Chainwheel plastic disc rubbing

[Drudeboy]

Hi, I'm very new to cycling after buying a Claud Butler Urban 300 a few weeks ago. All is going ok apart from being over 40 and very very unfit! I have a question about the plastic disc that is between the spokes and the largest sprocket on the rear cassette, it seems loose and the spokes scrape it noisely when freewheeling. Should it be held in place somehow and have some clearance from the spokes?

[Alex Ramon]

Those plastic guards are usually fit onto your hub flange before the freewheel/cassette is installed. Sometimes there are plastic clips hooking them onto the spokes. If these snap off you end up getting the noise you're describing. Remove your <a href="http://bikeride.com/replace-freewheel/">freewheel</a> or <a href="http://bikeride.com/replace-cassette-cluster/">cassette</a> and take a look, maybe it has just popped out of position. If it's broken you'll have to replace it, but they should be super cheap at your local bike shop.