Do mudguards significantly protect your bike?

jj101

Hi there,

I'm a regular commuter and don't mind getting wet - I get changed at work.

I also don't mind how fashionable my bike looks and would have no problem with getting mudguards..

the only reason I would personally want them is if they're relativley usefull in protecting your bike from all the muck spraying up on it as opposed to on the rider and would be a good investment in prolonging the lifespan of the bike..

Are they worth it for this or is it better just to pay more attention and clean your bike a bit more regularly?

Appreciate any advice from all you experts out there!

Thanks

NeXXus

Full length yes, clip-on /quick release not so much

ugo.santalucia

Bearings are the most sensitive parts that need protection

1) Hub bearings... mudguards don't do anything to protect them

2) Bottom bracket bearings... mudguards do very little to protect them

3) headset lower bearing: mudguard is an effective protection.

Moral, for the bike, you only need a front, the rear is mostly to protect your back from spray

MountainMonster

If you have mudguard mounts I suggest getting some good mudguards. I've got them on my commuter bike and even though it is nice getting off the bike and not being ridiculously dirty, I don't have to clean the bike as much, and it tends to look a bit better. Just remember to clean out the mudguard every now and then if it has been a muddy ride!

drlodge

Full length guards are good at keeping both you and the bike clean and your ar$e dry. Its not so much the water that I find an issue, but all the crap that gets flung up with it. Hence on really wet roads it tends to be just water and not as bad as a light shower on mucky roads.

mercia_man

Really useful for protecting your bike from muck, particularly if you have a front mudflap. Plastic damp proof course material is good for making your own mudflap. Standard mudflaps are usually too small to be much good at stopping muck going all over the chainset and bottom bracket area.

Keeping the muck away from your bike will significantly increase the lifespan of components like headsets and transmission parts such as chains and chainrings.

I would personally fit front and rear guards. Riding with a soggy bottom and a stripe of mud up your back is not pleasant!

rolf_f

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Bearings are the most sensitive parts that need protection

1) Hub bearings... mudguards don't do anything to protect them

They do as it happens - though maybe it depends on how crap the wheels are. I ran my old Dawes Horizon for a while without mudguards - at the time I had cheap Raleigh wheels - Mach1 rims and probably equally ropey hubs. The wheels, to be fair, had stood up well to plenty of commute miles until I took the mudguards off. After a short while, the bearings started getting loud. I stripped and cleaned them but after that, every time I had a wet commute, I'd need to regrease the bearings. Only putting the mudguards back on saved me this task (though by then the bearings were pretty much past it anyway!).

There is a lot of spray being thrown straight at the bearings from an unmudguarded wheel so if the seals aren't great then it stands to reason dirty water can get in. On the other hand, the £15 Shimano internal BB was absolutely fine.

And yes, I find it odd how if people only have one mudguard on their bike, it is usually the rear! I choose to protect my bike and feet first and the person behind second!

drlodge wrote:

Full length guards are good at keeping both you and the bike clean and your ar$e dry. Its not so much the water that I find an issue, but all the crap that gets flung up with it. Hence on really wet roads it tends to be just water and not as bad as a light shower on mucky roads.

The worst seems to be being out just after it has stopped raining. On the commute, if it is raining I always hope it carries on til I get home - that way I mostly just have brake goop on the fork and seatstays to clean off.

peat

Yeah, get them.

They look a little pony but they don't half keep you clean.

veronese68

I normally run full length guards with a flap on the front. At the moment I'm running without to get my knobbly tyres on. The guards seem to keep the crud off the front mech, I think they probably help with the bottom bracket as they certainly keep my feet drier.
The thing I notice most when riding without them in the dry is that I keep hearing stones ping off the downtube. I don't think a stone flung up off the front wheel is going to cause more than a paint chip though.

mr_evil

ugo.santalucia wrote:

...Moral, for the bike, you only need a front, the rear is mostly to protect your back from spray

The rear wheel sprays the seat post clamp area, from where water will run into the BB. Water in the BB is probably the 2nd most common cause of premature BB failure, so it's pretty important to keep it out. It also sprays the front dérailleur and rear brake (if you have calliper brakes), and I don't really enjoy stripping and regreasing those very often.

madasahattersley wrote:

They'll slow you down and make you look a dork...

Although it feels like they should slow you down, actually they don't, and they will only make you look like a dork if you buy ugly ones.

father_jack

Yes. And I always laugh seeing guys on bikes with no guards wearing jeans, with front and back wheels blasting water into their face, on their arse & back and looking miserable haha, and it's not dawning on them...

Guards protect brakes, BB, chainset, the downtube/cable run and slidng bit under the BB, the BB, headset area, seat, and seat tube.

Your commuter bike should have full length guards. We don't live in Death Valley it's the UK..