Blackspire Stinger E Chain Guide Review

Blackspire's Stinger dual ring guide is a simple, bolt on solution for riders who want the versatility of two chain rings without the hassle of losing a chain on rough terrain. The simple guide is available in a number of different mounting options, from ISCG, ISCG-05, BB mount, and even a model that is made to fit BMX bikes. The model reviewed here is the Stinger E, with the "E" referring to the mounting tabs for a Shimano E-type front derailleur. The 90 gram guide is available in anodized black, with rollers coming in black, pink, green, blue, purple, orange, and gold. They retail from $29.95 USD (non-E type model) to $49.95 USD for the Stinger E shown here.



The details
Blackspire designed the Stinger to be as straightforward as possible. The aluminum backplate doesn't utilize any gram saving cutouts or extreme shaping, just simple and flat construction that gets the job done. Countersunk openings are used for the guide's ISCG tab mounting hardware, along with the short extension to accomodate the E-Type front derailleur.


While some dual ring guides make used of a thinner lower roller that slides on a post, following the chain from ring to ring as you shift, or a even a twin roller system, the Stinger employs a single roller with a stepped shape. The molded roller's inner diameter is slightly larger, adding all important chain tension when the in the small ring, combined with smaller diameter channel for the chain to run in when in the big ring. The roller spins on two sealed bearings, and is held in place with non-captive hardware. There is enough vertical adjustment to allow for it to work with chain rings up to 40 teeth, an important fact for many 2 x 10 drivetrains.


Performance
The Stinger should receive an award for being its easy “plug and play” installation. There are only two main elements; the backplate and the lower roller (and just nine if you count the roller and mounting hardware), making the Stinger quite simple to get running properly. Spacing was a non-issue, the only real adjustments required are to set the roller height - via the vertical slot, and roller angle by rotating the guide on its ISCG mounting holes. Our model also requires mounting the E-type front derailleur to the top of the guide, another simple procedure. They say that a three year old can figure out how to use the iPad because it’s so intuitive; well, we think that same kid could install this chain guide in about five minutes. The Blackspire guys probably also believe this because it unfortunately ships without any instructions.


The Stinger E works quite well out on the hill, adding enough chain tension to cut down on noise (although not as much as a proper single ring guide) from chain slap, but also keep it from jumping off the ring when passing over rough terrain. We never once completely lost a chain after installing the Stinger E, although the chain would still jump from the big to the small ring on occasion. This happened far less often than without the Stinger E installed, and it did prevent the chain from coming off the rings all together and becoming lodged around the bottom bracket shell. Shifting performance didn't seem to be affected whatsoever, with the extra chain tension provided by the lower roller having zero affect on how fast the chain moved from ring to ring.

Blackspire uses quite a hard rubber compound for the roller in order to keep durability high, a trait that is helped by the smooth running bearings that last nearly a full season of use with zero attention. We were concerned about the sealed bearing's exposed sides, but it turned out to not be an issue and is likely a better design than if there were protective caps that might also trap water and grime underneath. Added drag was present, but minimal. It can be just be felt when pedalling in reverse by hand when the bike is in the stand, and we doubt that any rider will be concerned about lost watts with the Stinger installed.


Pinkbike's take:
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