Is there a downside to spoke protectors? A few weeks ago, the derailer on my touring bike caught on the chain and ripped itself off the frame. (See the link below for more info on the incident.) The spoke protector was cracked in half by this, which says to me that it did its job: stopping the derailer and chain from damaging the spokes. (The wheel was out of alignment and needed truing, but it still rotated.) 

In the future, these "dork discs" or "pie plates" (as some like to call them) are going on all my bikes. My question: Aside from looks and the weight, is there any downside to having one of these on a bike? 


Sheldon Brown on Spoke Protectors
More detail about the incident where my derailer broke
For fun: Pie In The Sky: A World Without Spoke Protectors
Apart from looks no, but the pie plate won't necessarily protect against what likely happened.

Pie plates are to keep badly adjusted derailleurs out of the spokes. Obviously, maintaining your bike and keeping the limit screws in place will prevent that from happening. 

A stick or squirrel or something caught in your drive train won't necessarily be prevented by the pie plate, because that's not what they are there for.

Unless you regularly smash into things.

I remove the pie plates from all my wheels.