Advice please regarding clip on mudguards for winter cycling

JK1969

Hi, has anyone sucessfully used clip on mudguards for a Bianchi c2c 928 carbon bike please?

If so, which ones? The Crud ones look ideal, but would appreciate any advice please?

I've got veloce brakes and am obviously worried about clearance!


Cheers

guilliano

Go for the Crud ones. Nothing else seems to fit to such a range of bikes.

giant_man

The rules seemed to have changed now. It doesn't seem to matter if you have clearance or not, and no mudguard eyes needed on the forks.

The Crud Roadracers seem to get around this

http://www.crudproducts.com/products/roadracer

http://www.thewashingmachinepost.net/

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article/mps/uan/4289

JK1969

Cheers for the replies & links - really helpful.

doyler78

Ordered. Now I can finally sell off those SKS race blades I bought that I was never going to getting round to fitting. Too much hassle. These look all together much simpler. £24.99 @ CRC. Didn't check anywhere else so could be found cheaper elsewhere.

fungus_the_muffin_man

've just recieved and put on my roadracers today. They look quite nifty and were relatively easy to put on. I'll know how they work tomorrow morning if its raining on the way to work

EdZed

I've got a Bianchi 928 carbon C2C and use SKS Race Blades on it, but to be honest the Race Blades aren't easy to fit securely on the seat stays due to the triangular shape of the stays at the point where the mudguards need to sit. Once on they need adjusting as they don't stay put properly and need minor adjustments when out on the road, I guess that's due to the unusual seat stay shape. To be fair, once in place they work reasonably well, but I shall be ordering some Crud Roadracers soon, they look like a much better option, easier to fit securely, longer and cheaper to boot. I wish the Crud's had come out last year.

bobpzero

:? what happened to the "if its not broke dont fix it" i have the sks race blades & whenever ive needed to use them, theyve workd well enough.

EdZed

bobpzero - I agree with your sentiment, but I didn't realise that the shape of my seat stays would be a problem for the race blades. If my seat stays has been circular (on the back half at least) I'm sure the race blades would fit securely and not move around when riding, even though they're held on with zip ties and the rubber ties. The problem is that my seat stays and the shape of the race blades contact points aren't an ideal fit on my Bianchi C2C (the same as the original OP's bike) and results in them slipping slightly when going over less than perfect road surfaces causing the metal arms of the blades to rub against the tyre walls, which means I have to stop to realign the mudguards (the longer the ride the more often it happens) and is more than a little annoying.

I'm sure your race blades work perfectly well for you, but I can't believe you've never had something not work as you wanted it to and so changed it for something else? My advice to JK1969 is to go for the Crud mudguards as I believe they won't have the same issue on the Bianchi as they attach to the seat stays above the dropout and look to have a better fixing method. Hence the reason why I shall also get some Crud's for my Bianchi and use my race blades on a different bike.

mrushton

Race Blades also rest against the seat stays and can get grit under the rubber pads resulting in paint damage

doyler78

Just got the Parker International email and they are doing the Crud Road Racers for £24.95. My order has been processed and shipped by CRC so should have these tomorrow hopefully. By the looks of the weekend weather I think I could do with them

EdZed

mrushton wrote:

Race Blades also rest against the seat stays and can get grit under the rubber pads resulting in paint damage

Not sure what you mean by this? The Crud's also rest against the seat stays, albeit just above the dropouts - do you advocate using neither?

mrushton

No, it's just a problem with SKS raceblades

page23

EdZed wrote:

mrushton wrote:

Race Blades also rest against the seat stays and can get grit under the rubber pads resulting in paint damage

Not sure what you mean by this? The Crud's also rest against the seat stays, albeit just above the dropouts - do you advocate using neither?

if you're not familiar with raceblades from sks the rear one sits roughly 2/3 up on the rear stays. this can pose a problem with movement if the stays are not circular - the vibration sees them move and grit can build up under the contact points potentially damaging the frame. grit also builds up under circular stays.

wicked

Have used SKS race blades and they are the biggest pile of poo for reasons mentioned in this thread. Have now got the crud ones and they are far better. It now does not matter if your seat stays are weird shapes like mine! The only slight problem is if you have a mono stay bike like both of mine the guard has to pass between this and the tyre which can mean they rub on the tyre. Not a massive problem as the length can be trimmed to avoid this.

syncro

I bought some Clip on mudguards a while back (Topeak i think) i i've never really had much success with them. In order to stop them rattling and squeeking i'd have to fit so many extra ties to them that i might as well fix some bolt on guards! Even then they still rattle enough to do my head in!
Looks like these may be the way forward.

