SRAM’s newest household of Eagle Transmission derailleurs hyped their sturdiness, however nothing is indestructible, and MRP thinks their new Cage Guard is the right insurance coverage coverage. Certain, it’s just a bit $30 piece of engineered plastic. However MRP is aware of a factor or two about conserving mountain bike drivetrains secure. And based mostly on the dents & gouges in my very own Transmission derailleur after only a half a yr of using, I really feel like mine may use a bit of additional safety…
MRP Cage Guard protects SRAM Transmission derailleurs
MRP has been within the enterprise of making bash-guards and low-friction sliders to guard our delicate drivetrain, actually because the delivery of technical mountain bike using took maintain within the Nineties. So seeing them resolve to make a bash guard for among the most costly mountain bike derailleurs ever mass-produced appears fairly logical to me.
Machined in-house in Grand Junction, Colorado from sturdy & slippery Delrin thermoplastic, MRP created the 8g Cage Guard “to guard your SRAM T-Kind derailleur pulley cage from expensive injury brought on by rocks and particles“.
MRP says the brand new Cage Guard does double-duty of first stopping impression injury, and secondly of conserving your alloy cage from snagging when it hits a pointy or particularly abrasive rock.
Bounce off, and glide over rocks. As a result of finally, limiting cage injury ensures the most effective shifting efficiency out of your premium SRAM Transmission.
Do you actually need a bash guard in your SRAM MTB Transmission Derailleur?
Look, making a derailleur that works with a 10-52T unfold is at all times going to imply a protracted cage hanging down inside attain of trailside rocks. I do know an enormous a part of SRAM’s newest direct-mount Eagle T-Kind Transmission derailleurs was simpler serviceability. And the spin-off cage trick actually makes changing a cage quicker & simpler, that’s when you’ve got a spare mendacity round. However these massive angular cages do appear to stay out greater than even the earlier technology of Eagle derailleurs, making them extra weak low-hanging-fruit for hungry rocks.
Certain, the brand new T-type design means you possibly can simply exchange the quick-release alloy GX cage for round $100, a shiner alloy XX cage for about $150, or the flowery carbon XX SL cage for $200. However which means the most cost effective substitute Transmission cage will nonetheless price you greater than 3x the value of the MRP Cage Guard. So, possibly with $30 of Cage Guard prevention, it’ll by no means come to that.
Sure, it’s possibly debatable whether or not 8g of plastic is admittedly going to stop a well-placed rock strike from killing your derailleur cage. But it surely definitely received’t damage, proper?
I can say that I’ve hit a number of rocks, bashing my path & enduro bikes by rock gardens. And I additionally fondly keep in mind greater than twenty years of bashing crankarms and chainrings onto rocks with MRP guards defending me.
MRP Cage Guard – Pricing, compatibility & availability
This new little Delrin plastic MRP Cage Guard sells for $29.95, immediately from Mountain Racing Merchandise. And sure, that’s a fairly costly piece of plastic, however it’s lots cheaper than any substitute T-type derailleur cage. The Cage Guard is designed to bolt onto the most recent technology of direct (full) mount SRAM Transmission derailleurs. Simply take away the T25 decrease pulley bolt, slap the Cage Guard on, then tighten it in place with the included longer stainless-steel M4 bolt.
It’s suitable with all the pieces from the OEM-only S100, GX, X0, XX & the highest XX SL T-type derailleurs. So that you get bash guard protections whether or not you will have a metal, aluminum, or carbon outer cage.
