Full mudguards and Bridlepaths do NOT mix

Kieran_Burns

So I've converted my road bike to a commuter and dropped my FCN Now got full mudguards, rack and panniers.

I do (did!) a stretch down a bridleway of about 4.5 miles which last night turned into a bit of a 'mare.

The tyres (continental city ride) picked up a truly astonishing amount of gravel / mud / leaves / cow sh*t (don't ask) and pulled it through the mudguards. This is only at the front BTW, the rear tyre was fine....

Now the BOTTOM of the bike is fine - the TOP is utterly covered. It seems that the 'dirt' basically went all the way through the mudguarded section and sprayed out the top to be caught by me and the bike.

The upshot is... I don't think I can continue down my favourite section of the commute home 'cos the full mudguards make the TOP of the bike a disgusting mess and the crud MTB style ones don't properly protect the bottom.

Oh, and the amount of noise generated by the 'dirt' getting pulled through the mudguards not to mention the amount now embedded in the brakes and forks means that the amount of effort just to move is exponentially increased.

Damn' it - this means I now have to take a 1 mile run down a VERY busy stretch of A road.

I'm off to Sainsburys now to go and jet wash the mud off as it REALLY needs a good going over.

The one bit of good news is that my choice of front light was vindicated (Cat eye single shot plus) even in the twilight it lit the road in front of me REALLY well!

Kieran_Burns

Additional to the above - jet washes don't half get yer bike clean!

Although I did get a few funny looks as I wheeled it in 8)

Slow Downcp

I've never had this problem with full guards on a road bike, and this includes Bridelways, over Caer Caradoc, canal towpaths, even to the point that mud submerges the front tyre. Have you got the right clearance between guard and tyre?

P.S. Never jetwash your bike

roger_merriman

something is up, as the mudguards on my big hybrid keep the grot, be that road,mud etc off me.

Kieran_Burns

I don't have any choice about the clearance at the forks but I did wonder if I should set the mudguard closer to the wheel at the bottom.

Slow Downcp

How close is it to the wheel at the bottom? Also, are your guards the right width for your tyre?

Kieran_Burns

I have 32c tyres fitted and the guard was for 28-35 so I presume so. the issue could be down to the tight fit at the forks but it didn't bend the guard at all, so it should be okay there as well.

should I have the guard CLOSE to the tyres at the base? There is a fair gap at the moment, I was playing it safe (or so I thought)

Kieran_Burns

Slow Downcp wrote:

I've never had this problem with full guards on a road bike, and this includes Bridelways, over Caer Caradoc, canal towpaths, even to the point that mud submerges the front tyre. Have you got the right clearance between guard and tyre?

P.S. Never jetwash your bike

I know that I should not use high pressure water on paint work and the like but really it was caked on there...

ride_whenever

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Slow Downcp wrote:

I've never had this problem with full guards on a road bike, and this includes Bridelways, over Caer Caradoc, canal towpaths, even to the point that mud submerges the front tyre. Have you got the right clearance between guard and tyre?

P.S. Never jetwash your bike

I know that I should not use high pressure water on paint work and the like but really it was caked on there...

It's the bearings you need to watch out for, you can blast out the grease and blast in crud which will kill your bearings in about 30secs...

Slow Downcp

You need to experiment to find a happy medium - too big a distnace won't be so effective, but to small a gap can lead to the guard clogging with mud. What frame is it?

singlespeedexplosif

nowt to do with the bridlepath - mudguards and bikes do NOT mix!

Kieran_Burns

Slow Downcp wrote:

You need to experiment to find a happy medium - too big a distnace won't be so effective, but to small a gap can lead to the guard clogging with mud. What frame is it?

Good point - I'll keep off the path tonight and go down the road and move the guards in a bit. I'll remember to take the right spanner with me tomorrow and spend some time on the way back playing with the gap.

I've got a Carrera Gryphon (Halfords special) flat bar road bike

Kieran_Burns

Holy cow muguards are a pain to adjust!

I've reset them closer at the very bottom and they don't rub, so I'll see how I get on tomorrow, cos I ain't going down that damn A road again... that was SCARY.

Kieran_Burns

A cnversation with another cyclist this morning gave another slant on the problem: it may be the tyres I'm using.

I've got continental city ride tyres on at the moment and they have a slick mid section. Now this is fine for urban communtng, but it may not be so good for bridleways. I think what is happening is that the mid section is holding onto the grit and water and mud longer than treaded tyres would...

Anyone agree / disagree?

biondino

How can a slick section hold onto mud? There's nothing for the mud to attach itself to!

Kieran_Burns

these are very sticky tyres and there is an awful lot of spray being pushed out the front of the mudguard when i'm cycling in the wet / mud

roger_merriman

Kieran_Burns wrote:

A cnversation with another cyclist this morning gave another slant on the problem: it may be the tyres I'm using.

I've got continental city ride tyres on at the moment and they have a slick mid section. Now this is fine for urban communtng, but it may not be so good for bridleways. I think what is happening is that the mid section is holding onto the grit and water and mud longer than treaded tyres would...

Anyone agree / disagree?

disagree, if they are slick they will not hold on to the mud, (mud tires have few but big and long spikes), the tread on such road tires doesn't do any thing, on road it doesn't put enought rubber on the road, off road it will clog pritty fast, to make the tread of limited use at best.

mud guards should cover the tires so water plus mud and grot get caught, works fine on my big old hybrid, swooping though large puddles doesn't result in wet feet etc.

Kieran_Burns

I'll try and move the base of the mudguard even closer then - I have moved it in a bit but I think I have some room for manouvre left