This thing isn’t very good it seems. I have a BB mounted XCR that lets the chain still drop inbetween it and the crankset, and then pins it in there. Not ideal. Seems it needs spacing OUT a little, but that isn’t possible?

Any thoughts? These just rubbish anyway? Need a clutch rear mech to use solo?

Sadly on this giant trance I can only run BB mounted things. Oh for a cheap secondhand mrp lopez.

Mine worked flawlessly tbh… Though it’d still drop if I backpedalled, or when I was lifting/carrying the bike. If you need to space the cage out further it’s easy, just add a spacer between backplate and cage.

Binned mine this week, kept dropping my chain too (on a yeti ASR5) when I was doing the small rock garden on my Jedi session. Happened everytime I rode it. Kept dropping locally on less bumpy stuff too.

Went for a MRP once, pricey but it doesn’t rub in any gear (1×10) unlike the superstar that rubbed at either end of the cassette. Pricey but so far seems worth it

This thing isn’t very good it seems.

Correct

I have a BB mounted XCR that lets the chain still drop inbetween it and the crankset, and then pins it in there. Not ideal.

Yup, exactly the same experience.

Seems it needs spacing OUT a little, but that isn’t possible?

More than likely it’s bent. The backplate is made of monkey metal, I set mine up flawlessly to start, but after 2 or 3 drops the backplate was bent shockingly!

Any thoughts? These just rubbish anyway? Need a clutch rear mech to use solo?

Erm, various options… Wouldn’t bother with a clutch rear mech to be honest, would rather spend the money on a decent chain device that you know works.

Sadly on this giant trance I can only run BB mounted things. Oh for a cheap secondhand mrp lopez.

MRP Lopes is great, but… Whilst being an MRP the metal parts are tougher than a tough thing that’s been cold forged then work hardened, the plastics are pretty poor and brittle. My Lopes is out of action at the moment, waiting for new top and bottom guide plates to come into stock at CRC, as they snapped! Might be a VGC (as guides are new) Lopes in the classifieds soon if I can get hold of an E13 LG1 in the right size and configuration for my bike, as although heavier, they’re definitely tougher overall.

N gear jumpstop, never had any drama or dropped chains with mine and dirt cheap, you do need a bash guard as well though.

Sadly on this giant trance I can only run BB mounted things. Oh for a cheap secondhand mrp lopez.

Or, any iscg/iscg05 chaindevice and a bb adaptor? Pretty much anyone that’s bought an E13 chain device will have one kicking around…

I ended up putting a granny (with worn teeth ground off) on the inside to stop it jamming between the crankarm and XCR backpl0ate and spacing out the XCR (68mm BB shell) to just miss the granny ring bolts
Maybe the seattube mounted one might be better in that it couldn’t get stuck if/when the chain comes off

As above the chain comes off after back pedalling or carrying, though without a lower roller or clutch mech I can really see how it won’t?
It rubs at either end of the casette and the cage has snapped on mine

Hmm, on balance it does seem a bit cack

james – Member

Maybe the seattube mounted one might be better

Oh god no- the mount is too flexible, it genuinely is crap.

noted, Ill pass on the seat tube mounted XCR then
Any insight on the ‘chainkeeper’ style one they do? ie the really minimal one

I’ve got one – no problems after a bit of faff getting the chainline set up. Never dropped a chain on it, although i’m not blasting through rockgardens and probably don’t take off anymore than 1-2ft or so.

It’s probably not the best bit of kit, but it’s doing the job perfectly well for me. For xc/light am it should be fine – I’d have another one.

Assuming you’ve got a converted 1×10 on your trance, is the single ring central to the guide?

Or, any iscg/iscg05 chaindevice and a bb adaptor?

The key here being trance. It’s a dual link design with a very low bottom link. This means that either a) the adapter strikes the lower link or b) you space it out and the chainline is AWFUL and not worth the time. I had an e13 LG1+, won’t use anything that isn’t bb mounted on this frame now.

The single ring is slightly to the outer side of the guide; and I should check but it might be a bent backplate but if it is it’s only because it dropped the chain in the first place.

And it also drops whenever I lift the bike over a fence and put it down on the other side.

All in all somewhat jerky.

I ran a seat tube mounted one on my Trance with no problems

e13 xcx seat tube guide running with xtr clutch mech – 2 rides in and its silent, doesnt rub at all, never dropped the chain (over lots of fast rocky peak descents, jumps, and general gnarrrrrrrrrrrrrly peak district stuff)….

the e13 is expensive for what it is make no mistake, but even back pedalling (as a test, even though i dont ever seem to whilst riding) and it never once attempted to derail…

very impressed with it at the mo (touches wood!)

Northwind – Member

Mine worked flawlessly tbh… Though it’d still drop if I backpedalled, or when I was lifting/carrying the bike.

Or, to put it another way, “Mine didn’t work either”

unlike the superstar that rubbed at either end of the cassette.

you set it up wrong.

