Tyre and Mudguard advice needed

Kazz_uk

Hey


So I'm looking at getting some mudguards as the wet 'n crappy weather approaches as well as some tyres, still using the stock ones at the moment. But as I'm fairly new to the cycling scene I need a bit of guidance .

Here's my lil hybrid which I use for commuting and trails.

Tyres: 700x37C (no idea on brand)
Rims: Rigida Cyber 10 700C, 32H, cnc (guessing that they are these?)

I've heard good things about the Schwalbe Marathon Pluses, so do you think I should go for City type or the Cross type? Most of the time I'm on the road, but on weekends and evenings I use trails (gravel, stones, dirt etc). Can't really afford to get both and switch when needed.

As for Mudguards, I've noticed there seems to be 2 types, the plasticy short flaps and ones that actually cover the tyre. I'm guessing one is for MTB's and the other for road? Would these (50mm Hybrid) be suitable for my commute? and fit the wheels / tyres ok?

Thanks in advance for any help, much appreciated

Leapfrog

Marathon Plus is definitely a good choice. I've ridden the city ones for several years, but would not recommend them for off-road use. I can't comment on the cross tyre you listed, but the fact that it doesn't have a continuous line would suggest road riding may be a little annoying.

Have you considered the Continental Top Contact tyre. I bought one a year ago, and though I thought it was a little extravagant to spend £44 on a single tyre (includes a good inner tube as well), after 5,000 miles without puncture and minimal wear I am extremely pleased. They also offer more grip in the wet than the Marathon Plus.

If you want only one set of mudguards, I would opt for the MTB ones. They will stop your backside from getting too wet/muddy. The ones that cover the wheel will start rattling if you take them off road too often, and may not have enough clearance to cope with mud or twigs. That said, the MTB ones don't offer protection for the person who follows you, so don't expect your friends to follow you too closely when it rains.

Kazz_uk

Thanks for the info Leapfrog.

£44 is a little outside of my budget tbh, unless it's a 2 for 1 offer .

After having a think about it, I doubt I'll be doing much trail-wise over the winter, so the City tyres would be the smarter choice I guess.
Also, it's not like I'm doing proper off-road, just gravel mainly. Would those Marathons be ok with that when the spring comes around you think?

I'm just riding by myself so far (RE Mudguards), so spray wouldn't be a problem and there's not many other cyclists on my daily commute. Hmm, I don't know. Not sure what type / which ones to go for.

mateotu

Definitely get full-wrap mudguards if you ride regularly in the rain. They are a hassle to fit, but worth it. There are two things following your front wheel that you want to keep clean and dry: your bike, and you :P

SKS are good, but I prefer Tortec (http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Tort ... -15328.htm). Check your fork has all three necessary mounting points before you buy - I can't tell from the picture. And if you fit them yourself, be sure to cut the front stays to the right length otherwise they'll hit your foot on corners.

+1 for Marathon Plus ... they're heavy, but that only improves the workout, right?

tomb353

You need to decide whether you want to go for thinner (faster) tyres which will influence what size mudguards you get. If I was just on tarmac on that bike i'd fit 28mm wet weather tyres. If by trails you just mean fire roads or sustrans paths then you will still be fine with these. Marathons are bullet proof but heavy.

Also does that front fork have mudguard fittings?

Leapfrog

You really can't go wrong with the Marathon Plus city tyres. As the others say, light offroad use is perfectly fine. I took them on London roads and the canal paths (plenty of broken glass around and virtually never a puncture). They withstand light grit, but I would not take them into the forest off-road again. I tried once but it felt like iceskating on a bicycle.

Regarding the mudguards - yes, full wheel ones give you better protection, but the ones I have at the moment do nothing but rattle and shift position ending up touching the tyre (or the wheel goes a little off-centre, insufficient to need truing, but enough to hear a gentle rub). My old MTB one was a dream, no rattle, solid. I did get splashed from the sides, on the inside of my legs, but then that gets wet on long commutes anyway.

fastbatard

mateotu wrote:

Definitely get full-wrap mudguards if you ride regularly in the rain. They are a hassle to fit, but worth it. There are two things following your front wheel that you want to keep clean and dry: your bike, and you :P

SKS are good, but I prefer Tortec (http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Tort ... -15328.htm). Check your fork has all three necessary mounting points before you buy - I can't tell from the picture. And if you fit them yourself, be sure to cut the front stays to the right length otherwise they'll hit your foot on corners.

+1 for Marathon Plus ... they're heavy, but that only improves the workout, right?

+1 for full mudguards. I've used SKS chromoplastics and Tortec reflectors and would recommend both. Bit time consuming to fit properly but worth it and I never had any problems with rubbing or rattling. I commute with a friend and whilst I was clean and dry my mudguardless friend was filthy and wet especially during winter. I tried MTB type mudguards but whilst I'm sure these are ok for keeping off the major crud whilst MTBing I soon ditched them for commuting.
If you don't fancy fitting them yourself ask your LBS, especially if you bought the bike there. I did this recently with my road bike and they fitted them for free.

shouldbeinbed

+1 more for marathon + city - I commute partly on compacted trails and through my local nature park with a bitty surface fine as long as I take the corners carefully.

+1 again for full wrap mudguards - they look more geeky but they also save a lot of washing on your bike & clobber, can be the difference between pulling on dry or damp trousers at the end of the workday and avoid the oh so sexy look as if you've got a huge skid mark up your pants and top.

Kazz_uk

mateotu wrote:

Check your fork has all three necessary mounting points before you buy - I can't tell from the picture.

