I'm very upset, I just bought and had this new surly karate monkey delivered to my house and after a few minutes of riding, I broke it. Some sticks got caught in the spokes and broke the clear disc off the spokes. I hope this was just a freak accident and not a testament to the bikes quality as the bike cost over $1500. Any information on what this is and how I can fix it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
by xxbxxxxxxxxxx
23 Comments
It’s called a dork disc and they’re intentionally fragile because we all remove them as soon as we get a new bike. Don’t stress , remove and dump the dork disc
Did you build it yourself? Your limit screws could be not set correctly.
I’ve removed that thing on every bike I’ve owned.
is this a joke
A lot of people remove them, but they do serve a purpose, it is called a ‘spoke protector’ and they retail for $10 or less. To install it, you will need to remove your cassette, you will need multiple tools to do so, a chain whip and a cassette lock ring tool.
I assure you it is far from a testamemt to the build quality of the bike, but it could protect your bike from the quality of mechanic who built and provided the first tune of your bike.
It’s there to protect the spokes in case the chain derails inwards. If your gear limits are properly set and you are confident the chain would very unlikely jump off the big cog into your spokes, you may choose to remove it. While it is a recommended piece of protective equipment for your wheel most cyclists do choose to remove it.
For proper removal instructions refer to how to remove the spoke protector/pie plate/dork disc, or simply go at it like a maniac and cut it off. But carefully.
you really don’t need a spoke protector if your drivetrain’s properly tuned. If you’re really keen in fixing it, just bring it to your local bike shop and have it either removed or replaced (since i think you don’t have the proper tools).
most people throw these away, i personally run them until they fall off. In your case i would run it until it falls off.
The “dork disc” has tabs that hold it onto the spoke. Either one of them broke off or it wasn’t installed correctly. Fixing it would require pulling off the cassette and if it’s broken, you just throw it out. Consensus is going to be if you do that much, throw it out regardless. Personally, I like to leave them on… it’s a little extra protection if I bend a hanger in the woods and it messes up my indexing. But eventually they yellow and get brittle and just fall apart and by that point they definitely need to come off.
Dork disk. A wire snip.
Contrary to what some people might say, you don’t have to remove it. It serves a function and it’s up to you if you want to keep it.
I got a bunch of sticks stuck in my wheels and it broke plastic, is my bike crap?
No your risking skills are…
Lol the amount of times we see these posts here on Reddit
Dork disk
Dremel. Cut in two pieces. Off in a minute.
Pie plate, dork disk.
Thank you all for your insight and advice. I ended up cutting it off with some kitchen scissors (I’m definitely going to invest in the proper tools). It seems like either way the dork disc needed to come off anyways because it was broken, so I figured since a lot of you were saying you can ride without it as long as the bike is properly tuned, I would just cut it off for the time being. I will probably end up putting one back on just because I did have a chain derail inward once without one and it destroyed a lot of things on my bike. I appreciate all your support.
They are calling spoke guards. They used to be made of chromed steel but bicycle manufacturers got cheep and started to make them out of plastic. You can find them on Ebay. I just bought this one on Ebay to replace a cheep plastic one. They have the plastic ones too. If you do it yourself you will need a tool to remove either the cassette or freewheel depending on which you have. It looks like a cassette to me. If you are not mechanical inclined then take it to a bike shop and have them swap it for you.
https://preview.redd.it/matfa2mj6s6h1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93b4bdaabd40c5bc82d43d7fd04f93ac3e5394d1
It is called a Spoke Protector.
If it is broken, if it’s woggling around, remove it. Otherwise just let it do its job: protect the spokes in case you crash again (like all of us, you likely will) and bend the derailleur/derailleur hanger in.
It’s a dork disk and you done got the beans above the frank
That’s a dork disc, pie plate, or spoke protector, and the good news is it’s designed to break so you don’t have to. Just remove it and move on with your life.
Its a bit like reflectors on spokes or hanging off the back of a saddle.
I see people on American call them “dork discs”. In Europe we call them an embarrassment to cycling. Completely unnecessary piece of nonsense.
Get rid of it and get your groupset tuned to thumb your nose at any possibility that it might be useful.
Remove it and forget about it
It serves 0 purpose
Most guys here tell you, that you don’t need that disk, and it looks ugly. And you will never need it, because you rear derailleur is adjusted perfectly all the time.
Well, until a piece of wood gets in your drive train, and the chain winds itself up between the cassette and the spokes, badly damaging the spokes.
Been there, done that.