SRAM’s latest family of Eagle Transmission derailleurs hyped their durability, but nothing is indestructible, and MRP thinks their new Cage Guard is the perfect insurance policy. Sure, it’s just a little $30 piece of engineered plastic. But MRP knows a thing or two about keeping mountain bike drivetrains safe. And based on the dents & gouges in my own Transmission derailleur after just a half a year of riding, I feel like mine could use a bit of extra protection…
MRP Cage Guard protects SRAM Transmission derailleurs
MRP has been in the business of creating bash-guards and low-friction sliders to protect our sensitive drivetrain, literally since the birth of technical mountain bike riding took hold in the 1990s. So seeing them decide to make a bash guard for some of the most expensive mountain bike derailleurs ever mass-produced seems pretty logical to me.
Machined in-house in Grand Junction, Colorado from durable & slippery Delrin thermoplastic, MRP created the 8g Cage Guard “to protect your SRAM T-Type derailleur pulley cage from costly damage caused by rocks and debris“.
MRP says the new Cage Guard does double-duty of first preventing impact damage, and secondly of keeping your alloy cage from snagging when it hits a sharp or especially abrasive rock.
Bounce off, and glide over rocks. Because ultimately, limiting cage damage ensures the best shifting performance out of your premium SRAM Transmission.
Do you really need a bash guard on your SRAM MTB Transmission Derailleur?
Look, making a derailleur that works with a 10-52T spread is always going to mean a long cage hanging down within reach of trailside rocks. I know a big part of SRAM’s latest direct-mount Eagle T-Type Transmission derailleurs was easier serviceability. And the spin-off cage trick really makes replacing a cage faster & easier, that is if you have a spare lying around. But these big angular cages do seem to stick out more than even the previous generation of Eagle derailleurs, making them more vulnerable low-hanging-fruit for hungry rocks.
Sure, the new T-type design means you can easily replace the quick-release alloy GX cage for around $100, a shiner alloy XX cage for about $150, or the fancy carbon XX SL cage for $200. But that means the cheapest replacement Transmission cage will still cost you more than 3x the price of the MRP Cage Guard. So, maybe with $30 of Cage Guard prevention, it’ll never come to that.
Yes, it is maybe debatable whether 8g of plastic is really going to prevent a well-placed rock strike from killing your derailleur cage. But it certainly won’t hurt, right?
I can say that I’ve hit a lot of rocks, bashing my trail & enduro bikes through rock gardens. And I also fondly remember more than two decades of bashing crankarms and chainrings onto rocks with MRP guards protecting me.
MRP Cage Guard – Pricing, compatibility & availability
This new little Delrin plastic MRP Cage Guard sells for $29.95, directly from Mountain Racing Products. And yes, that’s a pretty expensive piece of plastic, but it’s a lot cheaper than any replacement T-type derailleur cage. The Cage Guard is designed to bolt onto the latest generation of direct (full) mount SRAM Transmission derailleurs. Just remove the T25 lower pulley bolt, slap the Cage Guard on, then tighten it in place with the included longer stainless steel M4 bolt.
It’s compatible with everything from the OEM-only S100, GX, X0, XX & the top XX SL T-type derailleurs. So you get bash guard protections whether you have a steel, aluminum, or carbon outer cage.
