Full mudguards and Bridlepaths do NOT mix

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!

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!
Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
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Although I did get a few funny looks as I wheeled it in 8)
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
P.S. Never jetwash your bike
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
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)
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
I know that I should not use high pressure water on paint work and the like but really it was caked on there...
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
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...
Carbon 456
456 lefty
Pompino
White Inbred
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
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
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.
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
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?
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
Blog (incl. bikes)
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
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.
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter