Mudguards for Cyclocross Commuter

beancounter

I seem to have committed a major faux pas by selecting a cyclocross bike (a Colnago World Cup) as my day to day commuting bike, as I cannot source any decent mudguards for it.

I've tried SKS Race Blades which keep a little of the water & dirt off me but none whatsoever off the bike. They also need constant fiddling with to stay centred over the tyres.

Proper full length guards won't fit because of the lack of eyelets on the frame.

Crud road racers won't fit because of the 28c tyres and the cantilever brakes.

Race Blade Longs won't fit because of the cantilever brakes (I think - not 100% sure here).

Short of selling the World Cup and getting a PROPER commuting bike, does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you

bc

(anyone want a 2010 Colnago World Cup in very nice condition, never used off road....)

veronese68

Would it help if you dropped to 25c tyres? I think you've tried the obvious choices.
I'd be quite happy to swap it for a 1998 Kona Jake with full length SKS guards if you're daft enough.

beancounter

Veronese68 wrote:

Would it help if you dropped to 25c tyres?

I presume you mean so that I can use Cruds? But they still won't fit because of the cantilever brakes (Cruds fit to standard brakes only) also it's touch and go whether Cruds will accommodate 25c tyres - some work, some don't (as far as I know).

But thanks...

bc

veronese68

beancounter wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

Would it help if you dropped to 25c tyres?

I presume you mean so that I can use Cruds? But they still won't fit because of the cantilever brakes (Cruds fit to standard brakes only) also it's touch and go whether Cruds will accommodate 25c tyres - some work, some don't (as far as I know).

But thanks...

bc

Yes, that's what I meant. I'm not sure on the fitting as I've never had to. My forks had a hole in the top for the mudguards, where standard brakes would fit, as well as canti bosses.
In all seriousness if you decide you do have to change I would get one of the new breed of cross bikes with disc brakes, and eyelets of course. My canti's are marginal at best in the wet, and that's with Swissstop Green pads. I'm seriously considering converting it to a disc front brake.

UndercoverElephant

Get some P-clips and use them as pretend bosses on the frame and fork. It's certainly harder to stop the rattling than having the right bike, but it works well.

tgotb

I have disc brakes and bosses on my Voodoo. The front mudguard is easy (fork is drilled as if for calipers), but I'm scratching my head over the rear; no hole in the bridge between the seat stays, and no bridge at all behind the bottom bracket...

Kieran_Burns

There are quite a few on here commuting on CX bikes (the call of the Dark Side is strong) with no issues. It's not the type of bike, it's the actual model.

I've got a Tricross which has the lugs for front and rear 'guards and I have wide (up to 42) SKS Chromosplastic like these:



fitted

beancounter

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Get some P-clips and use them as pretend bosses on the frame and fork. It's certainly harder to stop the rattling than having the right bike, but it works well.

That's the idea I was looking for - just need to measure the fork/stay diameters tonight than I can oredr some p-clips tomorrow.

Splendid! Many thanks

bc

itboffin

Mud guards on a CX .....!?! have you gone mad!? :shock:

No no your missing the point, mud is good.

Oh and for those occasional 12 wet days in the year :roll: just use a MTB rear guard that attaches to the seatpost like this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sks-x-tra-dry-m ... -mudguard/

if you must you could also rock one of these on the downtube http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sks-x-board-mtb-front-mudguard/

Initialised

12 wet rides my arse, I've had more than that in the last week!

itboffin

Initialised wrote:

12 wet rides my ars*, I've had more than that in the last week!

aye :x pissing down here ATM for a change

First.Aspect

Any issues with securing guards to other parts of the frame can usually be solved with zip ties and bits of inner tubes. They can carry enough tension in them to prevent rattling. They are actually an alternative to p-clips as well - wrapping stays with a strip of inner tube rubber and then securing the loop end of something like sks guards straight to that can work well, but its best to carry a couple of spare ties in your saddle bag. This was my solution for a tight tolerance road frame for years.

cyclingsofty

I made the same mistake -- Colnago Word Cup cyclocross for commuting. I have resorted to using MTB guards:



It works fine, but doesn't look great.

MichaelW

I'm curious why so many people buy pretty, race-day bikes for everyday commuting then resort to ugly hacks to fit 'guards.
Did you consider mudguard eyelets and dismiss them as ugly? Did you not consider the matter at all or simply were unaware of mudguards? Did you understand the issue but went "shiny bike shiny bike want shiny bike".

In every discussion of What Commuter Bike, I try to raise the issue of mudguards, racks and compatibility but so many people get by with p-clamp or cruds or raceblades and think that a perfectly good solution.
There are bikes out there with winter features, eg Kinesis TK winter trainer, Boardman CX disc. None of them seem to have the cache of a premium racebike. Is there a market for shiny shiny commuter bikes?

Your Colnago lacks a brake bolt hole in the fork so stabilizing any mudguard there is tricky. You could try using an SKS chromoplastic, drill 2 small holes each side and use 2 small zip-ties each side. You may be able to get a brake stiffener/booster (horseshoe gizmo) with an integral brake bolt hole; more probably, make one yourself.
Does the bike have a chainstay bridge? I find that zipties work better than any supplied metal hardware unless the bridge has a threaded hole (quite rare)

cyclingsofty

Yes, all valid points. But I bought this because half my commute is on gravel, rough tracks through woods and a bit of bridle way. I need the big nobbly tyres but something a bit livelier than a mountain bike.

jimmypippa

itboffin wrote:

Initialised wrote:

12 wet rides my ars*, I've had more than that in the last week!

aye :x pissing down here ATM for a change

This iwas for a dryish year for me...

jimmypippa wrote:

Wooo
May 1 drizzle in 18 days
June 2 rain in 5-days
Gaps are due to holiday's or (mutter mutter) alternative forms of transport


Aug: 4 in 10 days
Sept: 8 in 22 days
Oct: 7 in 17 days
Nov: 18 in 21 days
December: 9 rain 3 snow in 16 days
January: 7 snow 6 rain in 14 days (Days cycle commuting - I took the bus on three days because of the numpties in the snow)
Feb: 5 rain 1 sleet 5 snow in 18 days
March: 2 snow and 1 rain in 19 days
April: 2 rain in 18 days