OneUp Components Top Chainguide w/Bashguard: Rider Review

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

One of the most simple and sometimes overlooked additions for a new bike is a chainguide/bashguard. This ingenious part keeps you protected from logs rocks or anything you might just not quite have enough BB height to clear. With the addition of a chainguide making sure you never have to stop for a dropped chain. Read on to hear why this was a no brainer for our friend George.   

Intro:

I recently bought a Santa Cruz Hightower and on one of my first rides with some friends a fellow Hightower owner mentioned that I should look into a chain guide and bash guard and to check out what he had installed, the OneUp Components Chain guide and Bash guard! Right away I could see the importance of a bash guard to avoid major strikes on the chainring so that evening I went to WorldwideCyclery.com and ordered the OneUp Components Bash guard.

Installation:

I received the item very quickly which was appreciated as I had planned a trip to a semi-local trail system that is rooty and wanted to be sure I was protected. The ISCG05 compatibility makes installing super easy and straightforward. The kit comes with different size bash guards to fit different chainrings and swapping them out is just a matter of a couple of screws. They are each labeled as well so you can easily match the guard with what size works best for you in order to not stick out too far but at the same time offer adequate protection for your chainring. In addition to the different size guards, you also get a number of shims for the chain guide to allow for proper spacing for the chain without rubbing throughout the gear range. You'll want to spend a couple of minutes to ensure you have the correct number of spacers on the chain guide to allow for proper chain clearance but once that is done you are good to go.

Riding:

After only one ride I knew this was a great purchase simply for the peace of mind it provides; one less item to worry about striking and bending, damaging and/or breaking. I will say this has already saved me a couple of times going over large log features and *cough cough* not getting the timing quite right. I've heard and felt the impact but the guard takes the beating and keeps on ticking leaving my chainring like new! The best thing is that in the event something does happen to the plastic guard itself you can simply swap out that piece and replace it with another. While I can't say I dropped chains very often before I installed this item from OneUp, I've had not one instance since installing where my chain dropped at the chainring post-install. As you can see from the attached images there is plenty of coverage under the chainring while not being intrusive or extending too far below the bottom bracket. I've gotten questions before regarding if adding this chain guard and bash guard causes any issues with excess noise or pedaling interference but I have had none of these issues so far.

Final Thoughts:

I definitely recommend this product to anyone who wants some extra coverage and protection to pricey chainrings and chains. This protects against both and has the extra benefit of including a chain guide all in the same piece of high-quality componentry; not to mention that although I went with the standard black you can add a pop of color to match (or clash) with your bike styling! Talk about a WIN. WIN! WIN. scenario!