Full mudguard recommendations?

jonny_trousers

This must have been asked a gazillion times already, so apologies for starting a new thread on the subject, but I could find nothing via a site search.

I'll be building up my Equilibrium in the next few weeks and will want to stick some mudguards on it straight away. I've used SKS chromoplastics happily enough in the past and see that they still get great customer reviews on sites like Wiggle, but am wondering if there are any other options you guys would recommend.

Cheers!

secretsam

SKS. End of. Accept no imitations.

Particularly not those horrible retro, metal things. Yuk. There was a reason why metal mudguards died in the 80s.

Hoopdriver

Gilles Berthoud make some very elegant, full mudguards - either stainless steel or carbon. Expensive, but very nice.

Gussio

If it ain't broke.....

mudcow007

i have bluemels on my Tricross but couldnt fit the front one as the brake hanger got in the way

my new bike has SKS "Blades" which look sweet an supposedly fit my 28's under too

jonny_trousers

Gussio wrote:

If it ain't broke.....

My chromoplastics are actually, but that was down to an idiot car driver and not the manufacturing. Point taken and what I expected to hear.

The Berthoud mudguards look fun, but are indeed silly money.

SKS are winning so far.

Gussio

Somebody on here suggested using the front SKS clips on the back as well, to make getting the rear wheel on and off easier (especially with horizontal dropouts). If you already have a broken set, perhaps you can recycle the clip things?

Sorry to hear that you had a run in with a car.

UndercoverElephant

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

Gussio wrote:

If it ain't broke.....

My chromoplastics are actually, but that was down to an idiot car driver and not the manufacturing. Point taken and what I expected to hear.

The Berthoud mudguards look fun, but are indeed silly money.

SKS are winning so far.

SKS. I had the Berthoud Stainless steel ones on my old Orbea, they did look pretty, but were heavy and never quiet. They ended up tearing themselves to bits due to the above and all the potholes I have to contend with.

jonny_trousers

Gussio wrote:

Somebody on here suggested using the front SKS clips on the back as well, to make getting the rear wheel on and off easier (especially with horizontal dropouts). If you already have a broken set, perhaps you can recycle the clip things?

Sorry to hear that you had a run in with a car.

Don't think getting the back wheel out will be an issue on the Equilibrium, but thanks for the tip; I'll hang onto the old set just in case.

And don't worry about the off; it happened almost a year ago. Thanks all the same! The mudguards actually came out of it intact, but the rear one was scratched and a touch bent. I could probably make them work fine on the new build, but as the important bits will all be shiny and new...

stuj15

I prefer the sleek look of Crud RoadRacers to the SKS. Plus the Mk.II rear ones stop muck flying over the front shifter.

Getting them to fit is another matter of course.

jermas

I've just put some tortec full guards on my winter bike, and they seem good. They only cost £17 and fit very well - with no rattling. I can't vouch for their longevity as I've only used them for 300 miles or so, but they appear to be as well made as my chromoplastics- time will tell.

sketchley

Don't use them is my recommendation. Wear that streak up your back with pride. They'll only end up moving and rubbing on the back wheel at some point, or they'll make an anoying rattling noise.

CarlosDSanchez

+1 for tortec, and don't worry about longevity, 10k miles on mine.

rolf_f

Sketchley wrote:

Don't use them is my recommendation. Wear that streak up your back with pride.

Bad recommendation. Not running mudguards kept washing the grease out of my rear wheel bearings. It's not just about muddy streaks - it's about looking after your bike (and it massively reduces cleaning time if you actually keep a clean bike!!).

And they don't rattle if you fit them properly

daviesee

Sketchley wrote:

Don't use them is my recommendation. Wear that streak up your back with pride. They'll only end up moving and rubbing on the back wheel at some point, or they'll make an anoying rattling noise.

Bet you are popular on club runs!

Or are you always at the back?

bails87

Rolf F wrote:

Sketchley wrote:

Don't use them is my recommendation. Wear that streak up your back with pride.

Bad recommendation. Not running mudguards kept washing the grease out of my rear wheel bearings. It's not just about muddy streaks - it's about looking after your bike (and it massively reduces cleaning time if you actually keep a clean bike!!).

