Crankfire Review: Bonz Ring Thing

Who:	Bonz Ring Thing Bash Guard
What:	Bash Guard / Rock Ring
Where:	Bonz Performance Components
How Much:	$29.50 USD (Got this one $18.50 USD on eBay)
Our Rating:	Rated  5  out of  5.00
Overall Rating:	[ 2 votes ]

Introduction

This is a very hip picture

I am sure most every mountain biker out there has destroyed at least one large chainring against rocks, logs or whatever else might be in your way. Now if you are anything like me, deep inside that experience never really sat well. Maybe it was spending $50 on a big chainring only to bend, rip, tweak and wear it down to nothing on whatever rock my lack of finese guides me over. Or maybe it was how the chainring can dig in and grab logs as you try to grind over them? Maybe you crave a little extra chainring clearance in some of them rock gardens? Or maybe the you drive side calf has some nice chainring induced gashes?

I am also sure that most mountain bikers know that such a device exists that will alleviate such annoyances. These so called "Rock Rings" or "Bash Guards" are truly a godsend. For those who have no idea what's going here, a "Rock Ring" is a heavy duty chunk of metal (or plastic in some cases) that takes the place of your large chainring and provides your smaller chainrings protection from rocks and such while providing a more stable and sturdy surface to slide/rake across whatever may get in your way.

Enter the Bonz Ring Thing Bash Guard

Ok, so here I am, 2005. Got me a nice new bike and threw on a Race Face Evolve DH crankset - with a full 3 chainring setup: 22-32-44. A month or so into the season, I look down and notice that nice big 44 tooth chainring not only has a nice wobble in it, but it has several malformed teeth along with a good 3 or 4 completely missing teeth. I admit, the chain rings Race Face has been putting out recently have been rather substandard, but come on, the season is still early. THIS AGGRESSION WILL NOT STAND (man).

Time for a bash guard? Yup. Cue eBay and enter the Bonz Ring Thing Bash Guard. From what I could find, the Ring Thing looked to be something solid, it was from a small Canadian company in BC, it fit what I wanted in a bash guard, and for $18.50 - it was ordered and on its way.

The Details

The Ring Thing is machined from aerospace grade aluminum and is then anodized the only color it comes in: black. It is designed to be large enough to protect both 32 and 34 tooth chainrings and Bike Bonz offers setup options for standard and compact 4 and 5 bolt cranksets.

All in all, bash guards typically do not vary much. Honestly there is only so much that can be done to make one of these better than another. It breaks down to a few things:

1. Weight - The lighter the better.
2. Design / Materials / Strength - How well is it going to hold up?
3. Overall Ginchiness - Will chicks dig it?
4. Price - I am a cheapskate.
5. Shape - Does it have a smooth outer surface? Or better?

These are all mostly self explanatory, but I want to elaborate on the shape of these things. You will typically find 2 shapes when it comes to these things: 'smoothed' and 'teethed'. Now one of the complaints about keeping your big chainring was that it would dig into logs and slow you up. However, when one encounters some of the larger logs out there, having those chainring teeth can actually bt helpful. They will dig into the log and if you can get a good pedal stroke you can essentially use that chainring as another wheel - allowing you to propel yourself far enough along to clear it. Nifty right? Well, many bash guards are fashioned into a 'saw' like shape, keeping its overall surface pretty smooth, but still giving you a little bite.

Have a Look

My Race Face aluminum can big chainring. I call him 'Bendy'.

It's incorrectly installed. I know. I am an idiot. This has since been fixed.

Looking down. Beefness.

So how does the Ring Thing do?

1. Weight-wise? A measily 120 grams. Lighter than most of its competitors.
2. It is CNC machined from a 6061 Aluminum plate, and is anodized black. It's also about 3/8 inch thick. Nice. Beefy. Can't really beat all that. The chainring bolt holes are also slightly recessed to keep the outer ring surface smooth.
3. Ginchiness? It's anodized black, has a nice shape to it, laser etched logo... I think it's lovely.
4. Price? They are selling it for $29.50 direct, but I picked mine up for $18.50 off eBay (I suspect they were the ones selling it on eBay). For $18.50 it was a steal, but $29.50? I wouldn't say that is outrageously priced. For a quality component not manufactured in Taiwan, it's about right.
5. The Shape? In my opinion it is perfect. It has the teeth I beckon for - they are not obtrusive nor are they too small.

