After reading up on people's problems with the giant reign, it became apparent that many people were having problems with the rear shock due to it being slightly exposed to any crud coming from the front wheel. After looking around I saw that some people had made their own shock guard and mounted it on the down tube. I decided to do the same.
I am quite skint at the moment because I am already saving to get the shock and rear hub serviced on the reign I decided to try and make this spending as little money as possible. Firstly I thought about the material I am going to need. I decided anodised aluminium was my best bet as it won't rust and has a protective finish. It will also weigh less than other materials. Ideally I would need a 200mm x 60mm x 1.5mm strip of aluminium but I found a website which offered free samples of 150mm x 10mm x 1.5mm anodised aluminium so I ordered this because I thought it would be worth a try if it's free!
The aluminium arrived a few days later. As I don't have the right tools, I split it into 150mm x 60mm and 150 x 40mm strips using a blunt craft knife to score the aluminium then folding it in a vice. Once I had the two pieces I tidied up the edges with some sandpaper and wire wool. I also rounded of the corners to prevent a nasty accident when I'm out riding (I have enough of those already). I then drilled some holes and bolted the two pieces together. After, I bent the aluminium in a vice to give me the desired angle to fit the shape of the frame. Once I was happy I bolted my creation to the down tube, and voila, a free piece of protection for your bike!
Total Cost £0.00
