[Closed] Are top feed only chain guides any good?

I've got a similar one - generally fine I've got to the end of a bit of single track once or twice and had the chain off the ring and being held on by the device but usually pedalling puts it straight back on.

Once I had to dismantle the device to get a jammed chain out but this may have been because it had rotated in the BB so wasn't ideally positioned before the chain came off.

Lots of people swear by them but I wasn't that impressed. It didn't stop my chain coming off and when it did come off it got pretty well wedged in the chain guide. I remember on one ride having to get an allen key out to loosen the chain guide (the two halve that bolt together) to free the chain.

That said, they're cheap and might work for you so my advice is go for it. Not too much to lose.

Sounds like I need to spend some cash on a top/bottom job, bash guard integrated too,

Any ideas for at decent price?

depends what you are riding, most trail centres etc youll be fine if it gets too rocky they can be out of their depth

Standard trail centre stuff, CoedyBrenin, Nantyrarain to Cannock chase, Sherwood pines etc... For £16 I may as well give it a go.

[url= http://bit.ly/11WhlfF ]How about this if I can put pennies together?[/url]

I found mine OK, it stopped the chain bouncing off, but you have to remember not to back pedal into corners etc otherwise it';s just as likely to drop as without the guide, which was a hard habit to get out of.

Whaaaat!!! I'm all about back pedalling!

I have a e13 xcr on my cove stiffee, a hope bb mounted top guide on my giant trance and a pauls chain keeper on my giant anthem. I have used the e13 and hope ones for about 6 months and the pauls for about 2 weeks and haven't dropped a chain on any of them in that time.

But do you like to pedal backwards?!

They work if you can fit them correctly. They won't if you can't.

Thats my experience of using them on two different bikes over the course of 1 year+ (had the same reliability as my much heavier and draggier MRP G2).

If you pedal backwards then the chain will be far more prone to coming off, but not really any worse than if you're on the outer ring with a multi-ring set up. Never been a problem for me, but I don't think I back pedal into corners - pedalling forwards makes you go faster 🙂

The Superstar one's adequate enough but it's not that strong- I bent mine in a heroic chain-drop and once it's happened once, it happens again. Still, it gave decent service. It was a bit more effort to set up than some, as well.

MRP 1X is the same thing, done right- sturdier backplate, better guide shape, far easier to set up and more reliable. But a bit more expensive.

How good are they... Well, on a hardtail with a clutch mech, it's all I need- took my Ragley downhilling, no bother. Only ever drops the chain when doing things like throwing the bike over fences. (downside is that the more secure the device is, the more of a pain it is if you do manage to knock it off!)

But for a 1x9 setup, it's not perfect, got my Soda set up that way with the Superstar and it drops the chain relatively often, maybe once a ride. And doesn't seem to be that dependant on what it's doing either, you'd think it'd drop off in rough stuff most but it doesn't seem to work like that. So that's one of the reasons I'm converting that bike back to 2x9.

@andysredmini - where did you get the Pauls from?

I agree with Northwind on the Superstar (seriously, this is getting silly now)

I have the MRP Lopes on two bikes, I've had zero problems with it, it never drops the chain. It's stupidly expensive, I got them when they were on sale at CRC and used £10 vouchers on top, but even still, pricy. IF you're going to run 1x10, but the bullet and get a proper guide like that, or the LG1 TR/LG1+/G2 SL

But do you like to pedal backwards?!

I'll do a quarter turn backwards when braking into right hand major corners when I'm right foot leading and vice versa when left foot leading, and occasionally ratchet the pedals when there's a dearth of clearance.

I noticed a do a quarter turn back pedal every now and then. I only noticed it on someone else's bike when I was getting a bit of chain suck.
Never had the bottom come off apart from one once when I caught the pedals when lifting the bike over a gate.

@Pukeko. I bought the pauls from the classifieds on here. I highly recommend trying one. Its the best out of the 3 I have (e13 xcr and the hope) its such a simple idea and the easiest to set up to achieve no rub.
Just check if you have a full suss that none of the linkages will clash with the fixing clamp.