Minimalist Chainguide?

[Tony S]

New to a 1x setup this summer. In the past I've always had a front derailleur. Last week I lost my chain off the front during a rough, fast downhill on a large group ride and ended up getting dropped (temporarily ... headed off the crew with a hypotenuse move). As a result I'm considering the possibility of installing some kind of minimal chainguide. On the other hand, it's only happened a couple times in a couple of months. Good idea or overreaction? Specific suggestions?

 

[Mike Thomas]

I'd take a look at possible causes such as a slightly long chain or a derailleur that has the clutch 'off'. Press fit bb, right? No ISCG? Single ring only... fitting a chainguide is going to get interesting...

 

[nemesis256]

Is your chain ring a narrow-wide?

 

[Rod9301]

With a nw ring, never happened, and i ride some rough trails

 

[Dave Marshak]

Pick one: https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...id=kwd-31697445216&ref=pd_sl_2qinc1jmfi_e_p19

You're gonna drop a chain sooner or later and it will always be at the worst time. Don't waste your time worrying about or looking for a different solution.

mm

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Do you have ISCG tabs or a FD mount or any other kind of mount?

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Looking at the 4.5 on the inter webs, I think you are SOL. No ISCG tabs, no FD mount of any kind, and no seat tube that you can use. I think your only choices are make sure you have a good NW chainring, make sure your clutch is "on", and then make sure your clutch isn't broken. They do break and can be replaced rather easily.

 

[Tony S]

Thanks.

 

[Tom K.]

As noted by @epic, you are probably SOL with the 4.5.

Check chain length. As a rule of thumb, you want the RD cage at about a 45 degree angle in low gear. LOTS of bikes are delivered with a slightly over-long chain.

Two other things:

1. You can get in the habit of shifting to a lower gear when you are doing long, coasting downhills. This adds RD tension, though it doesn't help as much on the new clutch RDs.

2. You can increase the clutch tension on some (all?) SRAM RDs a bit with a T45 socket in the "knuckle" of the RD. They usually cover this fitting with a plastic cap. Go softly. An eighth of turn makes a difference. You can do the same thing on Shimano RDs by removing the plastic cover. From there, I forget the details, but surely there is an interweb video out there somewhere.

 

[Tony S]

Thanks, @Tom K. !