@hampsteadbandit "the material for the slider is not some off the shelf plastic or poly urethane, it took us months to develop working closely with specialists " Perhaps similar, but not UHMW. We developed a proprietary polymer.

@thisusernameisnottaken Not really! That is only the material cost of the silver. You forget the cost of the mold to cast it in, the cost of the gas for the furnace to melt it down, the cost of the labour, the cost of the polishing, packaging, etc,... Not even close! @kev-roberts Cheers :)

lol.... I observed an older garage door opener that used a nylon plate to tension the chain that spanned from the drive motor to the shaft that wound the cables. It just made sense to me that it would work on a bike chain.

First of all, you should all know that the guide in the photo was an early trail test prototype aka UGLY and the production guide looks like this... http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/8103471/ The retail cost reflects the development and production cost. We spent thousands on molds. The mold for the top guide was very complex and difficult to perfect in order for it to be a single piece and not two pieces like the one tested. And the material for the slider is not some off the shelf plastic or poly urethane, it took us months to develop working closely with specialists and was tested on a special dyno to eliminate wear and noise. The result, as the review points out, is a quieter guide than anything else. And unlike Straitlines and Gamuts who's guides put excessive wear on the chains, ours doesn't wear. This material lasted 30x longer on the dyno than Straitlines! Contrary to what Kev-roberts thinks, these pieces do not cost a couple $, its much more. Especially the slider! And when all is sold and done, we aren't making very much $ on each guide. You don't get rich making bike parts in Canada!

I actually got the idea from a garage door opener and made the first proto in 2002. After looking into the motocross chainguides our BRILLIANT engineer took the idea and ran with it. And Straitline was not the first to produce it for bikes, some euro brand I can't even pronounce was doing it before any of us! :)

I NEVER said a 25.4 bar was as stiff! And obviously some bars are stiffer than others, no doubt you are correct about that. But we aren't talking about ultralight XC parts here. I have ridden XC bikes hard enough to feel flex in the bars, stem, fork, frame, cranks and wheels. But that was the 90's :)

Or you could go for this... http://www.blackspire.com/DER-Guide The Beavertail bashguard is designed to absorb the impact and not transfer it to the guide frame and consequently the bike frame. The Beavertail can be replaced for around $35, much less than a frame or a crank spider!

ROFL! No, I really am a dick. And I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. 1. You must be very easily impressed as I have absolutely no knowledge of MX other than a little google + common sense. Down the road in a couple years when they only have to make 35mm for all MTN and ROAD and MX their production costs will be reduced significantly. I am a manufacturer and I know a great deal more about production than most people. 2. I never said the standard is bad. Its simply unneccessary and completely unwarranted. And yes, if the stem was beefier the whole system would be stiffer. A chain is only as strong as its weekest link. It doesn't matter how strong or stiff the bar is if the stem its mounted on is feeble! 3. Yes, they do test for stiffness. So do we! This 35mm "standard" is not new, its been on road bikes already for a couple years. We developed a stem and handlebar in 35mm months ago. We've tested it, alongside the Easton bar and the difference in stiffness compared to our existing 808 bars is so small it is considered NEGLEGIBLE. Keep in mind that all the bars regardless of the diameter at the clamp have to taper down to the same 22.2mm section for controls and grips to mount. Where Easton has really nailed it on the head is by making the clamp area of the bar wider, this alone will make the intereface with the bike drastically stiffer, without having to increase diameter at all. 4. Physiological is psychological? I think I'm a sith lord, does that mean I am? Yeah, I probably will own a set myself, well... I do, they are under my desk! I've got lots of test numbers too. Unless you are an engineer they are meaningless to you. And if the industry actually adopts this "standard" and it goes in "fashion" we will be more than happy to jump off the bridge too, but not first, since it is unwarranted. Clearly I am a dick! What does that make you?

Yeah! Stop giving us crabs! lol