Do I need this part on my kids bike? All I can tell it does is keep some tension on the chain and make noise. 20" Specialized Hotrock.
by barndt99
Do I need this part on my kids bike? All I can tell it does is keep some tension on the chain and make noise. 20" Specialized Hotrock.
by barndt99
5 Comments
Chain guides. They keep the chain from falling off the chainring.
A relic of the days before narrow wide chainring technology. Bc there’s only one chainring in the front the rollers just keep the chain from falling off when it flips around. These were popular on downhill bikes but probably installed so that if a kid were riding the bike they would have less of a chance of getting stranded
Small geared kids bikes usually have terrible chain lines because of the super short chain stays. Keep them on to keep the chain from coming off.
If you want to remove it, you could replace the chainring with a narrow wide chainring, but that means new cranks also. Hot Rocks can be good for little shredders, so it might be worth it if they aren’t going to outgrow it in a week or two.
Chain guides. Leave them be -they are very useful on those bikes.