When I built up my Nomad four years ago, I considered putting on a chainguard like this one:
http://www.niagaracycle.com/categories/sks-chainboard-chainguard-175mm-x-44t-blackBut being an S&S bike I decided that I would be better off with a bashguard style chainguard instead. I did not like the high prices I saw for bashguards, but I saw a 52T chainring on clearance pricing, so I bought that and cut the teeth off of it with a saber saw. I did not like the rough cut sawn edge, so I mounted the chainring/bashguard on the crank and turned the crank by hand for about 15 minutes while holding a file against it until it looked perfect. After the first attached photo was taken, I sprayed it black which I think looks much better.
I still wear a strap around my pants at the ankle, but the oversized bashguard works reasonably well at keeping my leg and pants clean when i forget to wear the strap.
I commented before that when I go on a bike tour, I switch to a 36T chainring for lower gearing. But when I tour, I then use a 44T chainring as a bashguard/chainring, as in the second photo. And then if I find that the hills are not very steep but I am spinning out with tailwinds, I could add a few links and switch the chain to the 44T later if I wanted to. But so far the hills were always steep enough that I wanted to keep the chain on the 36T when I traveled.
I am not saying anything is wrong with a belt or a chainglider, I am just commenting on my preferred solutions.
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when Jeremy finishes splitting the chainstay i will need to send the completed frame to Gates in Denver to be stress tested (and passed) before Neil at Cycle Monkey (i.e. Rohloff service) will sell me another Gates/Rohloff adaptor ring.
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the Thorn will be my travel bike (it has S&S couplers) and i'm very much looking forward to visiting Amsterdam (and Dutch segregated cycle paths) in late June
Regarding belt installation, I thought that the normal practice was to split the seatstay, not chain stay. Or was I wrong? Or, was there some reason that the chainstay is the preferred option in this case?
Get a luggage scale if you do not have one yet. I found that putting my Nomad in a case, I had to work pretty hard to keep each of my bags down to the weight limit that airlines will give you per checked bag. Some of my bike components were in my other checked bag due to the weight. I have had good luck with the cheap luggage scales on Ebay that are shipped from China, although shipping can take a month.
