Bicycle chainstay protector

1. A bicycle comprising:

a wheel;

a frame supported by the wheel, the frame including a wheel support and a stay extending from the wheel support; and

a stay protector resiliently engaging the stay, the stay protector including a body member having a resilient material, and a guard member attached to the body member and having material that is harder than the resilient material of the body member.

2. The bicycle of claim 1 , wherein the wheel support includes two wheel supports positioned on opposing sides of the frame, wherein the stay includes two chainstays, each chainstay extending from a respective one of the wheel supports, wherein the stay protector resiliently engages only one of the stays.

3. The bicycle of claim 2 , wherein the wheel is a rear wheel, and wherein the bicycle further comprises a front wheel.

4. The bicycle of claim 1 , wherein the stay comprises a tubular-shaped member having an exterior surface, and wherein the stay protector is contoured to substantially match the exterior surface.

5. The bicycle of claim 1 , wherein the stay comprises a tubular-shaped member having an exterior surface defining a circumferential distance around the tubular-shaped member, and wherein the stay protector wraps more than about 50% of the way around the circumferential distance of the tubular-shaped member.

6. The bicycle of claim 5 , wherein the stay protector wraps between about 60% and about 90% of the way around the tubular-shaped member.

7. The bicycle of claim 6 , wherein the stay protector wraps between about 70% and about 85% of the way around the tubular-shaped member.

8. The bicycle of claim 1 , wherein the stay protector is secured to the stay without fasteners or adhesive.

9. A stay protector for a bicycle having a wheel and a frame supported by the wheel, the frame including a wheel support and a stay extending from the wheel support, the stay protector comprising:

side edges;

a body member including a resilient material adapted to resiliently engage the stay, the body member defining a longitudinal axis; and

a guard member attached to the body member and including material that is harder than the resilient material of the body member,

wherein at a location along the axis the body member has an interior surface defining a circumferential distance, and

wherein the side edges at the location are spaced by a gap that is less than 50 percent of the circumferential distance.

10. The stay of claim 9 , wherein the gap is between about 5 percent and about 40 percent of the circumferential distance.

11. The stay of claim 10 , wherein the gap is between about 10 percent and about 30 percent of the circumferential distance.

12. The bicycle of claim 9 , wherein the stay protector is free of fastener holes and adhesive.

13. A method of attaching a stay protector to a bicycle, the method comprising:

providing a bicycle having a wheel and a frame supported by the wheel, the frame including a wheel support and a stay extending from the wheel support;

providing a stay protector including a body member having a resilient material, and a guard member having material that is harder than the resilient material of the body member;

attaching the guard member to the body member; and

resiliently engaging the stay protector onto the stay.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein resiliently engaging comprises:

flexing the stay protector;

placing the stay protector onto the stay; and

releasing the stay protector.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the wheel support includes two wheel supports positioned on opposing sides of the frame, wherein the stay includes two chainstays, each chainstay extending from a respective one of the wheel supports, and wherein resiliently engaging comprising mounting the stay protector on only one of the chainstays.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the stay comprises a tubular-shaped member having an exterior surface defining a circumferential distance around the tubular-shaped member, and wherein resiliently engaging comprises wrapping the stay protector at least about 50% of the way around the circumferential distance of the tubular-shaped member.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein resiliently engaging comprises wrapping the stay protector between about 60% and about 90% of the way around the circumferential distance of the tubular-shaped member.

18. The bicycle of claim 13 , wherein resiliently engaging comprises mounting the stay protector to the stay without fasteners or adhesive.