Test Ride

Well... I threw the Ring Thing onto my Heckler and headed off to Tyler Mill for a night ride. Now this is the first time I have ridden with any sort of bash guard, and I have to say, I am never going back. I sailed over logs with such amazing ease, so smooth. I even noticed the greater clearance through the rock gardens. I am loving that thing.

Inspection of the Ring Thing the next day? Still in near mint condition. Now I am a 220 pound dude that does not exactly have too much finese - which means when I go to ride over a log, I rail into it with some speed and hope my gut will carry me over. After at least a dozen or so of these, the Ring Thing was not bent or malformed in any way, and there was only a couple little scratches on it.

I would say it held up like a champ.

Conclusion

Ok, I admit, writing a rewiew on bash guard is pretty tough, not to mention kind of goofy. It's a pretty basic component with not a hell of a lot technology or theory behind - ya know, something like suspension it is not. The field of bash guard competitors is also pretty slim. Of all the companies that do offer these, most end up selling pretty much the same thing. Maybe they threw in some extra machining, offer different colors, use a different material - but to be honest, most of them are rather similar. But don't get me wrong, there are some flimsy crap ones out there.

"So why the Bike Bonz Ring Thing" you wonder? Well, first off try to find reviews of any bash guards out there. There aren't many out there. So here is one, and at least someone (me) gave this thing a stamp of approval. And wouldn't you agree its better to support the smaller companies who are out there making this stuff because they love the sport? And with that being said, they ride, so they probably know something about what will be effective on a bike. Hell, these guys are from British Columbia, I would imagine they know something about building rugged stuff.

The Good

• Strong, well constructed
• Perfect shape (in my opinion)
• Looks nice

The Questionable

• Well, with any bash gaurd, you are going to have to lose that big chainring. But seriously, if you need one of these things the chances are the stuff you are riding is not going to allow you use it much anyways. Well... unless your name is Tinker.

The Bad

• It's a little more costly than some of the others out there.
• Chances are you are not going to find Bike Bonz stuff at your local bike shop (you can buy it from thier website though).

I love this thing and I would recommend the Ring Thing to anyone. But, still, for some reason I keep asking myself why I just spent 2 hours writing a review on a bash guard. Oh well, what can you do. If you are going to buy a bash guard, consider one of these.

Comments / Discussion ( 1 )  Nathan Cloud Like I said..... I like it. Posted June 20, 2005 at 3:15 PM [ 595 ] Trackback to this comment Reply to this comment ( 2 )  ad-rock FREAK!!!. Freak you are hmmmm? Posted June 21, 2005 at 8:38 AM [ 596 ] Trackback to this comment Reply to this comment Nathan Cloud Yes, yes I am. Reply posted on June 21, 2005 at 8:54 AM [ 597 ] Trackback to this comment Reply to this comment ( 3 )  R o b Works.. The 'Thing' works great...grind it into a log or smash it into a boulder and it stays straight and lookin' pretty. My stock 44t ring didn't fair so well as it was "convinced" to become a 36 toother by some rocks :( Posted September 29, 2005 at 12:28 PM [ 789 ] Trackback to this comment Reply to this comment ( 4 )  ellhow I don't get bash rings. You protect the outer chain ring, by taking it off.....so there's nothing to protect and you lose 8 or 9 gears. Why npt keep the outer ring and let it be the bash guard? Posted September 8, 2006 at 4:39 PM [ 3724 ] Trackback to this comment Reply to this comment e moneybags Well you dont protect the outer ring, you protect the inner rings. The benefit of a bash guard over an outer ring setup (I Think) is that it is sturdier and less prone to bending over onto gears you actually use, typically a smoother surface so it glides over rocks/logs instead of biting into them, and increases your clearance b/c it is a smaller diameter. Certainly if you are using a big ring it doesnt make much sense, but I never did so this was a logical next step for me and a bunch of other folks. Reply posted on September 8, 2006 at 5:08 PM [ 3725 ] Trackback to this comment Reply to this comment ( 5 )  kush23 e 13 also makes a kick ass bash the supercharger its made of makrolon thermoplastic alloy and i swear to christ its bullit proof ive had mine on for 2 seasons and it still appears to be brand new. i run 1 ring up front and ive never noticed a loss in speed, quit the contrary it trains you to keep pedaling no matter what. 9 speeds is really all you need, then again steep hills and myself are not really good friends Posted September 9, 2006 at 11:19 AM [ 3727 ] Trackback to this comment Reply to this comment Add your comment [ You must be logged in to enter comments ]