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FS Ultimate Single Ring Guide |
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Written by Lee Brazier
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Friday, 06 March 2009 |
Full Suspension Ultimate Single Ring Guide
 Having been a dedicated fan of single front ring use for some time, I’ve always been keen to modify my current bike to a suitable system. I started riding trails just using my middle ring as I thought it would be good for my fitness and found that it also improved my riding, from both a technical and simple enjoyment perspective. The other bonuses such as improved ground clearance, weight reduction and aesthetic appeal were extra incentives to further pursue this option. Following a couple of unsuccessful attempts on my old Specialized Enduro, I gave up, thinking that the only option would be to go down the route of a chainguide setup or just leave my standard setup as is. Needless to say, neither of which satisfied my aesthetic or functional desires.
 With luck I stumbled across 2 excellent articles written on single ring setup by Alan Starrett and Wally Wallace which propelled me on my final path to success! Having read the pros and cons of the systems that they had developed, I settled on the fact that I would need to follow Alan’s lead and make use of the Rohloff Upper Chain Guide or similar product. However, as I expect is the case with many full suspension bikes, the swing arm for the rear suspension didn’t allow the easy use of seat post mounted products. Even inner ring products such as the Blackspire Blackguard wouldn’t fit past the swing arm pivot.
 On closer inspection and following the removal of the unnecessary front derailleur setup, I realised that the derailleur was actually fitted via a bottom bracket mount and the remaining bracket provided the ideal point to locate my inner guide.  My ignorance to the existence of this bracket shows just how little I worry about my front derailleur! Having hoarded some 3mm aluminium plate for such an occasion, I set about cutting and shaping my inner guide. I found that the main factors to ensure are that you have the correct diameter to cover the chain when fitted and also enough inner cut out to avoid the granny chain ring bolts striking the guide as the cranks rotate. Once complete it was just a matter of correctly aligning the guide with the existing bottom bracket mount and drilling the holes in the guide to suit. The holes also needed to be countersunk to ensure an even surface once bolts were fitted.  Similar to the Rohloff Upper Chain Guide system that Alan created I used spacers to achieve the correct offset between the guide and the mounting bracket. Thick walled plastic pipe proved to be perfect as it was strong yet easily cut with a sharp knife and simple to file down for fine tuning adjustments. For fixing on my bike there was a lug within the frame that the rear bolt screwed into and then for the second bolt I used a nut with lock washer.
 The final touch was to add an FSA bash guard and new middle chain ring that I bought second hand from someone who was dismantling a new crank set as part of a downhill bike build. Overall it was a really economical solution and one which I hope proves to be a great technical solution also! Big ups to Alan and Wally for setting me on the right path.
Lee
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