And they don't rattle if you fit them properly

I use mudguards, but I don't understand where the water is coming from that ruins your bearings, if it can be stopped by a guard.

Also, how sh1t are the seals on the hubs?!

sketchley

Rolf F wrote:

Sketchley wrote:

Don't use them is my recommendation. Wear that streak up your back with pride.

Bad recommendation. Not running mudguards kept washing the grease out of my rear wheel bearings. It's not just about muddy streaks - it's about looking after your bike (and it massively reduces cleaning time if you actually keep a clean bike!!).

And they don't rattle if you fit them properly

Fail to see how running a mudguard stops water getting in to the bearings? The mudguard stops water spraying out from the tyre not inwards to the axle. In fact I would say you'll get more water mud and crap in the axle from using mudguard as the water, mud etc would not be spun off at some force.

Only this morning (in the dry) did I see a roadie bending down adjusting his front mudguard because it was rubbing.

As for spray getting the person behind, they could always back off a bit, after all it is wet and stopping distances are a bit shorter. The one and only club run I went on with Kingston Wheelers no one had mudguards on although it was the middle of summer, I have no idea what the protocol is in winter.

rolf_f

bails87 wrote:

I use mudguards, but I don't understand where the water is coming from that ruins your bearings, if it can be stopped by a guard.

Also, how sh1t are the seals on the hubs?!

It appears to be the spray back from the front wheel (as the front bearings never gave any trouble).

The wheels in question were cheap ones (I put them on my Tourer when I was renovating it prior to knowing if I would be taking cycling seriously). I went for a period with the mudguards off the bike and found that after a while, any heavy rainfall event would require the hubs to be regreased.

Obviously, better quality hubs might eliminate/reduce the problem but it illustrates that effectively the front wheel is endlessly jetwashing the rear if you ride in the rain without mudguards. And of course the same water is being sprayed constantly at the front mech.

Eitherway, I'd be convinced enough to use the Cruds by reason of how clean they keep the bike alone! Generally after a mucky wet ride, I usually only get a bit of mucky runoff at the top of the forks and seat stays. The rest of the bike usually ends up almost clean! That and the way they keep feet dry for much longer. And they look cool!

daviesee

Sketchley wrote:

The one and only club run I went on with Kingston Wheelers no one had mudguards on although it was the middle of summer, I have no idea what the protocol is in winter.

Not having mudguards is generally tolerated in the summer when wet as most want to be on their "good" bikes as much as possible and the roads may dry.
Up here the complaints tend to rise in September as the roads tend not to dry and in October the message is put on the club website that mudguards MUST be used for group runs.

rolf_f

Sketchley wrote:

Only this morning (in the dry) did I see a roadie bending down adjusting his front mudguard because it was rubbing.

Occasionally I have to bend down and adjust my tackle but that's no reason for me to want to chop it off

Your excues are getting desparate!

pdw

I've not noticed the hubs in particular suffering without mudguards, but everything else does. I'm amaed at how much cleaner as whole my bike stays with full mudguards, not to mention it being much more comfortable riding in the wet.

On my old commuter which only had half length mudguards, my front mech used to regularly seize up with all the crap fired at it. My current one still looks spotless, and that's not through lack of use.

I've not had to adjust my mudguards at all since fitting. The clip-on ones for bikes without proper fixings may be a different story as they can slide around on the stays.

jonny_trousers

My old SKS ones stayed pretty solidly in place no matter what.

For me they are invaluable for riding on wet road surfaces. I hate getting my feet soaked from water kicked up by the front wheel and a soggy arse from no rear mudguard is pretty nasty too. I don't ride in a club, but I do commute alongside other cyclists and it is pretty annoying when you come up behind someone doing a jet ski impression and shooting up a plume of water in their wake.

Looks like it's gonna be chromoplastics again then, although the Tortec's do get great reviews.

BelgianBeerGeek

+1 for SKS. Just fitted the new longboards to my CX commuter. Superb quality and even more coverage from spray at the front to keep feet dry.

Kieran_Burns

I don't know if this link has been posted before...

http://www.crudproducts.com/products/ro ... adracer___

but it's a good 'un for learning how to fit the cruds