Some will laugh.......Dfender

MTB-Matt

Ok, so here it is a Powa Products Dfender Fox Forx Mudguard.

Thats a whole expensive bit of plastic there...here is a short review:

Got an email from MOJO about this new product, looked at it not very closley on a phone and thought "oh well the company is buying this so what the hell....it might stop me getting hit in the face by stones and mud (after others see it though i may be dodging a few slaps aimed at waking me up)

Got the parcel this morning.... fast service from MOJO suspension, thanks guys! Unpacked the box and thought, Wow i knew it was expensive so expected something a bit more.....not sure what!!

Its basically chinese plastic with a rubber bung an M5 nut and bolt and a bent piece of low grade alloy.

Anyway, first off i swapped the M5 nut for a nyloc (when they cant even supply a single nyloc on MTB parts it doesnt bode well)

Too be fair it all went on very fast, took all of 2 minutes and does fit very well on the bridge of the forks, it looks like it will scratch the paint on the back of the bridge as it is about 4mm narrower than the fork gap so can silde a tiny little bit, but the front is well protected by the special rubber shaped bung.

It seems to sit straight on the forks and looks like there is enough clearance for mud. The POWA products sticker was removed even before it left the box as it looked like my 3 year old son had designed the logo and colour scheme. I think i will also be removing the "DFENDER" sticker as that is starting to look tacky after about 2 minutes of the bike staring at me in the office.

So to sum it up, Positives:
1. It seems to work
2. It fits well
3. Its very light but tough'ish

Negatives:
1. Price....holy cow!!
2. Tacky stickers
3. Powa need to stretch the budget to 1x M5 Nyloc
4. Looks divide nations
5. You will get a slap from your mates and strangers and they will try to leave you behind all the time.

What do you lot think?

lostboysaint

Hideous and a mental price.

cooldad

Is the price a secret?

cooldad

Not that I really care.

MTB-Matt

£59.00

EH_Rob

you've got to be having a giraffe.

MTB-Matt

After hitting a few big puddles and some muddy crap on a short test run....to be fair it does what its supposed to very well. Now they just need to lower the price by about £45 and it may become a not too bad stocking filler for chrimbo!

1mancity2

lostboysaint wrote:

Hideous and a mental price.

+1 and why bother.......

MTB-Matt

It looks like it might protect the fork stanchions from a bit of excess crud. But im not convinced it is staying on the bike.

Stu Coops

Ridiculous cost, how the hell do they justify that and what was going through the OP's head paying it, the mind boggles :shock:

MTB-Matt

I didn't buy it my company did, I saw it on a tiny phone screen and may of been slightly drunk at the time ha ha!!

386ka

MTB-Matt wrote:

I didn't buy it my company did

"And that's how the great depression started on black Monday in April 2012..."

The Rookie

And this is relevant in workshop and tech how?

MTB-Matt

Well my view of this has changed, as I use my bike for commuting and trails I set off this morning on my 7mile commute in the rain and it's bloomin fantastic. No spray at all so it's staying fitted and luckily as I'm over 35 I gave up a long time ago caring what other people thought anyway

It's expensive but as I don't care about the price I now have a decent product that does what it's supposed to and is a godsend on rainy commutes

The guard stays.

.blitz

MTB-Matt wrote:

£59.00

they are absolutely taking the p1ss with that

MTB-Matt

Very much like bash guards in billet alloy at £50 as a Cnc programmer/machinist by trade the 6082t6 alloy is less than £4 and machining time 6 minutes to make one, A simple jig to make 4 at a time takes 10 minutes to design and make (I have just done it) so a 1/10th of an hour to manufacture is £5 for the time.

Total cost £9.00 (£50 rrp)

Every product in the world is overpriced, it's not tge product you are paying for it is the line of people who get it before you and add there bit.

1.Manufacturer
2.wholesale distributor in China/Taiwan/Europe
3.uk distributor
4.dealer
5.customer

The dealer will want 30% minimum or it's not worth doing, distributors want 50% or double bubble

Everyone tries for double bubble and that's where the price rockets

I would suspect this item costs no more than 8usd complete, packaged and shipped FOB

ThePriory1978

I will go against the grain.

I saw a Mojo test rider at Afan test riding a pre-production model of these a while back. I asked about it, had a look and liked it very much.

If it was £25 i'd have one instantly. At £59 i'll stick with my Mucky Nutz Bender.

