Chain / trouser protection?

You know those plastic disks that are supposed to keep your deraileur out of
the spokes? Put them on your pedals.

Quoted message said:

Michael Press said:

Trouser clips are tradition among discerning bicyclists.
No one will look askance. Wear them proudly.

Marc Brett said:

My elders and betters tell tales of when they were children, the village
policemen rode bicycles. Their bicycle clips were more like over-sized
paper clips or money clips, worn vertically, and simply held together
the fold in their trousers.
The great advantage of this design is that the ankles weren't pinched,
and it also preserved that smartly-dressed appearance, even off the
bike.
Are they still available for sale, I wonder?

Sure, call me in 1976.
Vintage Terry's chromed trouser clips, Made in England of chromed
British steel, are a sartorial coup for the natty rider on any club ride.
I used four to hold the door liner in my MGB. I think they went to scrap
with it.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Michael Press said:

Trouser clips are tradition among discerning bicyclists. No one will
look askance. Wear them proudly.

Everyone used to wear them, but I haven't seen them in a bike shop for 20
years.

Matt O.

POHB said:

(Jose) said:

Alternativelly, has anyone found a way to keep both your trousers
clean and your chain lubed, without using the kind of protection above
mentioned?

Shorts

During the "preppy" 80s, a lot of people wore dressy bermuda shorts to
work with a tie and a blazer. At least they did in southern CA. I hadn't
seen this look for awhile until I was in Charleston, SC recently, where I
saw several downtownies dressed this way, riding bikes of course.

How about knickers: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/reviews/knickers/

I like the ones from www.swrve.com too.

Matt O.

Matt O'Toole said:

Michael Press said:

Trouser clips are tradition among discerning bicyclists. No one will
look askance. Wear them proudly.

Everyone used to wear them, but I haven't seen them in a bike shop for 20
years.

Tescos

Pete Biggs said:

Personally, even if I didn't mind the dirt, I wouldn't like the
flapping-around feeling and worry about the trousers getting caught in
/something/ - on the left as well as right side.

I'm looking for a better situation, not a perfect solution.

I often cycle wearing training trousers, and with a plastic protection
around the larger chainring, they haven't got caught anywhere, so far.

The traing trousers get stained by the chain, but I couldn't care
less. What I'm concerned about is the jeans that I wear for going
just down to the post office, the bank, the pharmacy, etc.

Quoted message said:

But if you don't care, good luck with your chainguard! Let us know how well
it fits your bike and chainset.

I'm inclined to give it another try with the velcro strap, or cat/dog
collar, and leave it on the bike - so that I always know were I have
it, which has been my major problem with that so far, as I keep losing
one after another.

If that still fails, for whatever reason, I'll definitelly go for a
long chaingard - if they fit new bikes I see all the time for sale,
why wouldn't it fit bike?? I'll chop it, drill it, extend it,
whatever necessary, but it *will* fit my bike.

Good luck with your pants, too.

Jose

Jay said:

I guess my rubber bands do not merit style points, but I think I am in the
running for the lowest weight solution, and lowest $.

On seconf thoughts, I may begin to like your solution: even if I keep
loosing the elastic bands - like I've done with the velcro straps,
they're so cheap, that I really couldn't care much.

Thanks Jay!

On Fri, 2 Nov 2007 11:32:51 -0000, Rob Morley <[email hidden]>
wrote:

Hi Rob,

Quoted message said:

You don't say what sort of bike you have - if it has a front derailleur
it's not practical to fit any sort of chainguard apart from those
plastic discs that attach to the outer chainring

My bike has a front deraileur.
I've seen new Trek bikes for sale, with triple chainrings, and
chaingards (with a cut in the area where the front d. has to move.

Quoted message said:

if it has a rear
derailleur it's not practical to fit a full length guard but you could
use a shorter one.

That depends on the type of attachement to the bike. The above
mentioned that I saw, had the chaingard go back to very near the
cassete.

Besides, that's so far behind, that my trousers won't get there.

