09 May, 2007

Simplex Chainguard


We found a case of these neat old Simplex chain guards and they are now for sale in the store. But they didn't come with directions. So here are a couple of old drawings from Simplex catalogs to explain things.

Originally these would have been used with Simplex plunger type front dérailleur. They bolt right on to the front of it as you can see in the drawings. But we also supply them with a 1" P-clamp and hardware to use if you don't happen to have a Simplex plunger-type front dérailleur on your bike.

I've also been working on a way to attach the guard directly to a modern front dérailleur. That would make a cleaner installation My experiments include a small screw going through the top of the "hump" and into the dérailleur cage or bit of wire or a wire tie to attach it to the cage. Of course you have to remove the L-shaped bracket on the guard first, but that's easy. By attaching the chainguard to the cage it would move with the dérailleur, pretty slick. Anyone experimented with this or have a better idea? Since the supply of these is chainguards is limited, we don't want to fabricate a special part. An off-the-shelf solution can't be that hard to figure out.

UPDATE:

The chainguards been selling like the proverbial crepes (flapjacks). there are only a few left, but we think another case will arrive within a few days, maybe today.

8 comments:

  1. Wow. That's got to be the fastest I've clicked buy after seeing your post. Great job sourcing this kind of stuff. Can't wait to get it on my commuter. Now about those reverse pull levers . . .

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  2. I think mounting the chain guard so it just covers the outer chain ring might be the most practical and simple choice. If you mount it to the derailleur so that it moves in and out, your pant-leg could come into contact with the potentially greasy outer chainring.

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  3. http://www.h7.dion.ne.jp/~ciclin/sub1-8.htm
    Have you seen this bike?

    How about an attractive "chaincover ring" that would take the place of the outer ring on a triple. Ideally something a bit prettier than a 50 tooth ring with the teeth cut off.

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  4. James:
    TA, Sugino and probably quite a few other manufacturers make "chaincover rings" or whatever they're called in english: http://www.bmx-onlineshop.de/ (Germany) sells the TA ones, which are the nicest i've seen, in 110mm and 130mm BCD, for different chainring sizes.

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  5. I like the chainguard; it wouldn't go with either of my bikes or I'd tempt fate and my spouse and grab one, but since I just invested in a Soubitez (which runs my little 3W LED very nicely!) I likely won't. However...

    Rather than mounting the chainguard with some kind of P-clip, why not fabricate a bracket that replaces the original and bolts on under the ST bottle cage?

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  6. I have a Stronglight mod 93 crankset with an outer chainguard-type ring: http://tinyurl.com/2kffnh

    Works quite well to keep one's pants off of the chain.

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  7. Having a chainguard on a road bike would be such a good idea, if it can be done simply. When wearing trousers I rarely if ever ride the road machine for that very reason. I don't see any particular reason why the guard needs to move with the derailleur though. Agree muchly with Michael S.

    Neil, those Stronglight chainwheel guards are better than nothing for sure, and they look pretty cool to boot. However, in my experience it's the top part of the chain a few inches aft of the chainring that's the problem. That's where your cuffs are gonna get dirty. Which ain't a genteel thang.

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