I've got a 3 ring bash, good to know big ring is protected, but realistically the only time it's got hammered was doing the kona dark side trail which is 4km of stupidly hard ladders and rocks, and I fell off a lot!

DHers run smaller bashs and I've always thought they fly over most stuff anywhere near the BB at their speed.

If you're doing slow, very techy log/rock stuff then maybe you'd hit a lot…but at the average trail centre?!

I think I bent a big ring once, years ago. But otherwise, never hit owt. I use triple on all my bikes.

mine was always getting pranged, I mostly rode techy, rocky trails (practically trials in some places) now I don't ride MTB at all cos my thumb/wrist hurts too much, but weirdly road/ cyclocross is ok.

The boot lip dragging my gnarl machine out before I shredded the trails yo

always scrape the rocky drop on the cwmcarn DH course on my 5. HTH. i'm obviously not going fast enough.

only ever touched my 44T once, on the descent from minch moor at innerlithen on a massive rock. but thats it, never ever before or after that one instance.

Even on my play bike, never touched the 36 ring and as a consequence use an LG1 with no "taco" or anything

I use mine for scraping over niche singlespeeders blocking the trail…

Frequently on the tandem. That runs bashrings the largest of which is 36 and they are battered to heck, Dalbeatie I think we got 5 strikes on them

I run my solo with two chain rings but I don't bother with a bash

larger full sus bikes and tandems benifit from bash guards……….
they are however mostly redundent on most peoples bike…………
place there for pose value……. 8)

A friend of mine smashed his E13 bash spectacularly to bits by bottoming out on a rock at massive speed. It was pretty damn rad.

Tandem has quite a long wheelbase though 🙂
That off the road bit Del? I can see the issue there but yeah, you should be clearing that. I …errr…..walk it 😳

Top step of mmmbop.

The bash on my Pitch is well battered! Flying rocks and the odd grounding on logs and the like mainly. It's actually cracked all the way through!

I must admit to a perverse pleasure in attempting to ride any log or tree that everyone without a bash has to carry their bike over, too
🙂

No idea what I hit mine on, but took a massive slice out of my E13 at the mega this year. Needed to take a saw to it to smooth the thing down

SOunds messy Fortunateson, anything left of the bike/him?!

aye – that's the one. 🙂
edit – whoops, been away for a bit. the drop off the fire road, yes.

The bash rings take a good hammering on our tandem too.

You'd think we were trying to smash some of the rock steps if you followed us round Afan….

bash rings serve a double purpose innit.

removing the big-ring gives you more clearance, and means you can use a shorter chain, so you can run the chain tighter, so it falls off less. and you can use a shorter cage rear mech, so that gets bashed less.

so if you decide to remove the big-ring, putting a bash guard on will protect the middle ring from being bashed, and it'll help stop the chain falling off to the outside of the middle ring.

i've just looked at my bash-guard – it's been battered.

wot he said ^
and it stops you cutting holes in your leg, like my mate did.

wot he said ^ 😉

dunno but mine are chipped and erm bashed quite a bit on my xc and dh bike

only notice doing it on street stuff, walls or planters etc

I see the logic about running 2 rings so you shorten the chain and mech. It'd be neater but I prefer having 3 rings w bash, and my point is I rarely hit even that.

Must just be that I don't have a go at rocky steps and log crossings. Maybe I should try 😛 Used to have it on the commuter to stop me trousers getting chewed up mainly.

So what I'm getting is
Step drops
Logs
Street tricks
Trials

99.97% of the time I don't do those 🙂

The boot lip dragging my gnarl machine out before I shredded the trails yo

LOL

Kimbers thats because I end up making you avoid rocks I drag out into the trails with my wheels. Remember that one?

I roll more than lift so the smooth fat 36 bash is helpful on scary drops. It's a bit pitted but not too bad. I haven't missed the 44.

I've smashed a (36T) E13 bash in 2 in a rockgarden at Fort william DH track (could tell you the exact rock if you know the track well :wink:) and I've bent, cracked, dented many many others and bent a fear few BBs/cranks over the years riding DH bikes whereas on my hardtail I never hit the bash on anything ever, it's a tiny superlight alloy one only there to stop the chain coming off the outside of the (36T) ring.

Rocks, roots, a dog, flying stones.

Mine hits quite a lot of logs in the woods especially on the full susser when the rear end is compressed. Was also usefull on the woodwork at Whites Level before the ^ shape bit got worn down by all the big rings gouging it. I think I've hit it on a rock once maybe.
Anyway a bash is 32-36t and an outer is 44t so you're not going to hit is as much anyway.

Mainly a fashion thing

Yep that's why I put mine on. 😮

I can see if your sus compresses the BB drops a lot…which is worse the more travel you have

But the front wheel has to travel over any potential nasty rock first, so I don't see how it's really possible at speed. Maybe pyramid shape rocks?

Nave managed to flick big rocks up at my bash when travelling at speed off the front wheel. Still not sure how I stayed on the bike though

if its the rock im thinking of then yes it was rather big graham

Fuss and nonsense 😉

Something ain't right there

Fallen trees as I to like doing the 'I can ride over it whilst you have to get of and carry' thing.

5 holes in the back of my leg says i should have switched sooner!

the bash(s) on my dh and jump bike are HAGGERED though. rocks, flying rocks, and more rocks.

just fitted double and bash to xc bike.

come up to yorkshire and ill show you some trails where you grind out your rings if you like? (odd phrase) its never going to happen at a trail centre!

Mainly a fashion thing

Oh what a load of drivel…! 🙂

Rocks, logs, drops that I'm not doing fast enough.

Also safety aspect as mentioned above, I still have scar from a chainring going in my arm.

I only have a bash on my 6in bike though, normal triples on my 4in FS and HT.

"just fitted double and bash to xc bike."

Way to go. Both my 5" FS and HT have that setup now.

The problem with the dinky taco ones is that they don't help keep the chain on. Get a nice thick chunk of plastic on there. You know you want too.