E160 frame / motor protection

[Duggan]

Here’s a few pics of my carbon fibre Rock Guardz motor guard. Seems to make sense to give the motor some protection, most other brands are either surrounding the motor in the frame or supplying a guard.

 

[Celtic-Predator]

Cheers for posting this, I had checked with Rock Guardz before but they never had one listed for this bike.

I attempted to make one out of ABS plastic but gave up on that. This looks a lot nicer.

Just ordered one. Hopelfully it should be with me for the weekend.

 

[Duggan]

Cheers for posting this, I had checked with Rock Guardz before but they never had one listed for this bike.

I attempted to make one out of ABS plastic but gave up on that. This looks a lot nicer.

Just ordered one. Hopelfully it should be with me for the weekend.[/QUOTE

Hey no trouble ?? I was looking for a guard for a while whilst my bike was on order also, just a bit of peace of mind knowing it’s got some protection from rock damage when tearing down the trails.

 

[Tommyknocker]

Thanks for sharing!!

 

[carra1969]

bought one of these on eBay and couldn't be happier. Excellent build quality, very strong offering great protection, easy to install and fast delivery to Australia:

Merida E bike bash guard | eBay

 

[Gregbase]

RockGuardz ON

 

[Mrloseth]

I have one now to. Have not fitted yet. Did you put it in hot water before mounting?

 

[Gregbase]

I have one now to. Have not fitted yet. Did you put it in hot water before mounting?

Yes I did for like 3 minutes. It was much flexible.

 

[Rallysaloon]

bought one of these on eBay and couldn't be happier. Excellent build quality, very strong offering great protection, easy to install and fast delivery to Australia:

Merida E bike bash guard | eBay

Glad you are happy with it. The Rockguardz are ok but they only offer cosmetic protection. My "proper" bash guard WILL NOT break no mater what you bash it on and it protects the chainring too.

 

[Gregbase]

It did his job today!

 

[Rallysaloon]

It did his job today!

View attachment 12388

Great to see it did it’s job.......but, unlike my guards, it won’t take many, if any more, hits to destroy it and then your going to have to buy another. Watch out when you wash it too, with edges and shards like that you’ll look like you’ve been self harming ?. If you break one of mine you’d get a free replacement. I can say that cos you won’t break one. ???.

 

[Paulpetta]

The RockGuardz motor/frame protector are for sale in Australia now and got mine delivered on my door in 2 days..RockGuardZ for MERIDA e160 models

 

[Dan63]

Great to see it did it’s job.......but, unlike my guards, it won’t take many, if any more, hits to destroy it and then your going to have to buy another. Watch out when you wash it too, with edges and shards like that you’ll look like you’ve been self harming ?. If you break one of mine you’d get a free replacement. I can say that cos you won’t break one. ???.

I will buy one if you refine the design. My feedback - they don't look very nice, they are too thick and reduce clearance, mount crudely at the front which is going to cause rub through of the paint on the frame.

 

[carra1969]

Hi. I have been riding with mine on for a while on my e160 900e and have found that it rarely impacts on clearance and when it does its not an issue as you have piece of mind that your frame, motor and chain ring are protected. I had some concerns about paint rub at the front and wrapped the frame with a 3M film first before using the supplied velco strips and cable ties which securely mount the guard to the frame. As for the appearance I think the guard enhances the aggressive style of the bike.

 

[Rallysaloon]

I will buy one if you refine the design. My feedback - they don't look very nice, they are too thick and reduce clearance, mount crudely at the front which is going to cause rub through of the paint on the frame.

