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Spotted: Parrier Derailleur Guard Straps Low-Cost Insurance Protection To Your Chainstay

David Cachon adventure MTB rider on Niner bikes fitted with orange Parrier Derailleur Guard protector
17 Comments
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I have a soft spot for simple, low-cost gadgets that can improve your ride, and this little Parrier Derailleur Guard is a perfect example. We all are out there riding with our derailleurs flapping in the breeze, so surely it’s not 100% necessary. But for just thirty bucks, this small plastic fin will deflect mud and fend off rock strikes, keeping your vulnerable rear derailleur a bit more out of harm’s way…

David Cachon is always on some off-road adventure

Two-time Trails World Champ and pro mountain bike adventurer David Cachon just updated us on some of his latest past and future adventure riding projects. He’s always sharing both amazing footage of riding in exotic locales, but also a bunch of helpful tips for improving your riding technique (most often in Spanish with English subtitles).

And of course, he’s hyping a new partnership that will have him move to Niner bikes after rotating through a few other bike sponsors in recent years.

But some of his most recent How To videos like this ‘How to Improve Your Bike Jump‘, had me wondering what was the deal with that big orange fin hanging off his bike’s chainstay. It turns out that it’s the simple plastic Parrier Derailleur Guard.

Do you absolutely need it? Probably not, if you’d made it this far without one.

But maybe you’ve bashed a derailleur hard enough to have broken it, or even just enough to bend your hanger? Or maybe you just ride gnarly tracks like those in Cachon’s ‘Top 5 Place To Ride MTB‘ video up top, and want an extra insurance policy against derailleur damage. Not all of us can afford the latest ‘crash-proof’ Transmissions.

And this little gadget will only cost you about the same as a replacement derailleur hanger!

Parrier Derailleur Guard zip-ties on affordable protection

David Cachon adventure MTB rider on Niner bikes fitted with orange Parrier Derailleur Guard protector, fin up close
(Photos by David Cachon)

So this Parrier Derailleur Guard isn’t an entirely new concept. I feel like I remember something like this from 1990s mountain biking. And we covered the flappy-slappy Branchy last summer which had a similar protection goal. But Parrier’s lower-cost solution is a bit more robust & heavy-duty also, aiming more to hide your derailleur and deflect anything that comes its way like the hull of a boat parting the seas.

Parrier Derailleur Guard affordable plastic dynamic fin protector, structure details

This Parrier Derailleur Guard is a simple impact-resistant high-density polypropylene “dynamic fin” with internal stiffening structures that then hangs under your chainstay, easily attached with included 3M VHB adhesive and 3 zip-ties.

It is designed to protect your rear derailleur – one of the more mechanically complex, ride-critical, and often time expensive individual components on your bike. By gently curving away from the chainstay, Parrier deflects rocks, sticks, and even mud or dust away from your precious derailleur.

Parrier Derailleur Guard affordable plastic dynamic fin protector

Based in Mallorca, Spain, Parrier sells the Derailleur Guard direct for just 29€ in black, orange, turquoise, or olive. It measures 27cm long x 10cm tall, and curves out 8cm from your bike – weighing just 85g. They say it will fit most bikes, from classic trail and all-mountain bikes to gravel, cyclocross, enduro, and DH. And also most e-bikes, too.

David Cachon adventure MTB rider on Niner bikes fitted with orange Parrier Derailleur Guard protector, complete ebike

Parrier ships throughout the EU including VAT, or worldwide with customs clearance the responsibility of the buyer. Purchase more than one Derailleur Guard, and shipping is free.

Parrier.eu

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17 Comments
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let
let
23 days ago

This seems like a hack to get around the derailleur being obsolete technology. There is really no reason bicycles (especially mountain) should ship with derailleurs when gearboxes are available.

JAK
JAK
22 days ago
Reply to  let

Other than price, complexity, serviceability and weight?

let
let
22 days ago
Reply to  JAK

Price for some derailleurs is cheaper initially, but not when you consider the cost of maintenance, replacement, and servicing. The weight is in the worst spot for the rear suspension. The gearbox has a higher upfront cost, but costs less over the long run, performs better, and requires less work.

Dylan Sutton
Dylan Sutton
21 days ago
Reply to  let

“Maintenance” and “servicing” are the same thing, you shouldn’t count them twice. If you do really high mileage, AND like to keep the same bike for many years, gearboxes may cost less over the long run, but for the vast majority of people it won’t work out this way in the real world. Chains, cassettes and chainrings are wear items, but over the length of time most people keep a bike you’re not going to spend nearly enough on them to make up the difference in cost on a gearbox. Derailleurs don’t need any significant servicing unless you smash them on something, which can also happen to belt or chain tensioners. Belts and chains used in gearbox driven bikes last longer, but not forever. If you moved your gearbox from one bike to the next you could maybe realise some savings, but who is going to buy a second-hand gearbox driven bike without the gearbox? And that’s assuming that the frame you like from the brand you like is available with a gearbox.
But perhaps most importantly of all, gearboxes don’t perform “better” when it comes to drivetrain drag. I’ve ridden a pinion equipped zerode and while I didn’t measure the watts lost, the drag was noticeable and unpleasant.

let
let
21 days ago
Reply to  Dylan Sutton

Maintenance is a process; servicing is a routine. If you’re going to be pedantic you should endeavor to be correct.

Whether you do it yourself or have someone else do it for you, it’ll cost time and money. Few people realize the slight efficiency advantage of a derailleur in ideal conditions. Those wear items being exposed to the elements are a problem in real-world conditions. Most would be better served by a gearbox. Smashing derailleurs is more likely, more common, and more costly than smashing belt or chain tensioners. I don’t know why you’re talking about removing gearboxes from frames.

You seem to be emotional about this topic.

Last edited 21 days ago by let
Veganpotter
Veganpotter
19 days ago
Reply to  let

They absolutely don’t perform better. It takes a lot more work to deal with that drivetrain friction and not shifting under load which is a no go on technical climbs.

Dylan Sutton
Dylan Sutton
21 days ago
Reply to  JAK

you missed friction.

Nathan
Nathan
22 days ago
Reply to  let

Obsolete? Wanna race sometime?

jibjab
jibjab
21 days ago
Reply to  Nathan

perfect Nathan, go wipe him out on a course with a derailleur, you the man!

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
19 days ago
Reply to  let

Is it obsolete if the mass majority of new geared bikes have derailleurs?
*Rhetorical question you don’t have to attempt answering.

Staffan Jerkeman
Staffan Jerkeman
23 days ago

And easily moved by a rockhit.Zipties won’t hold anything in place.

Brendan
Brendan
23 days ago

I agree that if a large embedded boulder gets in your derailleur’s path, this won’t save you. But it might do a good job of keeping branches from getting caught in the nooks and crannies of your derailleur.

Dylan Sutton
Dylan Sutton
21 days ago
Reply to  Brendan

Unless this thing covers the whole area circumscribed by the lower run of the chain, derailleur cage and chainstay it’s going to have only a marginal effect on blocking little sticks.

Matthias
Matthias
22 days ago

Looks about as useful, only about an order of magnitude or two more expensive, and about as much lighter as it is uglier than the derailleur guards that come on on most supermarket bicycles. </troll>

John
John
21 days ago

I would rather buy a new a derailleur every 6 months than put that ugly cheap thing on my bike and then have to look at it every ride.

Doug
Doug
20 days ago

Design has been online for a few years available to 3D print

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
19 days ago

Possible cheap way around an $800 ceramic speed aero cage?

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