Quoted message said:

If the bike has a hub gear it's an ideal candidate
for a chain guard, but as you've discovered one to fit it may not be
readily available in the shops.

Maybe my next bike... The ChainGlider seems perfect, for such type of
bike.

Quoted message said:

However it should be easy to have a
chainguard made to measure - just have a word with your local tinsmith
and see what he can come up with.

It just might be easier than getting my hands on one of those
exclusive to new, on the store, bikes.

Today I asked a fellow: If I buy this bike from you, and the next day
I fall down and break the chaingard, won't you order a new one for me?
Gess what he replied ;-(

Quoted message said:

Failing that, tucking trousers in
socks or rolling them up works for most people.

At this stage, the ruber elastic sounds attractive. I'll try it and
see what gives.

Cheers,
Jose

On Fri, 02 Nov 2007 06:14:03 -0700, POHB <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

(Jose) said:

Alternativelly, has anyone found a way to keep both your trousers
clean and your chain lubed, without using the kind of protection above
mentioned?

Shorts

Gosh, no - my legs are too sexy for that, specially in the Winter!
The local police wouldn't be able to keep the peace in town LOL

Cheers,
Jose

"Jose" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jay said:

I guess my rubber bands do not merit style points, but I think I am in the
running for the lowest weight solution, and lowest $.

On seconf thoughts, I may begin to like your solution: even if I keep
loosing the elastic bands - like I've done with the velcro straps,
they're so cheap, that I really couldn't care much.

Thanks Jay!

You are right, that is how I look at it. I am a little surprised that more
RBT / RBM regulars do not use rubber bands. Perhaps they would need to
actually buy the rubber bands, which would obviously be a negative. In my
case, we get a million of these rubber bands, which have a fairly short life
span. They dry out, I guess. At some point, you stretch them, and they snap.
So what. I use a spare, and I am on my way.

I have some velcro stuff, but I find the sound annoying. I avoid velcro if
there is a good alternative.

J.

Jay said:

"Jose" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jay said:

I guess my rubber bands do not merit style points, but I think I am
in the running for the lowest weight solution, and lowest $.

On seconf thoughts, I may begin to like your solution: even if I keep
loosing the elastic bands - like I've done with the velcro straps,
they're so cheap, that I really couldn't care much.

Thanks Jay!

You are right, that is how I look at it. I am a little surprised that
more RBT / RBM regulars do not use rubber bands. Perhaps they would
need to actually buy the rubber bands, which would obviously be a
negative. In my case, we get a million of these rubber bands, which
have a fairly short life span. They dry out, I guess.

The red Royal Mail ones are UV-degradeable. Might explain why so many are
dropped on the ground and quickly disintegrate.

Quoted message said:

At some point,
you stretch them, and they snap. So what. I use a spare, and I am on
my way.

Rubber bands are such an obvious solution that I suspect we've all tried
them. I find they have to be uncomfortably tight to stay put. Mind your
blood circulation!

~PB

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.bicycles.tech.]

landotter said:

Michael Press said:

Trouser clips are tradition among discerning bicyclists.
No one will look askance. Wear them proudly.

Quoted message said:

http://tinyurl.com/3ybc86

And less than $2 for a pair! Ya can't beat that! Rugged spring steel
lasts for decades -- I've been using the same pair for over 30 years
now.

--

John ([email hidden])

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.bicycles.tech.]

POHB said:

(Jose) said:

Alternativelly, has anyone found a way to keep both your trousers
clean and your chain lubed, without using the kind of protection above
mentioned?

Quoted message said:

Shorts

Not in this climate.

--

John ([email hidden])

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Matt O'Toole said:

Michael Press said:

Trouser clips are tradition among discerning bicyclists. No one will
look askance. Wear them proudly.

Everyone used to wear them, but I haven't seen them in a bike shop for 20
years.

I found them around here recently.

--
Michael Press

Two issues:

1. Dirt

2. A loose cuff can get caught between the chain and chain ring. (So
can shoe laces.) Put on a chain guard, and it becomes that more
difficult to get untangled.