11-36 1×10 running here, no rubbing whatsoever. chain will drop off the bottom of the ring with any guide which just protects the top. get a blackspire stinger roller on the bottom (about £20) and all will be well. not dropped a chain since, and as the bottom is protected, back-pedalling isn’t a problem.

N-gear jump stop and BBG bashring for the win. £25 all in

hungry monkey – Member
you set it up wrong.

My thoughts exactly. It takes a bit of fiddling but when done properly it works fine – at least that’s my experience (no dropping, no discernible rubbing)

Hmmm, my superstar xcr (bought second hand off here for about a tenner), works pretty well, has only got let the chain come off maybe twice in 10 months of use, as said back pedalling can make it do it.
Saying that i’m using it on a renthal single specific ring which seems to help I think with the deeper teeth.
Did the uplift at hamsterley on it last week week, didn’t come off through all the rock gardens/drops etc…
Can’t complain for the money.

😀

Another Trance owner and SS XCR user here. A bit of fiddle to get it set up right but no problems riding anywhere including a week in the Alps last year. I’m running 1×9 on the middle ring position of the cranks.

Are you using a specific front ring?

Mine dropped the chain from new with an XT middle ring (brand new as well) but has been fine since i swapped to a Renthal. The SS specific ones have much larger non ramped teeth which help loads with keeping the chain on.

Can’t say i’ve ridden my 1×10 bike much since i built it but it’s not dropped the chain once in around 200 miles since i set it all up now.

honourablegeorge – Member

Or, to put it another way, “Mine didn’t work either”

Not at all. It does the job it’s supposed to do perfectly- keeps the chain on while riding. Backpedalling over rough stuff is a schoolboy error, you shouldn’t expect your hardware to work better than your software.

Not at all. It does the job it’s supposed to do perfectly- keeps the chain on while riding. Backpedalling over rough stuff is a schoolboy error, you shouldn’t expect your hardware to work better than your software.

You also said “when you pick the bike up” – which is what it does for me.

Also, what happens if you need to change your pedal position in a rough corner to drop and weight the outside foot and this necessitates backpedalling?

what happens if you need to change your pedal position in a rough corner to weight the outside foot and this necessitates backpedalling?

I’d just put a half pedal stroke in forward. IME there are very few situations where that’s a problem.

continuity – Member

Also, what happens if you need to change your pedal position in a rough corner to weight the outside foot and this necessitates backpedalling?

I’d pedal forwards thanks. Or not screw up in the first place ideally. And who cares if it occasionally falls off while lifting/dropping the bike?

Just to state the incredibly obvious btw- all top-only guides do this. If you have a problem with that, you need a full guide.

I’d just put a half pedal stroke in forward. IME there are very few situations where that’s a problem.

A bit more than that, but you could be right.

I’d pedal forwards thanks. Or not screw up in the first place ideally. And who cares if it occasionally falls off while lifting/dropping the bike?

Just to state the incredibly obvious btw- all top-only guides do this. If your riding or requirements mean a top-only guide isn’t suitable, I’d happily ecommend not buying a top-only guide.

What part of having to drop your outside foot to weight the tyres means that I’ve screwed up in the first place?

If it jams and you have to sit down and spend three minutes gently coaxing it out not to bend any links / bend the backplate any more, it does tend to get in the way of ones fun, but I also hate trailside maintainance and that is one of the reasons I went 1x.

Maybe you’re right that I need a dual guide, but a lot of people seem to have said that the e13 ones don’t do this and I was wondering if it’s buyer’s loyalty or actually true.

continuity – Member

What part of having to drop your outside foot to weight the tyres means that I’ve screwed up in the first place?

Having to do a big back-pedal it in the middle of a rough corner. Especially on a bike you’ve chosen to use a top guide on 😉

The E13 one does the exact same thing in my experience… (I used one for a while after I broke my superstar one through incredibly cackhandedness, while waiting for a replacement bit) Much nicer bit of kit though but the limitation with both is that the chain’s free to flap at the bottom, when you combine that with a backpedal then naturally there’s nowt a top guide can do to keep it on- the chain’s not falling off, you’re pedalling it off.

Having to do a big back-pedal it in the middle of a rough corner.

What if there are technical bits before the corner also? It’s not a big backpedal, it’s a quarter turn.

Anyway, either way, it’s not the backpedalling that is affecting me, it’s simply dropping on jumps/drops/rock gardens/roots/lifting the bike over fences.

If a single guide will never solve that, best get me an mrp mini g2 bb mount.

Quarter turn’s never caused it to drop for me, only a bigger backpedal ever did that.

it does sound to me like you need a full guide tbh… Wouldn’t give up with the Superstar one til you’ve done a bit more fannying around though, setting up chain devices is like bloomin voodoo sometimes. A tall chainring might sort it too though.

I found a magic spacing washer in the back of the garage, ground down one side and have fitted it in. I fully expect to get a dropped chain on the outside now, but hey, at least that’s easier to fix.