I have refined the look of them by rounding and chamfering the edges. They don’t reduce clearance as they are level with the chainring which is your lowest contact point. I use the clear “helicopter” tape all over my frame to stop paint rub and this combined with the Velcro tape supplied with the guard stops any possible damage. The “crude” mounting at the front is exactly the same method you’d use to mount any mud guard. As for looking “nice”, unless you are lying on the ground, you can’t really see them. Constructive criticism is fine but your comments are a bit unfounded plus you’ll do far more damage to your bike without one. Each to their own but personally I can’t see why you wouldn’t want to protect the single most expensive component on this bike. They should, in my opinion, have come with a guard from the factory, although the “guards” on some bikes I’ve seen from the factory aren’t fit for purpose. I also see there are new bikes coming out now with similar guards fitted, like the new Husqavana.

 

[Rallysaloon]

Hi. I have been riding with mine on for a while on my e160 900e and have found that it rarely impacts on clearance and when it does its not an issue as you have piece of mind that your frame, motor and chain ring are protected. I had some concerns about paint rub at the front and wrapped the frame with a 3M film first before using the supplied velco strips and cable ties which securely mount the guard to the frame. As for the appearance I think the guard enhances the aggressive style of the bike.

Cheers for the positive comment, glad you approve.

 

[Rallysaloon]

The only other option regarding guards is the carbon one as in earlier photo but personally I don’t think they will give you the same level of protection as mine. I know I’m slightly biased ?but the photo does show how weak they are after just one rock strike. Mine laugh at rocks ?.

 

[2unfit2ride]

The only other option regarding guards is the carbon one as in earlier photo

There is another type on eBay Here. I think the design of this one & yours is superior to the rockgaurds as there is space between the bash & the motor, obviously it will become a shit shelf but it will offer more protection.

Cheers.

 

[Rallysaloon]

Yes that is another available guard. Possibly better than the RG one. Not quite as good as mine though. Mine has a specially made cnc’d anodised aluminium mount bracket at the back which is where the strength and rigidity comes from rather than a couple of cable ties. And mine protects the chainring when you scrape over rocks and tree roots etc. I’d guess this sort would flex when it takes a hit. Still better than nothing though.

 

[Paulpetta]

RockGuardz ON

View attachment 12051

View attachment 12052

Like the RockGuardZ..They fit nicely, look great, and give enough protection to the engine..

 

[Gregbase]

Great to see it did it’s job.......but, unlike my guards, it won’t take many, if any more, hits to destroy it and then your going to have to buy another. Watch out when you wash it too, with edges and shards like that you’ll look like you’ve been self harming ?. If you break one of mine you’d get a free replacement. I can say that cos you won’t break one. ???.

Well, the main damage was top left on the pict (not those scratches on the bottom). Still a little paint came off from the frame, but it saved my frame big time (othervise it would be a hole on the frame. The carbon did the job). As I can see your guard's shape, the critical point would not even covered as the rockguardz does so I'd be in big trouble. The other thing the clearance. Yours waaaay thicker, so I'm already havin' trouble the clearance, I definately don't want another 1 cm. Don't get me wrong, your guard is a kick ass guard too I think, but my advice is don't promote your equipment to say neagtive things to others, I think you're a little agressive on self promoting, but that's just my opinion. Like I said, I still like your guard.

 

[Rallysaloon]

Well, the main damage was top left on the pict (not those scratches on the bottom). Still a little paint came off from the frame, but it saved my frame big time (othervise it would be a hole on the frame. The carbon did the job). As I can see your guard's shape, the critical point would not even covered as the rockguardz does so I'd be in big trouble. The other thing the clearance. Yours waaaay thicker, so I'm already havin' trouble the clearance, I definately don't want another 1 cm. Don't get me wrong, your guard is a kick ass guard too I think, but my advice is don't promote your equipment to say neagtive things to others, I think you're a little agressive on self promoting, but that's just my opinion. Like I said, I still like your guard.