LazyBoycp

If you do decide to go for the Crud guards, just make sure you do as they say on the instructions and check the tightness of the thumbnuts before every ride.

I've just been out for a ride to test the guards out but didn't check them and obviously didn't tighten one of them enough - after about 8 or 9 miles of Manchester's finest (read crappiest) roads I heard a bit of a rattle that I assumed was a leaf or something stuck between the tyre and the guard. When it was safe, I stopped to remove it, at which point I realised that the thumbnut on the non-driveside chainstay had disappeared and the mudguard stay was rattling in the spokes. Decided there was no point going back to try to find it, so just shoved the stay back on the lug and carried on. Maybe I shouldn't, but I was miles from home with no other easy way back... :oops: It came off a few more times after that but was otherwise fine. Will need to get in touch with Mr Crud to get a new nut.

Despite what happened, I'd still recommend them with regard to their quietness - other than the occasional 'ping' when going into a pot-hole while cornering they were great. Pretty dry roads at the moment, so no proper experience of how well they protect against road spray.

redddraggon

I was looking forward to trying these crudcatcher guards out with all the position reviews. I've fitted loads of SKS guards/raceblades to mine and other peoples bikes with no issues so thought this would be easy.

I just spent ages trying to fit them at my sisters house, had to remove them in the end.

At the moment they don't meet the Redddraggon seal of approval.

I found a few issues -

There was no way I could get them to not rub where the guard was between the frame and tyre - by the reusable cable tie on the front and back. The front wasn't too bad - I could bend the blade and it'd stop rubbing for a while, but eventually the blade would relax back to it's original position. Unfortunately on the back the rubbing was so bad that the rear wheel wouldn't even rotate - even though there is plenty of space between frame (Deda Nero Corsa) and tyre (Vittoria Open Corsa CX 23mm), the guard just wanted to sit on the tyre and adding the extension just made it even worse.

The Reusable cable ties were pants - it was a struggle to undo them - had to cut the rear one in the end. I've got loads of normal black cable ties and I think I'd rather use them.

Pilestrips - I thought I'd got the front set up right so I stuck the pilestrips down - and then found I needed to move the guard away a bit so the pilestrips started rubbing on the tyres - they were stuck down too well to pull off and reposition.


I'd cycled to my sisters and had hoped to cycle back with the guards fitted, but as the tyres wouldn't really go around I had to leave them there. I reckon they've got potential - crud has been really ambitious trying to get the guards to go between the fork/frame and tyre, unlike the SKS raceblades that don't even try.

I reckon with a bit of butchering, ie removing most of the back guard past the cable tie it should be fine. Unfortunately for me at the moment they are a bit of a disappointment.

mr.crud

Hi Reddragon
So sorry you have had problems, but I reckon from your comments, you have tried to fit them without reading the instructions, a habit I am prone to myself.
The cableties should just rest the 'guards gently up against your brakes. If you really tighten them, you will find the guard will be distorted, and yes it will rub on the tyre. Likewise the pilestrips. Fit at the very end, when everything else is lined up. Then they cannot foul your tyre
If you have over 4mm clearance on your bike, the 'guards will fit. But you must follow the instructions.

giner1961

All well and good but you can not beat a proper winter bike frame with full mudguard clearance.
check out e bay for cheap frames and transfer you kit from best/summer bike if you can not afford or want to buy a complete winter bike put regal in the search on e bay and there was an e bay shop selling winter frames for £59, thats just over double the price of the crud mudguards then get yerself a pair of full mudguards for a tenner and no clearance problems and your best frame can sit out winter

giant_man

giner1961 wrote:

All well and good but you can not beat a proper winter bike frame with full mudguard clearance.
check out e bay for cheap frames and transfer you kit from best/summer bike if you can not afford or want to buy a complete winter bike put regal in the search on e bay and there was an e bay shop selling winter frames for £59, thats just over double the price of the crud mudguards then get yerself a pair of full mudguards for a tenner and no clearance problems and your best frame can sit out winter

Cor I bet that's a great handling frame NOT.

doyler78

Well fitted these this evening and they were so easy to fit. A little more tricky to adjust however all done and adjusted in about 15 minutes. Could do it in a fraction of that time now I know how to adjust them to get the positioning just right.

