Which Mudguards?

[Azee]

Hi guys,

So I recently went riding in the rain. I felt that I primarily got wet from the tyres throwing water at me rather than the rain itself.

I am not looking at getting some splash guards.

I use 700X23 tyres.

Any recommendations?
Priority is unobtrusive looks and functionality, as well as good quality and lightweight.

So far I am liking the SKS series, either the Chromoplastic or the Bluemel in 35mm width.

Any suggestions?
And suggested places to buy, preferably online? At this stage it seems buy from the UK is the best option price wise.

[HappyHumber]

I think you're already leaning towards your own best answers.

[KenGS]

I've seen bikes with Crud Roadracers that look quite nice. Don't have them myself but when I get around to it that's probably the way I'd go with the roadie.

[tubby74]

have silver chromoplastics on my commuter running 32 tyres. keeps my legs completely dry from ground water. Only issue is I didn't have any cutters strong enough to trim the front stays so they are 2cm longer than ideal and I've been too lazy to sort it in the last couple of years. occasional toe clipping the guard is the only issue

[Storm Boy]

I was looking at the Crud Roadracers but clearance was going to be a concern on my bike.

I bought one of these recently, it works pretty well. It attaches under the brake calipers and clips in/unclips in a couple of seconds. A front version is also available, you may need to check tyre clearances first.

http://bbbcycling.com/accessories/fenders/BFD-21F" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regards,

SB

[Top_Bhoy]

I have SKS Longboard mudguards fitted to my commuter and can't find fault with them. The decision to fit mudguards to my commuter 18 months ago was the best bike related decision I had made for a while.

You haven't stated which type of bike you propose fitting your mudguards onto. If you are not already aware of it, the type of bike and tyre clearances it has, will to an extent, determine your choice of mudguard.

[Lizzy]

I have Planet BIke Cascadias on my old hybrid, and Bontrager mudguards on my road bike, both are the bomb-diggety.

[Azee]

The bike I have is a Merida Ride 95 2014 model, I am not sure if it has a lot or a little clearance as it is my first proper bike?

[simonn]

Probably little clearance. I reckon 25mm maybe 28mm tyre clearance on your bike.

You might be ok with the crud road racers with 23mm. You can probably customize them to fit if you need to. They are just bits of plastic so easily customized.

I had a pair. I kept kicking the front off during slow sharp turns. They are designed to pop off if they get caught in the spokes... I know this works... but they still got caught in the wheel and just generally got annoying. Realistically with my former 25km/hour-ish commute the vast majority of the time I would be drenched if it rained and the guards had little impact. I reckoned that they helped 1-3 days a year when it had rained prior to riding, the roads had yet to dry and it didn't rain during. So, I took them off. Just another thing to go wrong for little value. YMMV of course.

[Zippy7]

A quick 2 cents worth.

I had Axiom rain runners on a hybrid bike, I actually quite liked them - they were plastic, but had a 3M reflective stripe down the middle (was grey plastic in daylight, but at night when a light was shone, it went reflective).
Easy to put on and generally pretty good.

I then had a pair of SKS plastic ones - these were on a bike where i could kick the front tyre if i was pedalling and turning. I kicked the crap out of the front guards, and the plastic protectors came off the ends and would scratch me on occasion.
They worked, but I didn't like them that much.

After that, I got aluminium Toba mudguards - they were beautiful to look at on their own, functional too. But aluminium did look a bit out of place on a black commuter. I reckon they were the best so far.

I've now got a pair of Specialized mudguards. Worst ones so far. They wobble and they rattle. They are a bit shorter and narrower, so my feet get wet because they not very effective. Would definitely avoid these.

If you've only got so much space, and want to customise, then go the plastic guards and cut away. But if you have the space, then consider a pair of Toba guards. The stays were thicker, and they were a bit wider, so were more effective at their job.

Ultimately, mudguards don't make your bike look any nicer - you just want function.

YMMV.

[battler2]

i ordered some planet bike ones from amazon. let ya know how they go once i get round to installing em

[battler2]

i installed these planetbike cascadia fenders. didn't take long at all, but i've never done that before so it took longer than it should

some points (and questions):
- the plastic clip they expect you to mount to the brake bridge seems ridiculous, it was rubbing on the tyre (25c) badly. seriously? took it off and instead used of the 12mm bolts for the front guard to mount it to the mount i've got on the chainstay bridge. seems like it will hold?
the diagram shows to mount on on the brake bridge (where the brakes are supposed to go) so NFI where the hell the brake is supposed to mount to (according to the manual anyway). but of course i put it on top, effectively replacing the brake caliper washer. but rubbing problem above means this is pointless. anyone else agree?
- the rubber flap isn't removable (easily), and came bent out of shape from the box (it was packed well). some bending and more bending got it reasonable but i dont know how it will go long term.

otherwise i'm glad i have mounts otherwise i don't think i could be bothered using clamps and zip ties. mounts are much nicer and hopefully no rattle.

any tips? i'm new to this, and sick of getting sprayed. should be good to mount the tubus rack soon in the other holes

edit: looks like i'm going to have to get that plastic clip installed somehow, maybe raising the guard a bit. seems to move around too much and rattle over bumps. unless that's normal?

edit no. 2: no chance. the plastic clip has to go. won't go any higher so the clip rubs against the tyre. a search shows i'm not the only one to experience this problem. the brake bridge on the lynskey is too low, and another hole for a screw is in the way. looks like i have to drill a couple of holes each side and use zip ties to hold it in place so it doesn't move around.

