Mud Guards, are they worth it?

mtb_novice

Visited Halfords (shame on me!) last night and they have front and rear mud guards for sale, considered it for a minute then brought a new saddle instead!

My question is are they really worth it, I do some XC and single track stuff so not sure whether they are just an un-necessary add-on or something that would be worth investing in?

Thanks

Anonymous

are these the race face crud catcher pack? if so don't bother.....they aren't really worth it.

mtb_novice

Is it worth going elsewhere and buying some? or not really worth it at all?

blister pus

Depends what riding you're doing and where and will you be commuting occasionally, for example. Do you live near or go through farm tracks or roads? Liquid cow sh!t in the eyes and mouth coming over the top of the front wheel is never fun. It also depends how sh!tted up you want to get when it's bad weather.

llamafarmer

One on the rear wheel can help when it's really muddy and your arse is getting so muddy you can barely stay in the saddle. For muddy front wheels I prefer to wear glasses which also keep out flies and stray branches

mountain-nic

RRP - Rapid Racer Products - Neo guard coupled with a crud catcher on the down tube = riding for several months, day and night with no glasses in serious muddy conditions and only once in all that time has mud got in my eye - and that was becasuse I had put the crud catcher back in the wrong place after servicing the bike.

The Neo gaurds from RRP (Wiggle or Chain Reaction or maybe your LBS) is an awsome piece of kit. Got them on my Zesty 314 running Fox 32RL's and my Rockhopper running Recon 90-130mm travel forks (Neoguard size small)

You realy need both the neo-gaurd and the down tube crud catcher for the system to work really well - several of my mates also have adhopted this system too - all of us rave about neo-guards.

Happy shopping!

supertwisted

Depends how fussed you are about getting wet and muddy really.

I bought some a Cryaguard twinpack from ebay for the winter months. The front 'crudcatcher' stays on year round to keep stones and mud out of my face and also just to protect the down tube.
The rear mud-guard I leave off unless it's really wet. It does work though and keeps the muck off my back, usefull when I'm carrying my camelbak as it keeps it from getting too filthy.

Anonymous

try your local bike shop, they typically give good advice, im waiting on a front one that is quite wide but its flat, so you get the full steering turn, it works with tyres of 2.50mm also.
for the back am not really bothered how wet my back gets, however if using for work on the roads it may be worth getting one if you dont have a shower at work.

.blitz

The new front Crud Catcher is very good. I took mine off the other week (coz it's summer) but I put it back after a couple of rides.

cat_with_no_tail

.blitz wrote:

The new front Crud Catcher is very good. I took mine off the other week (coz it's summer) but I put it back after a couple of rides.

Same here. Have had mine off for a month or two now, since the nice weather started and the trails dried out. They attach and detach so easily anyway. I had to put it back on last week when it started pissing down. Will take them off again when it dries out again, rinse and repeat.

stubs

+1 for the Neogaurd stops your face getting covered in dog flavoured brown stuff

Daz555

I really like the 09 Crudcatcher as well. Looks so good on my bike I leave it on all the time.

stumpyjon

Neoguard is really good for keeping the water out of your face when the trails turn into streams.

I tend to leave my crud catchers on all year around, look a bit crap but you never know when you're going to hit a deep puddle or bog, even in the summer.

blister pus

The only one I've found that effectively stops all crap coming up over the top, including streams of liquid cow sh!t spray is the motocross style mudguard, the SKS Shockboard . A lot depends on surface and tyre used as to how much sticks to the tread and flicks up and over into your face. Neoguard type designs u'll do you for 90% of occasions and look cooler but if i want full protection from farmer Giles' little gifts then it's the Shockboard and then I don't care what speed I go down "cow sh!t hill" when it's a slurry stream.

Anonymous

blister pus wrote:

The only one I've found that effectively stops all crap coming up over the top, including streams of liquid cow sh!t spray is the motocross style mudguard, the SKS Shockboard . A lot depends on surface and tyre used as to how much sticks to the tread and flicks up and over into your face. Neoguard type designs u'll do you for 90% of occasions and look cooler but if i want full protection from farmer Giles' little gifts then it's the Shockboard and then I don't care what speed I go down "cow sh!t hill" when it's a slurry stream.

do you get the full range of turn with these?

blister pus

Absolutely because it's a fork crown fitting guard so rotates with as you change direction. The only thing I was bothered about because of where I'm located, was spray coming over the top on roads coming and going to loops. Because the guard juts out over the wheel arc and it's quite high up, it's the only thing that will literally stop everything coming over. Coverage from under spray is good too.

mikey0303

I've never used them on any of my bikes - depends on the type of terrain you ride I guess

Anonymous

I bought some ages ago but never bothered fitting them.

a) They look like they'll just vibrate like hell over all the bumps (and/or snap off)

b) If it's muddy, the rest of me is going to be muddy so makes no difference if my arse is muddy (so long as I have a change of clothes in the car before I drive it away!)

c) I never see anyone else on a decent bike that has them.


I did consider them originally because I kept getting mud in my eyes and wearing contacts that causes all kinds of problems. However I've realised the solution isn't mud guards, but decent eye wear.

mhuk

I use a piece of inner tube with zip ties on the front fork and use a rear mudguard when it's wet/ very muddy (cycling for a few hours with a wet arse isn't fun).

dav1

supertwisted wrote:

Depends how fussed you are about getting wet and muddy really.