MTB-Matt

After a very small amount of research it seems the DFENDER was completely designed/tested/manufactured in the UK so a big well done to Mojo and the lads. My £59 has stayed within the uk supporting a uk company (unbeknown to me I admit) and unknowingly I haven't increased the china economy at all.

Owning a UK manufacturing company that only sources parts from other uk manufacturers I'm happy that I have supported the UK economy not detracted from it.

So not so much a black Monday after all. I am also alot less muddy and soaked after a ride. Bonus!

mrmonkfinger

It looks alright to me, a tidy fit on the fork.

Would I buy at £60? No.

MTB-Matt

Hmmm, £60 kept in the uk is better than £60 sent direct to china for some tat that doesn't quite fit, isn't up to the job and gets thrown away or replaced after little use as its made down to a price not up to a standard

The saying goes "quality remains along time after the price is forgotten" the quality in this case being the plastic is tough and the product works

I think this product could do with higher quality bracket (just because the one supplied looks a bit cheap) and a nyloc would be nice.

A good example of 2 items that are supposed to be the same. I have a dakine hydration pack it works perfectly, I can fill it up easily, fit it into the pack easily the quick release tube is handy for cleaning and it looks awesome with alot of good storage ideas and I can clip the tube onto the strap and literally move my head to get a drink hands free - £50

My mate spent £25 on his pack, its hard to fill without spilling out everywhere, it's tricky to get in and out of the pack, it's bulky and looks like an 80's rucksack and to get a drink he has to stop take a valve cover off and then have a drink

He is now looking at buying a £50 hydration pack as he has seen how easy mine is to use. (total spent £75)

Both packs were bought unseen from the Internet.

Sometimes for something to do its job properly you have to spend more. The Chinese version of this Dfender would be a sorry copy I'm sure.

mrmonkfinger

I can buy a pair of SKS mudguards for £30.

They're generally superb quality.

MTB-Matt

I am not saying you cant get other products cheaper, i prefer to spend money on UK manufactured parts rather than supporting foreign trade. It is impossible to do but every penny kept within the UK means as a nation we are in a stronger economic position. Germany has a good economy because the Germans make good quality products and other Germans buy them (even though there are cheaper alternatives) over foreign imports so the money stays in Germany boosting there economy. They then use the money to develop better products.

All the UK popultation does is buy foreign plastic tat, make another country rich and fill there own country with crap that has a half life of a million years. But at least it was cheaper the first time i bought it......i just had to buy it every year because it kept breaking/dissolving/rusting/snapping etc etc

Buy it once, not once a year!

mrmonkfinger

I think you misunderstand my position. I have nothing against UK manufacture.

I have (for instance) bought Hope stuff, and will do again, because their kit is generally excellent. Its made here and that's a big bonus. It's not cheap - but nor is it overpriced, and is worth the money, I think.


Whereas this is definitely overpriced, and just happens to be "made here".

The Chinese version of this Dfender would be a sorry copy I'm sure.

Or maybe exactly the same?

Its basically chinese plastic with a rubber bung an M5 nut and bolt and a bent piece of low grade alloy.

in this case being the plastic is tough and the product works

MTB-Matt

I can see where the confusion lies

Looking in the box before unpacking I was a bit underwhelmed. But on testing the part and trying to damage it by twisting and forcing it I found it to be very pliable

If the Chinese copy it then that's more money for china and less for the UK, that's fine if you are happy to live in a recession for the rest of your days.

Britain didn't become great from copying stuff, I doubt you will ever hear china called Great China

They even copy our town names "Sheffield" in R.O.C for example just so they can stamp Sheffield steel on crap cutlery

Matthew J.G.Price

To Matt.

Nice!

From Matt.

sloppycowpat

yuk says it all

MTB-Matt

Funny that all these people are commenting on the looks when it is a product designed to do a job. If your priority is to look cool go for it. I'm sure you will impress the other GUYS in the trail centre carpark. If that's what your into ???

cooldad

MTB-Matt wrote:

Britain didn't become great from copying stuff, I doubt you will ever hear china called Great China

Just wait.
I for one will welcome our new Chinese overlords.

MTB-Matt

Hmmm, will you be saying that when they take over. I doubt it!

cooldad

MTB-Matt wrote:

Hmmm, will you be saying that when they take over. I doubt it!

I could fight them off with my rolled up copy of the Daily Mail.

MTB-Matt

They will just grab it and recycle it into bog roll