I’m currently run a 1×10 setup with a E13 chain guide.
Do i really need it. I use a middleburn hard coat chainring which are supposed to have slightly longer teeth. With all the rain we’ve had the chain guide just gets clog with all sorts of nastyness.
If i remove it will the chain stay on?

is it a front mech replacement guide – XCX – or something with a roller on the bottom – lg1+ ?
I ran a single up front for a bit with only a front mech for a guide and the chain was coming off all the time for me.

If you run without a guide you are guaranteed to drop the chain unless you ride somewhere with no bumps.

If you run a top-only guide you may find that you lose the chain from the bottom if you back-pedal (for pedal position adjustment, for example) on rough ground.

Only a (properly installed) full-on rention device will guarantee that your chain stays in place all the time.

the only things gaurenteed are death and taxes.

try it – see what happens and report back?

The only things in life that are guaranteed are death, taxes, and that if you run a mtb with a single ring and nothing to hold it on, your chain will fall off.

You’ll know the answer, when you crack your testicles into your stem after trying to run it without a chain guide

i’ve been running just such a set up with no guide for the last month or so and do you know what…

it’s been a funking nightmare, the chain is as tight as possible yet it drops at every opportunity, rolling off a kerb? chain drop and your spinning like a ****t and going nowhere at best… at worst your stranded on the middle of a dual carriage way. Rocky terrain? you’re gonna slam your nads onto the stem. Fact. Slightly bumpy feild? Your mates will dissapear into the distance as you hop on and off the bike to pop the chain back on.

two months like that you say?? yes, on the way home there are no bumpy fields, kerbs or rocks and you forget or kid yourself that it wasn’t so bad… until five minutes into the next ride… grrrrr

try it if you want. i’m switching back to SS for the winter, and next summer i’ll have a chain device.

Best thing to do is try it but if you’re chain doesn’t come off don’t report back because we’ll all think you’re either mincing or a roadie 😆

I’ve just got an N-Gear Jump Stop and that seems to work fine so far as you can adjust it close. A front mech doesn’t have the close tolerances of the new breed of top guides like the MRP or E-13 ones.

I’m running my decade virsa as a 1×9 at the moment with a middleburn uno chainring. I am running the chain plus one link (instead of plus two links). Plenty of bouncy trails with hardly any drops , twice in the last dozen or so outings. I have a Paul Chainkeeper to go on at some point but the uncluuttered front uno chainring looks too nice at the moment.

dropped my chain on a step up on a bash/jumpstop combi, comedy crash over the bars. id knocked the jumpstop on the trail and it wasnt doing its job, plus i changed gear just too late on the big step. that was 3 weeks ago no probs since.

I’m currently running 1×8 in the peaks and have had very few problems even after going long sets of steps. I’d give it a go without if I were you before spending any money.