This sums it up. I do use them in winter but not in the summer personally. I really tate cold wet mud mp my back and ar*e, puts me off a ride in an instant! I find the front one takes the worst off your face to inprove comfort.

The MTB fashon police don't like them but what it comes down to is being able to enjoy your ride so do whatever youw want.

Crudcatchers are great, tried and tested formula!

Mickey Eye

Whatever you do don't get moto style ones ala Topeak Defenders. I let my LBS sell me a pair of those when I bought my bike. First actual real bump and the fork brace chopped the front guard bracket in half. Might be fine on longer travel bikes I guess though.

blister pus

deadkenny wrote:

a) They look like they'll just vibrate like hell over all the bumps (and/or snap off)

Here to tell you they neither vibrate or snap if you've bought the right ones.

deadkenny wrote:

b) If it's muddy, the rest of me is going to be muddy so makes no difference if my ars* is muddy (so long as I have a change of clothes in the car before I drive it away!)

Depends what you're doing and how sh!tted up you want to get, you might be commuting and can afford to get some mud but not plastered in it.

deadkenny wrote:

c) I never see anyone else on a decent bike that has them.

You need to look harder.

deadkenny wrote:

I did consider them originally because I kept getting mud in my eyes and wearing contacts that causes all kinds of problems. However I've realised the solution isn't mud guards, but decent eye wear.

I wear glasses and can't wear contact lenses when riding so mudguards are the correct option and glasses of any description don't stop liquid cow crap spray going onto your lips and into your mouth.

blister pus

Mickey Eye wrote:

Whatever you do don't get moto style ones ala Topeak Defenders. I let my LBS sell me a pair of those when I bought my bike. First actual real bump and the fork brace chopped the front guard bracket in half. Might be fine on longer travel bikes I guess though.

Absolutely nothing wrong with the SKS Shockboard on 100 - 130 mm travel bikes provided you follow the instructions and fit it properly.

Dazzza

Does anyone know of a crud catcher better suited for square tubing?

llamafarmer

Dazzza wrote:

Does anyone know of a crud catcher better suited for square tubing?

Is that what the lugs on the underside of the Anthem downtube are supposed to be for? I always thought Crud Catchers fitted much higher up?

Dazzza

I have no idea why giant decided to place them on such a random position unless like you say they have their own version of a crud catcher coming. :?

Northwind

They're absolutely worth it, if you want to cut down mud. Not everyone does and so they don't bother, which is fair enough. I love mine, I've no objection to getting muddy (and you always will anyway) but I do hate it when it's in my eyes and my mouth, or there's stones and lumps of clag whacking off my face at speed, or when my camelbak's so plastered I can barely find the zips... Even in

Mickey Eye wrote:

Whatever you do don't get moto style ones

Not true, a good moto style guard (ie SKS, THE) is as good as it gets and doesn't impact travel or turning at all. Fit and forget. Sounds like you had a bad experience with a badly fitted or designed guard and you're writing them all off maybe?

Everything else is a token effort- if you actually want a mudguard, you should get one of these or similiar, something that tracks the movement of the wheel. if you don't really want a mudguard or looks are more important than effectiveness, that's where crud front guards come in.

As for the rear, the 08 crudcatcher is ace, pretty much the benchmark. The new one, not so much, the design of the mounting is just laughably bad- it obviously wasn't real world tested at all- but it looks nice I suppose.

captainfly

After a couple of total mud monter rides, I got a the industries front 'downhill' and a speedstuff rear 'downhill' mudgards (they were on sale a crc so naff carbon front and chrome rear :shock: )and surprisingly enogh the stop about 85-90% of the muck getting on me and my bike when it's awful but that is the only time they go on

delcol

i run neo guard on my santacruz , you cant get the sks shock blade or the T,H,E fenders to fit fox 36 the hole is to small for the bung to fit same with marzocchi 55s...
i sometime run a rear crud catcher to.

on my pace hardtail i run a sks shockblade have done for a few years now its never fell out..
yes they do move around and vibrate alot on gnarly stuff,...
and yes i finally did snap mine not sure how but like i said i had it 2 years and its seen some hammer over those 2 years...
i also have a rear crud catch on the back of pace,. (only use pace in winter or crap weather,)....

andy46

i use crud catcher front and rear on my hardtail which i use for work as we have no showers there, if i'm out on a weekend i sometimes remove the rear one but the front one stays put as i find it stops my bottle getting covered in nasty stuff. theres nothing worse when you go for a drink :shock:

chrisga

I used to have a crud catcher permanently attached to my stumpy, being an mtb child of the 90's they were the business back then and still are IMO. Only thing is i have a new bike and havent changed it over yet, and im not sure if i will as the downtube on my new bike is nearly as bloomin wide as the cruddie!!!! Will wait till the winter to see if I put the rear on too.....
I used to cop a lot of flack for riding with guards but i stayed dry when otherswere picking there wet shorts out of their arses so felt slightly vindicated! If you can live with the mickey taking then go for it, there is no reason not to use them if you would prefer!