What chain guide options are there for a 1×9 setup?

I’ve had a look at CRC but the prices seem nuts

Do I need to spend £56 for one? I think my cranks cost less than that!

As always, advice gratefully received.

superstar components – I have one and it’s boss for the dosh!

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=56&products_id=362

yep had my superstar for a year now and works perfectly they also have a seat tube mounted version on the way

That looks like just the job!

Cheers

Another vote for the Superstar XCX thing. Think mine was £12 or something from them and despite being very dubious about how well it’d work (since the front mech only thing was rubbish) its been spot on, not dropped the chain once. Make sure you run an unramped SS chainring though.

I use an MRP Mini-G2 on my other bike and am half tempted to put an XCX on that too and save a chunk of weight.

Don’t have to wait, I bodged a seat tube mounted one with a Superstar BB mounted one and a £3 DMR seat tube mount from CRC, no way I’m paying for the MRP one!

See no real reason to pay more than the Superstar one though.

I have the Paul’s Components Chain Keeper as I’m running a sq taper bb and the Superstar or MRP or e-13 ones would have needed a spacer but you dont have them on sq tapers so it would have knocked the chainline out by a few millimetres and could have been a pain the posterior to set up correctly.

Never dropped the chain once, even for half a revolution.

BBG bashguard and N-Gear jump stop works for me (and a few other people)…

The Paul’s one is a lot more than the superstar one… I also would like to remain bashless, I think it’s superstar ftw for me.

Thanks folks

just converted my bike to a 1×9 superstar components are the best value.

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=56&products_id=362

Cheap, light and good quality.
just make sure that you line it up correctly with the middle of your rear cassette

Have a down tube high mount 30.9mm Pauls if interested. £20 posted. or £15 if you can collect from sheffield.

Does need a straight tube though. Switched to the BB mount version due to a frame upgrade (also for sale 🙂 Never dropped a chain with them, and very clean tidy and light.

Drop me an email at t.armstrong at me.com if interested.

@ swoosh: oops, I just bought a Superstar 1 x9 for a square taper… using a Renthal chain ring, will I definitely have problems? Can I use it at all?

BBG bash by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr

What size chainring are you running on the front for your 1×9 set-ups? Are you running 11-32 or 11-34 at the rear as well? Those chainguides look really good but they’re out of stock of black/black ones grrr

32x11x36 on the 29er

@ swoosh: oops, I just bought a Superstar 1 x9 for a square taper… using a Renthal chain ring, will I definitely have problems? Can I use it at all?

How did you get on with the Superstar and Sq taper bb?

I see Superstar are now doing a seat tube mounted version of their single ring chainguide. That would have saved me some money a few months ago if they’d done it then although I still think the Pauls Components is the best option out there as the others still allow the chain to pop off a bit but the Pauls doesn’t at all.

not a front mech then?

Gearing 36 to 11/34, I’ve used 38 to 11/34 before and it was sitll rideable upto the point where pushing became faster, but 34t or 36t works better as 38-11 takes a suprising ammount of effort to keep spinning even on the flat!

Chainguide – M:Part do one for £25 (bought mine through Evans, delivered in under 24 hours) not the lightest as it’s an alloy BB mount rather than some fancy composite on the MRP/e.13 ones, but can’t be any heavier than superstars offering, and probably lighter than a frotn mech, it’s cheeper than anything else on the market, and fits in with my philosophy of only buying form companies that have polite and usefull ‘customer service departments’.

The superstar mounted seat tube chain guide only says it has a range of 32t to 42t, why is this i’m assuming it’d be good for whichever size as long as the chain ring is mounted central with adecent chain line?

any ideas?

i currently run 48t on my commuter…….

another vote for superstar seat tube mounted here, got one last week and works well, maybe not as quietly as an mrp 1.x but a third of the price

I used the now redundant front mech and an unramped chainring and never dropped the chain.

says it has a range of 32t to 42t,

Presumably as big chainrings are less ’round’ so at a point they become too small to have sufficient chainring in the cage to retain the chain? The opposite in big rings, the chain is too straight to fill the chain device properly?

Hmm, i’ve been running the BB mounted superstar guide now for a month or so, and i’ve not been that impressed, it seems that it prefers to bend out the way if any significant force goes through it leaving the chain to end up wedged between the guide and the chainring. I’d assume that the seat tube mounted ones are better because the force thats bending it out the way wouldn’t affect it because it would be pushing towards the seat tube.

