Dork disc... Love it or lose it?

[DaveMatthews]

I just bought myself a new bike. It's a 2019 Giant Fathom E+
Upon showing it to people "in the know" I was introduced to the term "Dork disc", which refers to the plastic ring behind the cassette on the rear hub. It's there to hopefully stop the chain from tangling into the spokes and destroying the wheel if the chain decides to hop off at the rear.
I've never heard of the term before and I was kind of surprised to hear of it in such a negative way (humorously of course).

I searched the term here and came up empty... so...
Have you ever heard of this?
Do you care?
Do you rip it off as soon as you get a MTB or other bike?
Do you leave it on as intended?
Curious minds want to know...

Yours truly, a current dork.

 

[batmick1]

With a properly adjusted rear derailleur the problem this disc is supposed to prevent will never happen. There are two little screws on the derailleur that adjust the upper and lower shift limit and as long as you don't touch those you will not need it. If, however, you ride offroad and maybe bang your derailleur and bend it inward slightly, the chain might jump between cassette and spokes but your shifting would be screwed up anyway. So evaluate how much of an issue this is for you and then decide.
To remove it you will need a chain whip and a cassette removal tool, or go to your LBS to do it. Figure out if that's worth it to you. Those discs tend to age, get brittle and break quickly, so chances are you'll be taking it off eventually.

Also, given that you're riding an e-bike, chances are that this little de-dorkification will not even register with those so-called serious cyclists around you. The fact that we're riding "mopeds" puts us on the dork list by default.

 

[Nova Haibike]

I don't have spoke protectors on any of my road bikes, but I have left the one on my Haibike. Unlike most bike shop snobs, I have no issue with them being on a bike. The only problem with them is that they are somewhat fragile and have to be replaced from time-to-time, because the plastic prongs (the most common type) that secure them to the hub break off. Most shops just remove them altogether when that happens, because they don't stock replacements.

 

[FSRBart]

Never knew they had a name up until yesterday! Is this coincidence? Personally I'd leave it till it eventually breaks off which they tend to do anyways...

 

[Reid]

I don't know why those plastic discs age so poorly, but they do get brittle in a relatively short time. As already noted, just adjust your derailleur L limit stop; the "dork disc" is then made truly worthless.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Mine seems perhaps easier to get rid of than some. Looks like you could just cut it, as it's not attached by anything other than the clips on the spokes.

 

[Camac]

If it ain't broke why fix it ??

 

[J.R.]

I just asked a buddy last week, who's newly back into cycling, if he was keeping his dork disc. He looked at me like I made the name up! I've heard it called that for at least 20 years. I was kidding him, I'm not bothered by the disc or term.

They tend to get yellowed and dingy. If you don't like it ditch it. I wouldn't remove it for anyone else though.

 

[WilliamT]

Instead of coming up with names for items on their bikes, maybe they should be focusing on becoming a better rider.

 

[smorgasbord]

 

[fooferdoggie]

I take it off when I have to take the cassette off otherwise dont bother.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

 

[m@Robertson]

The theory is you should have your derailleur limit screw adjusted so its not possible for the chain to drop off into The Abyss. Like many things in cycling, the idea is anyone who is not good at making tech adjustments deserves their suffering and misery. So if you have that disc on the bike, you are a dork.

Cyclists are a pretty obnoxious lot. But we like it that way. Don't tell anybody.

 

[rob feature]

Off with it!

 

[Gionnirocket]

What I found amazing is that this douche_bag still has all his fingers

 

[juggernaut]

I'll get ride of mine when I remove the trainer wheels

 

[Ben J]

it's good for preventing overspray of cleaning stuff from hitting the disc brake on the other side!

 

[TrevorB]

it's good for preventing overspray of cleaning stuff from hitting the disc brake on the other side!

After cleaning my bike always use brake cleaner on disks.
When lubing/cleaning front fork I have bike upside down so spray doesn't drift down onto brakes.

 

[sc00ter]

When I rode road bikes/ten speeds I had one on my bike. I had a Peugeot with a 105 group set. Reason I left my "spoke frisbee" on was because I could bunny hop pretty high and far on my road bike and I didn't want the chain to jump into the spokes. My riding friend had his chain jump into his new Mavic wheels riding a wheelie on his De Rosa. He promptly installed a spoke frisbee on his bike after rebuilding the rear wheel!

I'm pretty sure some lawyer implemented those things. If so, I had no issue with them and I thank the lawyer for saving my spokes while doing dumb crap on a road bike. I still can't true or even lace a wheel.

 

[dodgeman]

I’m not sure what they hurt. If you stacked ten of them up and weighed them I doubt they weigh more than a couple of ounces.