DISCOs
History and directions

Discos side view 1

Created by Intergalactic Pilot Travis Brown,
Winner of the 1st World Singlespeed Championships (with tatoo so prove it)
and some other races on those geared craft I think.  He says about Discos,
"Way back in the day, when I was trying to convert some beater mountain bikes to singles for fun and for training tools (yeah, they are good for that also), I had this problem (even with chain tensioners) that a big load up on the cranks would flex the chainstays enough that the chain would get enough slack to come off the leading edge of the rear cog.  After a few stem riding, polish wheelie head dabs I had modeled some old Whitesnake CD's to a sandwich on the cluster and keep the chain in-line during the slack.  This not-so-durable application of storage devices has evolved into the Disco, a simple machined plastic guide to run on each side of your single cog."
 

Discos keep your chain on by sandwiching the cog inbetween two shatterproof plastic guides.
The above is an 18-tooth cog with an 8-speed chain.
(Crupi's are not needed with Discos since the chain can be looser than normal.)

disco rear view

Discos are sandwiched in between cassette spacers.  Cassette spacers can be bought at any shop, or you can buy special ones from us (the correct # is included in the "Kit").  Our "special" spacers have a higher tolerance (are taller) than most spacers made out there so they press up against the Discos better and strengthen the entire setup.  The Kit spacers also come in two widths--we send you 5, 9-speed and 5, 8-speed spacers--so you can adjust your chainline and use an 8 or 9-speed chain.

Spacers can be taken from most road cassettes if you're not using them anymore.  If you don't get spacers from us, you'll have to experiment a bit to see what setup works best depending on the type of spacers you have.


 I use the spacers we make and put on 6 spacers on the cassette body, then put on a Disco, then put on another 8speed spacer, then the cog, then another 8speed spacer, then the other Disco, then two more 8-speed spacers.


We recommend that you use a 9-speed chain since you probably already have one and they work the best with our specially sized spacers.  You can use an 8 speed chain but it may rub if the chainline isn't perfect.
 

To get proper spacing for regular width chains (the above is an 8-speed Sachs chain) you need to use one regular width cassette spacer and a 1mm cassette spacer in between the cog and the Disco.  If you really want to use those singlespeed chains or track chains, you will need to use another one or two 1mm spacer on each side of the cog.  It's easy to adjust the chainline by putting more or less spacers to the left or right of the Discos. The chain will not rub on the Discos when properly set up.

The best things about the Disco set up:

        --you don't need to buy a Single speed wheel and cog.  This is especially cool if you want to use tubeless wheels.

  1. --you can more easily change cogs.  (It sucks changing Shimano BMX cogs as you probably know!)

  2. --No need for a Singleator or Melvin (Paul's version).  If your chain is a little loose, it won't matter.

  3. The Discos keep your chain on the cog no matter what.

  4. --If you have a non-horizontal dropout bike, you may want to use a Singleator or Melvin, but may not have to if you

  5. can get the chain length close enough.

  6. --IF they break, we will send you another pair at half-price (not free, because they will only break from rider error -- i.e. crashing).