It’s only on really bumpy terrain i’ve been having problems, but its annoying getting half way down a singletrack and the chain’s off again! Maybe a seat tube mounted one is the answer, but i’d stay away from the BB one if you’re still looking. Maybe I just need a full on chain device to solve the problem when its bumpy.

oh and the Mpart ones from Evans are identical to the superstar ones, probably made in the same factory

Hmm, i’ve been running the BB mounted superstar guide now for a month or so, and i’ve not been that impressed, it seems that it prefers to bend out the way if any significant force goes through it leaving the chain to end up wedged between the guide and the chainring. I’d assume that the seat tube mounted ones are better because the force thats bending it out the way wouldn’t affect it because it would be pushing towards the seat tube.

I’ve been experiencing the EXACT same problem quite a bit recently! And it’s bloody annoying. Probably cost me 5 minutes sorting jammed chains out at SITS this weekend… I questioned whether my chainring is man enough too, but it’s a Gusset Tribal 32T ring and at 5mm thick, they don’t come any thicker!

Back plate of the Superstar is very flexy indeed, is the MRP or the E13 version any better? Really don’t want to go down the route of an LG1 or similar as I don’t want the drag, noise and weight of a lower roller.

I’ve had the e.13 one for about 18 months now without issue (apart from mounting with square-taper cranks). Seems stiff enough for me; I’ve never had a jammed chain.

I found the MRP one to work Ok until it got rough, roots, drops etc and then its more a pain than its worth due to it jammming as above. If all you are doing is smoother stuff then it’s be fine. So there is a MRP guide sitting in the garage unused.

I just bought one of these, which – even at sale price plus £10 off on CRC – is a scandalous ripoff. But the MRP guides are excellent – the G2 on my DH bike has been faultless. I don’t think the upper guide alone is enough.

Just got one of these http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=58726 fitted one to a mates bike and they work really well (bit of a fiddle to fit, had to grind off the granny ring tabs) but for £40.00 I can live with that

Yet another vote for superstar components, I have been using mine for about a year now and have no complaints.

THIS is pretty much exactly the same as the Paul’s Components one i have but but half the price. I wish this was out 6 months ago when i was looking before i when for the Paul’s.

jump n stop is not great – my chain comes off on the rougher stuff – on my Kobe. I think you do need a lower wheel really to tension the chain

I would get one with a roller unless you’re riding proper smooth stuff.. Any extra drag isn’t noticeable and you get a nice purring sound when you ride along! Plus it keeps the chain on.

I would get one with a roller learn to set the thing up properly and not pedal backwards unless you’re [/s]riding proper smooth stuff a complete mong

FTFY!

If the guide’s a good ‘fit’ on the ring and you don’t pedal backwards you shouldn’t have issues, unless you’re doing proper DH stuff I can’t see the need for a ‘full’ guide myself. I’ve never dropped the chain.

i suspect being on a Hardtail (for me anyway) makes a big difference – my Kobe drops chain down quite a few of the “rougher” Surrey Hills stuff. I am going to get something with a roller.

Ride with plenty of guys who ride 1x around the Surrey Hills, and I’ve never seen one drop the chain, it’s my local riding too. Check how you’ve got it set up – try and get the cage lower.

i know its a pain in the a. the jump stop is as low as it goes. They are not great in my opinion as they seem to move quite abit over time and I have to reset it as not in line with the chain. the chain seems to jump over the top of it. maybe just a top guide would be better that fully covers the chain like the superstar one.

trails like 2 roots etc it is always off by the bottom.

I stayed away from the n stop thingy as i could see too much wrong with the system for a 1x system. I’m sure its great for running on the inside of a pro’s TT bike when they want to ensure as much as possible that the chain wont fall off to the inside but for an MTB it’s just not going to work, IMHO of course.

E13 XCX was a 20 min job to fit and set up. (15 of that was removing and refitting the cranks)

has been flawless and quiet since it was fitted two weeks ago.

If the guide’s a good ‘fit’ on the ring and you don’t pedal backwards you shouldn’t have issues, unless you’re doing proper DH stuff I can’t see the need for a ‘full’ guide myself. I’ve never dropped the chain.

The Superstar XCR I have fitted to my hardtail allows my chain to jump off at least once every ride and it annoys the hell out of me! Maybe it’s cos it’s on a hardtail. Maybe it’s cos I’m riding it over some pretty rough terrain too (though it has come off twice on very smooth singletrack), but I’m not back pedalling and it’s definitely setup as well as it can be.

The issue I see with the superstar is the back plate is a little flexy, allowing the cage to be moved by the chain, and the cage is also perhaps 2mm too wide inside for the 10spd chain I’m running. Might be worth modifying by adding a strip or two of plastic inside the cage to narrow it down perhaps, but really it should just work from the factory…

Have just bought a 2nd hand MRP Lopes guide though to try out, figured it’s more likely to keep the chain on as it’s significantly thicker, better designed and has a lower roller too should I choose to keep it on.