Major newb question

Roy Keane said:

I just brought home my new Felt road bike. I was removing all the excess stuff (tags, reflectors, etc.) when I noticed a clear plastic ring between the rear freewheel and the hub.

How do I remove that thing without wrecking everything around it? There's no obvious way of doing it, as far as I can tell

Remove the cassette and then remove the spoke protector.

daveornee said:

Remove the cassette and then remove the spoke protector.

Any easy way to do that without a chainwhip and hub key?

Roy Keane said:

Any easy way to do that without a chainwhip and hub key?

Pretty tough without the tools.
There is a "touring" tool Stein Mini Cassette Lock tool that allows you to remove & replace the cassette "on the bicycle" by using the tool and your foot on the pedal to loosen and re-tighten the cassette lock ring. It isn't a precise way to torque down the lockring..... but it works for on the road repairs such as a broken spoke on the drive side.

Another approach for removing the Spoke Protector is to carefully score it with a knife in at least two places from inner to outer diameter. Once scored, you should be able to crack the plastic and take it off in pieces.

Chain Whip, cassette lock ring tool, etc. are very handy to have in your tool box to save you time when your cassette wears and you want to replace it without tying up your bicycle in the shop. A torque wrench is also a good thing to have.

It's fine to remove the spoke protector so long as you are aware of the fact that it was installed for a reason (to protect the spokes in the event the chain jumps off the largest rear cog and into the spokes). Provided your rear derailleur is properly adjusted this should not happen, but.....it could under certain circumstances. That said, I have no spoke protector on my rear wheel.

Have you consulted your local laws & ordinances with respect to legal requirements for reflectors on bikes to be ridden on town/state/provincial roads? Also, be sure you have appropriate lighting for evening and/or foul-weather rides.

~ OldGoat

Roy Keane said:

I just brought home my new Felt road bike. I was removing all the excess stuff (tags, reflectors, etc.) when I noticed a clear plastic ring between the rear freewheel and the hub.

How do I remove that thing without wrecking everything around it? There's no obvious way of doing it, as far as I can tell

Leave it there! Jim fits them for a reason! If the chain comes off when pedaling, the side plates can be damaged by the spokes and the spokes can be damaged by the chain. :eek:

NO BIKE leaves here without a rear red reflector and a bell! 😎

OldGoat said:

Have you consulted your local laws & ordinances with respect to legal requirements for reflectors on bikes to be ridden on town/state/provincial roads? Also, be sure you have appropriate lighting for evening and/or foul-weather rides.

~ OldGoat

Further to the above topic, the law in my state reads follows:

Sec. 14-288. Lights, reflectors and brakes on bicycles. Whistle emitting devices prohibited. (a) Each bicycle operated upon the public highway, during the times or under the conditions as provided in subsection (a) of section 14-96a, shall display a lighted lamp upon the forward part of such bicycle. Such lamp shall, when lighted, emit a white light which in clear weather shall be visible at a distance of not less than five hundred feet in the direction in which such bicycle is proceeding. Each bicycle shall also, at all times, be equipped with a reflector or reflecting tail light lens, which reflector or lens shall be attached to the rear of such bicycle in such manner as to reflect rays of light thrown upon the same, and such reflector or reflecting tail shall be visible at a distance of not less than six hundred feet from the rear when illuminated by the head lamps of a motor vehicle. Such bicycle shall also be equipped with reflective material so placed and of sufficient size and reflectivity to be visible from both sides of such bicycle at a distance of not less than six hundred feet when illuminated by the head lamps of a motor vehicle. Each bicycle shall also, at all times, be equipped with a braking device sufficient to enable the operator thereof to stop within twenty-five feet on dry, level and clean pavement when moving at a speed of ten miles per hour. No person shall equip a bicycle with a siren or device which emits a whistle or use a siren or device which emits a whistle while operating a bicycle.

Now the law is the law, and all that.....but in truth not too many road warriors I've seen conform in all respects, especially with respect to the funky oversized wheel-mounted reflectors......

gclark8 said:

Leave it there! Jim fits them for a reason! If the chain comes off when pedaling, the side plates can be damaged by the spokes and the spokes can be damaged by the chain. :eek:

NO BIKE leaves here without a rear red reflector and a bell! 😎

A properly adjusted low limit screw will reliably prevent this nasty injury. None of my bikes have had the plastic guard in the last 15yrs, and none of them have had the chain drop onto the spokes in the way that I remember from when I was a boy.

artemidorus said:

A properly adjusted low limit screw will reliably prevent this nasty injury. None of my bikes have had the plastic guard in the last 15yrs, and none of them have had the chain drop onto the spokes in the way that I remember from when I was a boy.

+1.

gclark8 said:

Leave it there! Jim fits them for a reason! If the chain comes off when pedaling, the side plates can be damaged by the spokes and the spokes can be damaged by the chain. :eek:

NO BIKE leaves here without a rear red reflector and a bell! 😎

How about the basket with plastic flower ?

Russ Reynolds said:

How about the basket with plastic flower ?

Don't take that off, or the bike pixies will be after you!

Russ Reynolds said:

How about the basket with plastic flower ?

Leave it on, otherwise the plastic tassels off the handlebar ends will look silly on their own.

Rockslayer said:

Leave it on, otherwise the plastic tassels off the handlebar ends will look silly on their own.

I am gonna run my XtC with bell, tassels, basket and flag just for fun. And partly because I have been driven partially insane with pages of questions that could have been answered with a google search on this forum.

There should be a sticky thread 'If it isn't answered on sheldonbrown.com, and only if it isn't, THEN you may ask a question'