I'm curious whether with modern chainrings and clutches whether people are skipping chainguides on their trail bikes. I've had a guide on all of my bikes for the last several years, ever since I last dropped a chain, so no real idea whether I actually need it. On the other hand, I've got T-type chainring where I could slap on the clever bolt on guards, but they interfere with a guide. Or I could run a bashguide (like OneUp's). There's not many rocks near me, so when I built up the bike I just went for the guide. But I'd like to hear what you run (for your local trails).
Poll
I rode commando since the advent of NW chainrings, never dropped a chain, even with some clutch-less setups. One caveat is that I have been ridding trail hardtails, mostly
I might have to add a small chainguide to the crablink trailbike I am finnishing building
Bashguard on my trail bike mostly because of one particularly janky feature on a local trail...
Chain Guide only, even with various NW chain rings I drop chains when things get fast and rough.
I have been running a chainguide on all my bikes ever since I dropped a chain casing a jump, which caused the rear wheel to immediately lock and my junk to slam into my saddle from the immediate deceleration. 40g of chainguide to avoid repeating that experience seems like a no brainer to me.
One of my buddies bent a chainring (not running a bashguard) at an enduro race, so he couldn't pedal at all and it totally ruined his weekend.
Bashguide on both my trail bike and my DH bike.
Bashguard on my trail bike since my particular brand of doing stupid stuff on a bike means I'm much more likely to smash my chainring than drop a chain.
Nevada desert has its fun, so we run a bash on the trail bikes. Also, we sometimes take trail bikes to the local downhill park instead of doublecrown bikes. The damage on the skid says it’s needed
I’ve never dropped a chain on a narrow wide chainring, so I only run a bashguard for the occasional log.
Always the full bashguide. I am dumb and smash everything. All of the guards I've run on every enduro bike since 2017 have been significantly bashed.
Even if the guide saves one dropped chain per year, I'm going to run it. The weight is really nothing for what you get.
I won't run either on the X/C bike though. It's doesn't see the same level of jank and abuse as the enduro bike.
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