Ward
Good point made about personal responsibility, besides if manufactures were required to put them on, people would just take them off anyway. As I stated before, I'm not fancy on the looks of nerfs either, but I've had more bad luck without them than with them.

Besides, that's how I noticed my broken exhaust stud, taking the skid plate off to put nerfs on and there it was, lying on the skid plate. I hope I would have noticed it before riding anyway, or at least I should have.

 

If you ride fast and ride with others I think they are a must. Besides the ability of keeping you from running over your legs, nerfs keep wheels from coming in contact while riding close to others. One of the guys in our dune crew refused to get nerfs on his Raptor. That is until him and I got tangled up while flat tracking in Patton valley. His quad shot straight up, about 6 feet, spun and landed on him. Yes, it was an oucher! He's got a set of Graydons now.

Another reason I like them is when on long dune rides, I use them like highway pegs on a road bike. If I'm just cruisin it gives me some optional leg positions. [I've got a 36 inch inseam and have had 3 knee surgeries] It keeps me comfortable