High Quality Spoke Protector?

Jeff Starr said:

Hi, First off, I have searched the archives and have read the reasons
for not needing a protector. A properly adjusted RD precludes the need.
There lies the potential for disaster. It is the first derailleur I have
ever installed, adjusted, and maintain on my own. It works fine now, but
I am not ready to trust my skills with my new wheels.
Ok, what I would like is a lightweight, high quality spoke
protector[SP]. The spokes will be black, so the SP could be clear
or possibly black. The largest cog is 25t and the hub is a 32
hole Dura-Ace.
Are they reusable, the one that is on my Aurora Matrix wheels is 5.5",
clear, and not overly obtrusive. If I can't find a new one locally, I
might reuse it, if possible. I have seen them online for as little as
$3, but the shipping is often double the cost. Has anyone made their
own? A custom SP?
As I already mentioned, I'm past the debate on whether to use one. It is
just a question of which one. Did any high end, aftermarket wheels come
with SPs? If so, does anyone have the SP, just sitting there, never to
be used, maybe looking for a new home? I'd happily pay for shipping and
maybe more;-) Any info, help, and/or suggestions will be appreciated.
Thank you, Jeff And yes - Life is Good!

Clean up the one from your other wheel and use it. Spoke Protectors are
easy to swap. One thing.. both wheels need to have the same number of
spokes. Some local bike shops carry them as well.

--

(Jeff Starr) said:

Hi, First off, I have searched the archives and have read the reasons
for not needing a protector. A properly adjusted RD precludes the
need. There lies the potential for disaster. It is the first
derailleur I have ever installed, adjusted, and maintain on my own. It
works fine now, but I am not ready to trust my skills with my new
wheels.

Ok, what I would like is a lightweight, high quality spoke
protector[SP]. The spokes will be black, so the SP could be clear or
possibly black. The largest cog is 25t and the hub is a 32 hole
Dura-Ace.

Are they reusable, the one that is on my Aurora Matrix wheels is 5.5",
clear, and not overly obtrusive. If I can't find a new one locally, I
might reuse it, if possible. I have seen them online for as little as
$3, but the shipping is often double the cost. Has anyone made their
own? A custom SP?

As I already mentioned, I'm past the debate on whether to use one. It
is just a question of which one. Did any high end, aftermarket wheels
come with SPs? If so, does anyone have the SP, just sitting there,
never to be used, maybe looking for a new home? I'd happily pay for
shipping and maybe more;-)
Any info, help, and/or suggestions will be appreciated.
Thank you,
Jeff
And yes -
Life is Good!

Dear Jeff,

Plastic spoke protectors are re-usable in that you can often fiddle
them off and back on again.

But after a few times, their retaining prongs tend to stay bent or
even break off when re-used. The prongs also age and becomes brittle
and die natural deaths.

One way to remove them is to bend the outer edge of the plastic circle
out away from the spokes slightly with a thumb pushing the other way
right over the prong. The idea is to bow the plastic prong slightly.
away from the hub enough to slip its tiny hooked end over the flange
of the hub.

Three prongs are typical for 36-spoke freehubs, and four prongs for
32-spoke freehubs.

There are also freewheel spoke protectors, which have no prongs and
spin freely. They can be obtained for about $60 by purchasing a Fury
RoadMaster at WalMart, or from these guys for $2 to $3:

http://www.biketoolsetc.com

They also sell the 3 and 4 prong stuff, with details about cluster
size, brand, and number of spokes.

As for the shipping cost of little parts . . .

If you buy a lot of different little parts, Christmas comes early. The
same sites probably sell chains, tools, tubes, tires, handlebar tape,
spokes, cables, gloves, books, and gizmos.

If you buy a couple of spares, you can go riding on Christmas when
something breaks and the stores are shut. Having a spare sprocket
cover will let you congratulate yourself on your foresight when the
first one breaks one of its little retaining prongs.

The real cost of a ten-cent bolt is not the dime at the cash register,
but the time that you spent going to the store, finding the right
bolt, paying for it, and going home--buy ten bolts for a buck and you
may save yourself an hour or two.

Carl Fogel

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

Quoted message said:

Clean up the one from your other wheel and use it. Spoke Protectors are
easy to swap. One thing.. both wheels need to have the same number of
spokes. Some local bike shops carry them as well.

Hi,I went to my LBS today, I was able to get the Conti Race Light
tubes that I needed and a couple of spoke protectors. They gave me a
used one in the size I need, that cleaned up like new. And I bought a
21-24t to see if I can get away with it. My cassette has a 25t large
cog, but I noticed that a lot of the bikes in the showroom had
protectors that weren't much larger than the large cog. I assume that
it just needs to be big enough to act as a guide. If that is the case,
it should work.

Life is Good!
Jeff

[email hidden] (Jeff Starr) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi, First off, I have searched the archives and have read the reasons
for not needing a protector. A properly adjusted RD precludes the
need. There lies the potential for disaster. It is the first
derailleur I have ever installed, adjusted, and maintain on my own

the problem is, if you REALLY screw up the adjustment
[or if the derailleur hanger gets bent, even after a
proper adjustment], is that it won;t just be the chain that
gets into the spokes - it will be the outer jockey wheel, too.

to protect against that, the protector needs to be about a foot
in diameter!

needless to say no one has spoke protectors that big!

the point being, adjust it right, and don;t get the hanger bent.

wle.