Review: Snoto.de Clean Disc Chain Guard

[sweetscience]

The product is supposed to guard against chain lube splatter.  Tested with 80W90 gear oil.  Constructed by 3D printer.  Fitment is good.  It's fastened to the axle by a screw and a plastic dry wall anchor.  A machine screw was supplied which is incorrect because a wood screw should be used for the dry wall anchor.  I have the Gilles chain adjuster, and the snoto will fit by trimming some material off with a dremel.  Although, it's incapable of using the spools or adjusting the chain slack without removing the snoto from the bike.   

Does it work?  Let's just say, out of the box it is disappointing.  Lube splatter does get to the rim and the side of the tyre.  I would estimate, splatter is reduced by a measly 5%.  C'mon now!  That's not good enough for me.  Perhaps with the use of other types of chain lube, there could be different results, but I prefer gear oil.  I give it 1 out of 5 stars.  How does this pass factory testing and quality control?  I'm bamboozled.

Blatant problem here is not enough material covering the chain.  The arc should be extended close to the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock position of the sprocket and the inner side of the chain facing the wheel must be encased more.  I will contact the inventor to improve the design, because it's a good concept.

 

  

[ElGonzales]

I saw your post some days ago and my first idea of what will happen was: the spun off oil will collect inside the Snoto and after some weeks/months drip down to the rim / tire / flies around anywhere.

This is what happens inside my front sprocket cover, over the year some my chain oiler's 80w90 drips outside the cover (it's nozzle is at the rear sprocket). But that's a good preservation of the metal parts down there

[Lone Wolf]

12 hours ago, sweetscience said:

I would estimate, splatter is reduced by a measly 5%.   

I installed mine on an old Honda 750 running a Scottoiler that puts out a drop every 2 minutes.

Before the "clean disc" was installed I would get a small amount of spatter on the rim after a ride - then after 1,000 miles it would accumulate to be very nasty.

After the "clean disc" was installed the oil spatter was reduced by at least 90%. 

My guess is that the difference in our result is that I have an auto-oiler that constantly puts out a small amount. You properly oil your chain, some flings off, then you are in cruise control for 500 miles or so until the next oiling.

I did the auto-oiler after spending $192 for a top of the line DID ZVMX chain in 2019 and it still looks brand new. No stretch after the first adjustment.

Chain oilers are adjustable so it is not like a machine gun pissing all over the rim, but you will get more lube than a single application every 500 miles. That is where the Clean Disc was a major improvement for me.

I suppose you could do the 500 mile clean and lube with gear oil, then set an auto-oiler at a very low rate. Mine is the vacuum operated one, I can put a mity vac on it and watch the piston move before it ever reads any vacuum on the scale, the scottoiler responds to any vacuum (it is on-off). So I can apply some vaccum and set my watch timer for 2 minutes, see if a drop has formed at the end of the tube. I can move a sheet of paper under the oiler every couple of minutes and get a very good idea of how much oil is being released, or if I choked it down too far.

Edited May 13, 2023 by Lone Wolf

[shinyribs]

This is very interesting to me. I recently joined the Scott oiler club and was gearing up to build a cover like this myself. My design is going to involve machining billet aluminum, so I'm here to learn before I start cutting metal. 

[Lone Wolf]

1 hour ago, shinyribs said:

My design is going to involve machining billet aluminum

For me personally, the sprocket cover design is perfect. Any larger and you are looking at an enclosed chain.

I did have an issue with fitment to my Honda 750 swingarm, had to dremel the bracket to clear a shock mount. I imagine it is a challenge to provide for all the variety of bikes out there.  The current model Yamaha's are popular and he seems to have OK fitment for them.

Nothing wrong with making it from scratch, but for me I would have paid just for this one part (his site and the youtube videos show 2 parts, the other part secures to swingarm by various designs)

[shinyribs]

That does appear to have pretty good coverage. I think ElGonzales is right about the guard does catch the spatter, we'll just need to wipe that out periodically. 

Such a seemingly simple thing that I didn't even consider it not working. 

It won't cost me anything to machine one out of scrap and in haven't had a good reason to play with the mill in a while. 

[Lone Wolf]

7 hours ago, ElGonzales said:

... the spun off oil will collect inside the Snoto and after some weeks/months drip down to the rim / tire / flies around anywhere.

For me, removal is very fast and easy.

I have to check the auto-oiler every 500 to 1,000 miles, so I would just remove this thing and wipe the oil on the inside face.

[sweetscience]

Mildly Modded Snoto Followup Review

Had the time, so I added some plexiglass, epoxy and fasteners to widen the chain coverage of the Snoto.  My findings after testing is that lube splatter still reaches the wheel rim and tire edge.  And even more amazing is how splatter manages to reach the underside rear quarter panel also.  This was observed immediately after the first 20 km ride.  However, the amount of splatter is considerably less, about 60-70% less.  This is much better than my initial findings.  

I extended the bottom and top coverage to the 6 and 12 o'clock position respectively and extended the inner side panel 1.5 inch iirc.  What I think happens is that the chain slap that occurs at the bottom half or bottom cycle of the chain revolution is the exposed or open area where a lot of oil flings off.  That fling first reaches tire and wheel, then what gets on wheel/tire gets re-flung everywhere else.  If I were to take it further, I would extend the guard to cover the entire bottom portion of the chain.  But that would  require a totally different design. 

The result is not ideal to me but it is better than nothing, with less worry of oil on the tire edge.  The excess lube flings off after about 50 km, so I will remove the Snoto from the bike then.  And re-install again after 800 km at the next lubing.  Why you say, because it is deadweight and an aero drag of course.  

  I think whomever invents a chain guide that covers the entire chain that catches all splatter to the wheel and tire will be a rich man.  Any takers? 

 

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[sweetscience]

Here it is in final form.

 

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[ElGonzales]

4 hours ago, sweetscience said:

I think whomever invents a chain guide that covers the entire chain that catches all splatter to the wheel and tire will be a rich man.  Any takers? 

I own such a bike.
But the manufacturer is broke 



I use only gear oil as chain lube for the MT-07, since years without problems applied by a manual chain oiler.
If you have so much oil flying around you simply put to much of it to the chain.

Edited June 24, 2023 by ElGonzales

[Triple Jim]

51 minutes ago, ElGonzales said:

I own such a bike.
But the manufacturer is broke 

I remember enclosed chain kits from the 1970s.  A friend kept saying he wanted to get one.  I was a little skeptical because of the complexity and weight, but I know if you loaded it full of grease the chain would be maintenance free and last a long time.

[sweetscience]

Typically, I use a dental syringe to apply the gear oil onto the chain.  This allows for precise amounts of pin-head sized drops to reach all nooks and crannies of the chain.  Then wiping off any excess.  But, that is the nature of the liquid substance, it'll all fling no matter how much is applied.