Hmm, not quite sure which holes / points are which tbh. Pretty sure it supports full mudguards and panniers from when I asked the sales guy. I've have taken some quick pics on my phone, will upload them when I get a chance, but I'm working a 12hr shift today so it will be most likely be tomorrow.

tomb353 wrote:

You need to decide whether you want to go for thinner (faster) tyres which will influence what size mudguards you get. If I was just on tarmac on that bike i'd fit 28mm wet weather tyres. If by trails you just mean fire roads or sustrans paths then you will still be fine with these.

Ah yeah, forgot about that . The rims say they can go down to 28mm (link on 1st post), I'm on 37mm at the moment, so would there be any trade off for going with 28mm over a thicker 32mm for example?

Oh, and just to clarify, when you say "wet weather" tyres, do you mean ones with a decent amount of grooves in rather than completely smooth?

Thanks for all the input so far guys and gals .

alfablue

SKS Chromoplastics are the best. They come in these sizes:

model P35 35 mm fit tyres 700x20-28
model P45 45 mm fit tyres 700x28-37
model P50 50 mm fit tyres 700x38-45

website here.

Narrower tyres will reduce weight and improve aero and possibly speed, not necessarily reducing rolling resistance (see Schwalbe's Tech Info page 17). Narrower tyres will be less comfortable, requiring a higher pressure / harder tyre.

The best grip on tarmac is from slick tyres, grooved tread reduces grip, including in the wet (see Sheldon Brown on tread patterns and hydroplaning).

tomb353

by the look of the bike full mudguards will be fine, as long as it has a hole drilled through that cross strut above the front tyre. I am planning on some stainless steel Giles B mudguards myself, available through SKS Cycles online. Some drillinging and tinkering required to fit but worth it for the bling

i'd suspect that your current tyres are good for maybe 85PSI, if you fit 28mm tyres you should be able to pump them up to 120PSI (assumming you have a decent pump) which can help you go faster

alfablue

tomb353 wrote:

i'd suspect that your current tyres are good for maybe 85PSI, if you fit 28mm tyres you should be able to pump them up to 120PSI (assumming you have a decent pump) which can help you go faster

Schwalbe (see my link above) say that in practice at a steady speed of 20kph a wider tyre will roll better than a narrower one. Narrow tyres are better for weight and aero properties, but narrow is not necessarily faster.

Kazz_uk

alfablue wrote:

SKS Chromoplastics are the best. They come in these sizes:

model P35 35 mm fit tyres 700x20-28
model P45 45 mm fit tyres 700x28-37
model P50 50 mm fit tyres 700x38-45

So if I did go for the 32mm, the P45 model (45mm Road on Wiggle) would be best suited rather than the one that they have labelled 'Hybrid 50mm'? Got ya.
Also means have the option of using my current tyres (37mm) with the mudguards, although I can't think of a reason I would .

tomb353 wrote:

i'd suspect that your current tyres are good for maybe 85PSI, if you fit 28mm tyres you should be able to pump them up to 120PSI (assumming you have a decent pump) which can help you go faster

Yeah, I figured I'd be cycling for some years to come as I'm loving it. Picked up a track pump last month. Already eyeing up a CX bike for next year or the year after .


Had the time to upload those pics as I don't know which holes / points do what.

Front Fork





Back





So have they got the necessary 'holeage'?

alfablue

it looks like you are well holed up, not entirely conventional but you should be able to make it work, you'll need some fairly long bolts for the front fork, possibly 20-25mm, as there are 7mm thick fittings and the fork hole is about that thick too.

Noclue

Not been mentioned yet but for tyre choice the Vittoria Ranndoneur's 28x700c is an absolutley amazing commuting tyre, cheap, robust and hard wearing http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Vitto ... 360025223/

I honestly can't say enough good things about them.

Kazz_uk

Thanks alfablue..


Think I'll order the 32mm Marathons and the P45 SKS Chromoplastics tonight. Anyone else see any problems I may encounter with the mudguards? Never chose / bought them before so want to be sure they'll actually fit, additional "yup they'd fit no probs" replies welcome .

Kazz_uk

Kazz_uk wrote:

Anyone else see any problems I may encounter with the mudguards? Never chose / bought them before so want to be sure they'll actually fit, additional "yup they'd fit no probs" replies welcome .

No one? aww *sniff*

mateotu

Yup, good pics, 'holeage' is all present and correct I think you chose the right size mudguards too. Go for it.

To complete the job you will need three long bolts (inside the front fork crown, through the chainstay bridge, and through the seatstay bridge), probably M6, and ideally with nylock nuts. Not sure if SKS include these, but any DIY shop will sort you out if not.

Kazz_uk

Cheers mateotu, will order soon .

EssexCyclist

I just bought the P50's. They come with a few bolts of varying length although only 1 really long one. Should be easy enough to pick up more from a hardware shop should you not have enough of the length you need.

I'm fitting mine to a Scott Sub 30 so probably not a million miles difference from yours. The front one needed the stays to be trimmed to get a nice close fit so you may need a hacksaw to hand. I needed to run mine close to provide ample foot clearance.

Anyway, good luck with it. They are certainly well made and not too offensive on the eyes. I just need it to rain now so I can see how effective they are!

Kazz_uk

Just a quick update to say everything has been fitted over the weekend.

The bolts included with the SKS mudguards were long enough for the fork and other potential trouble areas. The fit isn't perfect, hybrid design I guess, but looks fine and works well so yey.
Stays did indeed need a trim and lost a fight against a dremel .

The Marathons have made quite a difference. I've found that roll a hell of a lot better than the stock tyres, so very happy there .


Thanks everyone for the help!