
Absolutely and I’ve been thankful for it too often to count. All of my frames are small and the bottom brackets and chainrings tend to be closer to the ground.
The lower link on my Niner Jet 9 is a heavy forging and extends below the chainring, so its a built-in bash guard.
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.
I would not ride in Arizona without one. Sure you got plenty of clearance on Evo Stumpjumper but there will be the time you hit some small rocks while going over something and you will be glad you got one. Never feel like bashing more because of the guard.
I would though my Alchemy ST 29 doesn’t have ISCG tabs. The Wolftooth chain rings are very strong!
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.
I’ve only ever hit my chainring hard enough to cause a problem once. Got a slightly stiff link so I dremeled the sharp part off the link and was all good. Don’t have any plans to run one in the future