Cheers for your opinion, it's good to hear what people think. I try not to be negative about other guards but they are not really designed to do the same thing.
Making mine wider to cover the frame has been suggested a few times but to do that I would have to thin the material down and for the purpose it was designed for that's not an option. It's main purpose is to protect the motor and enable riders to tackle obstacles such as large rocks and tree roots etc that they would normally avoid, confident in the knowledge that if they don't manage to hop over something they won't break anything.
You say you are already having trouble with the clearance but the chainring is the lowest point by quite a long way, apart from the crank arms, obviously which everyone seems to clobber. That's reason I keep the guard as thick as it is, to cover the chainring as well. It actually sits at the same height so if you hit the guard you would have hit the chainring anyway.
At the end of the day everyone is different and have different opinions etc it's all good and just creates more publicity. People can make their own judgements on what works best for themselves.
Thinking about it...…. if folk bought a RG guard and then one of mine fitted over the top, that would give total protection, everyone's a winner

 

[melonhead]

I really like the look of that Husqvarna guard. I reckon one of those could be adapted to fit the Merida. Unfortunately I am one of those people who need a product to be both functional and visually appealing. For the time being I have stuck a section of 8mm thick insertion rubber onto the bottom of the motor, so if I do drag the motor, the rubber will take the impact.

 

[Rallysaloon]

I really like the look of that Husqvarna guard. I reckon one of those could be adapted to fit the Merida. Unfortunately I am one of those people who need a product to be both functional and visually appealing. For the time being I have stuck a section of 8mm thick insertion rubber onto the bottom of the motor, so if I do drag the motor, the rubber will take the impact.

If I took a bit off the width and made it out 3mm aluminium and anodised it black would you consider that to be visually appealing? You'd have to accept that it wouldn't be as protective though.

 

[melonhead]

I reckon the Husky guard is visually appealing and offers complete motor protection in exactly the same way that a skid plate on a dirtbike does. I think having the motor guard and downtube guard as two separate items increases visual appeal, and can offer suitable protection. Fortunately for us we have the luxury of choice, and if I cant find a motor guard that I like, I will make one also. Please don't consider this an attack on your product Rallysalon, as I am sure it does exactly what you, and many others want it to do. I am just saying that it is not for me .

 

[Rallysaloon]

I reckon the Husky guard is visually appealing and offers complete motor protection in exactly the same way that a skid plate on a dirtbike does. I think having the motor guard and downtube guard as two separate items increases visual appeal, and can offer suitable protection. Fortunately for us we have the luxury of choice, and if I cant find a motor guard that I like, I will make one also. Please don't consider this an attack on your product Rallysalon, as I am sure it does exactly what you, and many others want it to do. I am just saying that it is not for me .

No worries.
I could supply you with the specially made bracket which my guard bolts to which gives it the strength and rigidity it needs to take the impacts. This was the tricky part to get right when making my guard. With that it's quite easy to make any guard you like fit. I might look at doing another version of my guards one day but I don't really have the time and I'm not making enough money on them either.

 

[melonhead]

No worries.
I could supply you with the specially made bracket which my guard bolts to which gives it the strength and rigidity it needs to take the impacts. This was the tricky part to get right when making my guard. With that it's quite easy to make any guard you like fit. I might look at doing another version of my guards one day but I don't really have the time and I'm not making enough money on them either.

That might just be the perfect solution for me. Thanks for the offer. I commend you for producing these guards commercially. If i make my own i dont reckon i would have the time or energy to make them for others. What kind of ballpark price would the mount be posted to Australia? Thanks mate

 

[Rallysaloon]

That might just be the perfect solution for me. Thanks for the offer. I commend you for producing these guards commercially. If i make my own i dont reckon i would have the time or energy to make them for others. What kind of ballpark price would the mount be posted to Australia? Thanks mate

Where in Aus?

 

[melonhead]

Where in Aus?

Killingworth in the state of New South Wales. Postcode 2278

 

[Rallysaloon]

The bracket plus special mounting bolt would cost £20 and postage is roughly another £25.
That's about 82 Aus Dollars.
I use UPS to ship which is not the cheapest by a long way but it's tracked, fast and reliable. The bracket and bolt actually weigh more than the guard which is why it's the same shipping cost as the whole guard and brackets.