With carbon trail bikes reaching weights in the mid-20lbs and the advent of wide-range 10-speed drivetrains, many mountain bikers – especially those riding burlier terrain – want the simplicity of a 1x10 drivetrain. However, chain management can be an issue, especially once you get into the 150mm travel range.
Enter e*thirteen’s new LG1Tr chain guide; it’s made just for this scenario, and sports a 117g weight (on our scale) worthy of any light trail bike. Priced at US$129.95, the LG1Tr uses the top guide from the LG1 and the lower roller assembly of the LS1 , but mounts them to a lightweight 6061-T6 alloy frame, sans bash guard.
The LG1+ inspired top guide
The guide offers 33- to 38-tooth chainring compatibility and ISCG05, OLD and bottom bracket mount options, along with three positions for the lower pulley arm in order to fit different chainstay designs.
Add roughly 10g to the weight of the guide for the bolts and spacing hardware to affix it to a bike and it’s still less than 130g – roughly the same as a standard front derailleur. We’ll mount up our sample LG1Tr later this week, with a full report to come, but if it manages a chain as well as previous LG1s we’ve used, this light guide will do its job, and do it well.