Not that although chain dirt can often be cleaned off, the jamming often
tears the cuff.

In other words, strap up your cuffs!

Jose said:

Hi All,

I'd like to be able to ride my bike without having to worry about my
trousers getting from contact with the chain.

I've seen several chain (plastic) protections, on new bikes, which
cover the chainring area and go back to very close to the rear
deraileur.
Trouble is, I can't seem to find anyone that is either interested in
or capable of, selling me one of those for mounting the I already have
:-(

Anyone knows where I can get one of these (preferably mail order)??

Alternativelly, has anyone found a way to keep both your trousers
clean and your chain lubed, without using the kind of protection above
mentioned?

I know I could try fastening the trouser tight to the leg, but I'd
prefer something else, as I think that would only decrease the
likelyhood of staining my trousers, and I'd prefer not having to worry
about performing yet that extra step before being able to ride.

TIA,
Jose

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Jose) said:

Jay said:

I guess my rubber bands do not merit style points, but I think I am in the
running for the lowest weight solution, and lowest $.

On seconf thoughts, I may begin to like your solution: even if I keep
loosing the elastic bands - like I've done with the velcro straps,
they're so cheap, that I really couldn't care much.

I tend to use the (standard?) black binder clips. Folding over the
pants legs and clipping on the inside makes it practically invisible, if
you care about that sort of thing.

If you care about keeping the entire lower leg clean, you could butcher
an old pair of cycling tights (or even a similar pair of pants) to get
something that goes just from calf to foot. Leg warmers could serve the
same purpose, if you don't mind looking a bit silly.

--
My personal UDP list: 127.0.0.1, 4ax.com, buzzardnews.com, googlegroups.com,
heapnode.com, localhost, ntli.net, teranews.com, vif.com, x-privat.org

in message <[email hidden]>, John Thompson

(') said:

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.bicycles.tech.]

POHB said:

(Jose) said:

Alternativelly, has anyone found a way to keep both your trousers
clean and your chain lubed, without using the kind of protection above
mentioned?

Quoted message said:

Shorts

Not in this climate.

What climate is that? Here in Scotland I'm still commuting in shorts.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; When your hammer is C++, everything begins to look like a thumb.

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jay said:

"Jose" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 1 Nov 2007 17:56:29 -0500, "Jay" <[email hidden]> wrote:

> I guess my rubber bands do not merit style points, but I think I am
> in the running for the lowest weight solution, and lowest $.

On seconf thoughts, I may begin to like your solution: even if I keep
loosing the elastic bands - like I've done with the velcro straps,
they're so cheap, that I really couldn't care much.

Thanks Jay!

You are right, that is how I look at it. I am a little surprised that
more RBT / RBM regulars do not use rubber bands. Perhaps they would
need to actually buy the rubber bands, which would obviously be a
negative. In my case, we get a million of these rubber bands, which
have a fairly short life span. They dry out, I guess.

The red Royal Mail ones are UV-degradeable. Might explain why so many are
dropped on the ground and quickly disintegrate.

Quoted message said:

At some point,
you stretch them, and they snap. So what. I use a spare, and I am on
my way.

Rubber bands are such an obvious solution that I suspect we've all tried
them. I find they have to be uncomfortably tight to stay put. Mind your
blood circulation!

~PB

I suggest you have not found the correct size for your comfort. Here is a
company http://www.bigwigbands.com/rb_sizes.html which has 15 different
standard sizes in the 1/4" width. The size I like is, I think, 3 1/2" long
(unstretched). Note also the different thicknesses. So the perceived
tightness on your ankle varies by both the band length and the thickness.

J.

In article <[email hidden]>, Jose
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I've tried that before. Trouble is that clips or the velcro fasteners
would only last 1 ride - after that I could never remember where I had
stored them :-(

Hint - velcro straps can be attached to various parts of the bike. :-)

Heh-heh. The subject says "trouser".

Bill "slow afternoon" S.