ONEUP ISCG05 CHAINGUIDE
ONEUP ISCG05 CHAINGUIDE
B.C. designed and tested
Just in case: Most riders get all they need from their narrow-wide chainring, but sometimes a little insurance policy is nice. The OneUp guide is light enough that you won’t feel penalized, and simple enough to install so you won’t throw a rage-fit trying to figure out the spacing.
In theory, a narrow-wide chainring is enough to keep your chain in check on rough terrain, but there are some trails where a narrow-wide just isn’t enough. Chainguides have a history of being overly complicated and noisy. They can disrupt shifting, leaving riders with few options. OneUp Components has emerged as an aftermarket company with practical solutions to relevant issues that riders face every day on the trail.
OneUp released the ISCG05 chainguide last summer at Crankworx and has since moved on to launch other products, such as the 50-tooth Shark cassette expander. From chain retention to oval rings to making the climbs a little less painful, OneUp has been changing the approach to mountain bike drivetrains.
Tech info:
Installation makes all the difference when it comes to chainguides, and OneUp leaves no room for excuses, with a detailed video on its website. Between top guides, rollers and dozens of washers, there can be far too much trial and error trying to find the perfect spacing. The OneUp guide has an aluminum lower arm that mounts to the ISCG05 tabs and a glass reinforced thermoplastic upper guide that weighs 35 grams. OneUp designed this guide to be installed without having to remove the cranks, which was a real bonus since we transferred it to a couple different bikes with different cranks and chainrings during our test period.
The upper guide comes in two color options, black or green, and will work with standard or oval rings ranging from 26 to 38 teeth. The guide has increments etched into it to give riders a sense of where to put the top guide during installation. This chain guide is Boost compatible and comes with several spacers to adjust the top guide, depending on your chainline. Cost $45.
It’s seriously easy: OneUp provides a video on how to install the guide on their website, but even without the video the guide was about as easy as it gets. There was some trial and error with the spacing, but overall we were impressed with the simplicity.
On the trail:
Chainguides are a nice insurance policy, especially if you’re racing. A slight penalty in grams is well worth the confidence of knowing you won’t drop your chain. Installing the guide was pretty straightforward, although we did have to experiment with spacing the top guide. Once we had the right number of shims in place, we didn’t experience any chain rubbing during our testing.
Side-to-side spacing is what riders focus on most, but the spacing from the top of the guide to the top of the chainring is also incredibly important. The OneUp guide gives the chain plenty of space to move freely over the ring and not rub or cause noise over technical sections of trail. It also does an impressive job of retaining the chain. We didn’t experience one dropped chain during our testing and were pleasantly surprised at how quiet the whole system was.
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