[dalai47]

I use 700X23 tyres.

Any suggestions?
And suggested places to buy, preferably online? At this stage it seems buy from the UK is the best option price wise.

I run 700X23's Cruds work great!

[slaw]

The bike I have is a Merida Ride 95 2014 model, I am not sure if it has a lot or a little clearance as it is my first proper bike?

I have the same bike. It came with 25s and I've got 28s on there now. Clearance at the front is good, but a little tighter on the back. Haven't thought about mudguards for it as I have a dedicated commute bike with full length mudguards fitted.

[carcharias]

Hello.

SKS Chromoplastics are a really good choice, can be a bit of a pain to fit (fidly) but also are able to be fine tuned (alignment) and are really durable, have stainless steel fittings are so a good quality choice.The fitting instructions from SKS are a bit unclear. I managed to fit to an old 80's road bike with 27 inch wheels although a bit compromised fit wise (no fault of SKS though...) as intended for 700C wheels.
They come in a variety of widths and am wondering if 35 mm is appropriate for 23C tires? Maybe a little too wide?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhzECAgQx3c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This was the most helpful instruction I could find when fitting/fiddling/swearing at the SKS's. Thank you Evans Cycles!
C.

[carcharias]

Just noticed the narrowest width is 35 mm so I am wrong about the appropriate size.

C.

[DavidS]

Yep, SKS Chromoplastics here too, excellent. Also, more effective with some Brooks leather mudflaps. The water from the sky is relatively clean and the dirty water from the ground is largely avoided. Would also think about longboards if I need to replace them, great idea.

Mudguards are very useful, I ride to commute so invaluable in my opinion.

DS

[warthog1]

SKS chromoplastics here too. Trouble free commuting duties for about 2 years.

[Red Rider]

I have one bike with Crud Roadracer MKII's and another with SKS Chromoplastics. They are both great for what they are designed for.

The Crud's are specifically designed to fit road bikes which have tight clearance up where the calliper brakes are, and the lack of mounting points on road bikes. My road bike has pretty tight clearances and it fits very nicely, with a few mills to spare. I leave them on in winter, then take them off in summer. First installation is tricky as tolerances are small on this type of bike. It takes a fair amount of tweaking and pushing and pulling and head-scratching to get it in the sweet spot. I did have to add a cable tie around the chain stay as the wide part of the rear guard that keeps water off the drivetrain tended to twist towards the wheel. Works a charm. Once in place, there's no issues. Taking them off and on again is a cinch with reusable cable ties and thumb screws, a couple of mins for the front and 10 mins for the rear. I leave the mounting points on the bike so I can quickly pop the guards back on and don't have to work out where the mounts need to go again. They don't look like much but they do the job very well, light-weight, sleek and unobtrusive, I take them on group rides, everyone wants to be on my wheel on rainy days

I have the Chromoplastics on my disc brake bike roadie/commuter, so clearance is not a problem. Installation still takes a while (~1 hour) with measuring and cutting of the stays, and they stay on all year round as they are very sturdy and also because you need tools to remove them, and aint no one got time for that. I have seen tight installations with Chromoplastics where the guard is chopped away where it passes through the fork and seat stays. SKS make Race Blades for such a task, but there is a gap in the guards where the brake callipers are.

For my scenario's these mudguards are perfect fits for purpose.

[caneye]

i have a set of zefal C40 mudguards installed on my flatbar (dedicated wet-weather bike) with 28mm tyres.
was desperate for a set of mudguards and the LBS only had them available.

- they are constructed out of very sturdy composite material.
- BUT, they were very fiddly to install. especially fitting them between the seat stays.

mine ended up being a bodge job with the rear mudguards secured to the pannier by cable ties. that was the only way i could secure it without too much flex. now, if i remove the pannier rack, the mudguard comes off too and vice versa.

having said that, i've been using them for a year and it's been a joy to use especially during heavy downpour. you don't get water and mud from the wheels anymore.

bottom line - C40 did its job of keeping water, mud and gunk away. but is fiddly to align and install. not a plug-and-play item.

if the fine is dry and i want to ride the flat-bar, then i just need to remove 6 screws and the front & rear mudguards are off.