Will give them a run out tomorrow - rain or no rain. There on until next spring now. Back wheel took a little more adjustment than the font and I found I needed to mount slight further up the seat stays than the instructions would suggest just so I could get enough of bump in the middle so that there was enough clearance so not to get wheel rub on the back wheel.

The biggest pain fitment wise was the little brushes as it was really tricky to get them right so that they didn't touch the tyre as it was just plain fiddly and the backing was really sticky however having fitted one wrong I did find out that you can pull them off again and they reamin sticky enough to stick back on again.

Never had mudguards on any bike before so this will be a new experience and as I usually end up drowned every winter I'm looking forward to seeing just what a set of guards can do - even limited ones.

Oh yeah & boy are these things light and they actually don't look overly intrustive on the bike so happy on that front too.

mr.crud

Hi Doyler
We took 3 weeks to do that instructions page, but I would do it slightly different now. You can actually get the 'guard to follow the line of your tyre with the following method.
Fix the 'guard with 5mm clearance at the back, like pic 6 in the instructions. Tighten the nuts. THEN pull the mudguard up in the middle where it touches the tyre. The mudguard will increase its arc until it matches the circumference of the tyre. Retighten nuts, and away you go.
Let me know how you get on
'Mr CRUD'

ex-pat scot

ordered 2 pairs yesterday - can't wait (or at least my mucky bikes can't)

fungus_the_muffin_man

Crud roadracers are just the best thing since sliced bread. Stuck em on the bike and went to work on fri and sat in them it was wet rainy I went through puddles and they work brilliantly. My bum and lower back were clean and dry. Its also noticable just how much cleaner the frame of the bike is when I'm wiping it down before taking it in when I get home.

They're a must if you need mudgaurds and you don't have a frame to accomodate proper gaurds

nferrar

Although I was adamant I'd never buy them (after a bad experience with the MTB race guard) I couldn't bring myself to refit my SKS race blades (nightmares of rattling and rubbing last winter) so I chose the lesser of two evils and bought the new Crud guards.

I've only done a 25 mile dry ride on them so far but have to say I'm pretty impressed. They weren't too fiddly to fit (It is important to follow the instructions though!) and there was adequate clearance on my 08 Roubaix. The pile strips are genius although a set of spares would have been handy, not sure they'll stand up well to a winter's worth of grime but we'll see.

I guess my only real concern is the thumb nuts, I can see these working loose on a regular basis. Not actually checked them again after the test ride but will before my next ride, I'll probably add some loctite to.

I think it's also a shame the rear isn't longer, I reckon they should do a second version with a much longer rear extension that would also have a different stay (like a Y shape) to support the extension. As it is it's fine for keeping your own censored dry but not for allowing someone to ride close behind you without getting a dirty shower.

mr.crud

Dudes, glue is just not necessary. Just do 'em up tight with your fingers. The tension holds them together fine. We never checked ours, and had them on for months over the roughest roads we could find.Never lost a nut.

As to the pilestrip, it is draught excluder. Available from B+Q by the meter!

amaferanga

nferrar wrote:

I think it's also a shame the rear isn't longer, I reckon they should do a second version with a much longer rear extension that would also have a different stay (like a Y shape) to support the extension. As it is it's fine for keeping your own censored dry but not for allowing someone to ride close behind you without getting a dirty shower.

The only thing that's going to keep the censored of those behind you is a massive flappy mudflap which may be okay on full guards like SKS, but I doubt it'd work very well on the Cruds.

redddraggon

amaferanga wrote:

nferrar wrote:

I think it's also a shame the rear isn't longer, I reckon they should do a second version with a much longer rear extension that would also have a different stay (like a Y shape) to support the extension. As it is it's fine for keeping your own censored dry but not for allowing someone to ride close behind you without getting a dirty shower.

The only thing that's going to keep the censored of those behind you is a massive flappy mudflap which may be okay on full guards like SKS, but I doubt it'd work very well on the Cruds.

I agree, the blades are really flexible and without addition stays I can't how you'd fit a long enough rear flap - a totally new design would probably be required.

nferrar

I reckon you could do it just using a longer curved extension piece (rather than a flap)and have a second mini stay to support it that fastens to the current stays to give a Y shape. The downside being you'd need to unclip the extension to take the wheel off but as long as it wasn't too fiddly/fragile I don't see that as much of a problem. I guess there probably is quite a small market for people wishing to group ride in the wet though

fireballxl5

tried them on a 2010 specialized Secteur, DID NOT FIT, what a pile of c*** :shock: :x