Herbie Chain Glider?

[Thomas777]

I my previous post I inquired about the SKS chainguard. I am also looking at the Herbie. So for those that have one I have a few questions. Is it a problem to disassemble in prefer to check on the chain tension? We tour and I like to keep an eye on this. Also the same question as for lubing?
Thanks!

[martinf]

The Hebie Chainglider is quick and easy to dismantle.

For punctures (rare with the tyres I use) I note the number of ridges showing at top and bottom and unclip the two rear pieces of the Chainglider. I leave the front parts in place, they help organise the chain during wheel removal.

After puncture repair I clip the two rear pieces back in place, and adjust them to have the number of ridges noted previously. This avoids having to fiddle about trying to find the optimum adjustment.

For chain tension, you can unclip the two rear pieces, or take the whole thing off (2 front pieces). I don't bother checking chain tension very often and have not yet needed to adjust this on my two Raven Tour bikes (1,900 kms each).

As far as lubrication is concerned, I unclip the two rear pieces of the Chainglider and check only if I have been riding in very wet conditions. So far I haven't needed to lubricate the new chains I fitted to my two Raven Tour bikes. When protected from the elements inside a Chainglider the original factory lube on the chain lasts for a very long time.

I am using up old chains on my old utility bike, these are lubricated with oil and have needed occasional reapplication of oil after long periods of use in rain. The slight extra time taken to remove/refit the rear pieces of the Chainglider is offset by the fact that I need to relube the chain less often.

[Andre Jute]

Presuming you run a Rohloff box, the chain is supposed to be slack. The Chainglider in effect holds the chain on the gearwheels if it gets slacker. In ten years or so, I've had the chain drop off inside the Chainglider only once, and that was because a runaway bungie got its hook tangled in it.

With a Chainglider, unless you've dragged it through water, or ridden it on very wet roads for hours (in which case you want to get longer mudflaps!), you don't open it merely for inspections. You will not believe until you've seen it how tightly it encloses the chain.

As for lubing, I operate KMC X8-93 chains (the lowest order of protection in the X8 series) on the chain lube for the entire life of the chain, which I expect to be about 4500+km because I'm heavy on chains (previously, with daily lubing, inside Dutch chain cases, I got about a 1600-2000km out of a chain). Matt, also on this forum, got 10,300 out of the more expensive KMC X1 (now renamed by KMC).

My previous lubing regime, until 2011, is described here:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3561.msg15494#msg15494
Note that at that point we still didn't know that the Chainglider is a very durable piece of gear.

At
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=2233.0
you can see a) where we started on the Chainglider journey, and why it is the only chain case I recommend, or that is discussed here.

The original factory lube inside a Chainglider experiment is here:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=6813.0
and the thread also contains lots of discussion of the Chainglider

Good luck!

[Matt2matt2002]

It took me awhile to get the hang of fitting the ' glider but now it's second nature. Quite an ingenious design.
See my recent post about fitting a new chain.
Lubing? Wassat?
I can't see me ever riding without one.

[martinf]

With a Chainglider, unless you've dragged it through water, or ridden it on very wet roads for hours (in which case you want to get longer mudflaps!), you don't open it merely for inspections. You will not believe until you've seen it how tightly it encloses the chain.

I agree with this so long as the chain still has the original factory lube. I checked my Raven Tour after my April mini-tour (two days of riding in almost continuous rain, bike left outside while camping in a moderate storm). Water had got into the Chainglider, but I didn't need  to relube.

During the 2017-2018 winter I used my utility bike professionally for survey work. About 8 hours a day in all weather, of which a large proportion of time was on muddy tracks and paths. Water sometimes got into the Chainglider, and washed out the chain oil on occasion, but very little mud got in. I spent far less time on bike maintenance compared with my 2001-2003 survey work contracts, when I had to clean and/or replace transmission parts every weekend. This old utility bike has long mudguards with reasonable clearance, a long mudflap on the back, but a fairly short one on the front, which is a compromise between keeping water off the Chainglider and not picking up too many twigs and other debris on off-road riding

[John Saxby]

Hi Tom,

Hope you and Kathy are well, and your bikes as well.

The Hebie Chainglider is The Item for a Rohloff setup, so long as your sprocket/chainring numbers fit with what Hebie offers.

With apologies, I can't recall the ratios on Kathy's bike, but if memory serves you have a 17T sprocket with a 38T chainring.  That fits nicely with the 'glider's standard 15-18T sprocket/38T chainring.  I've also mated my 'glider to a 36T ring at the front, 17T at the rear--details on request if they're useful.

The 'glider is easy to (dis)assemble, and you can essentially forget about the chain when you're using it, except for an annual check when you change the Rohloff oil.  The KMC 8x (as it's now badged in Canada) works well, as do SRAM 8-series chains.

Many people use a Surly stainless ring--I recall that you fitted one of these to Kathy's bike in Jasper--but I've recently switched to a Rivendell allot ring (36T), replacing my Surly item. The Rivendell is very well made, with no apparent tight spot in the chain. It's 3mm thick, just at the max thickness which Hebie specifies for the 'glider. (The Surly ring is slightly thinner.)

Cheers,  John
 

[Thomas777]

Hi John!
We just returned from a 3 month Europe tour!
I had been using wax lube until it was not available and bought some Petro based lube in Nuremberg. Because Kathy has probation she bumps the chain constantly. No problem with wax but this lube was a REAL mess.
She has a 36t Surly at the front and I "think" a 17 at the back. I just start cleaning the bikes yesterday and they are a mess from that lube.
I am also looking at the SKS chainguard and I might try that first as I can get it wholesale because I work in a bike shop.

[Matt2matt2002]

38/17 for me and a thin stainless Surly on the front.
No issues fitting. ( Once my none engineering brain worked it out )

Yes - the Chainglider is not totally water proof but keeps out 99+% of road muck and water. Maybe more.
No exact stats but chain life must certainly be improved.

[Thomas777]

John, I would appreciate your info on how you installed it. Kathy has a 16/36..
Thanks!

[John Saxby]

Thanks, Tom.  Wl send a note with fotos to your personal email, and for wider interest post a version here.  Will do so this evening -- things are slightly chaotic today, as we're having a new window installed.

Cheers,  J.