Mudguard Fitting Issues

Brydo

Hi,

I picked up a set of SKS Chromoplastic mudguards yesterday for my Ridgeback Velocity Hybrid - they seem to get a good write up and look pretty good. Unfortunately the fitting isn't as straight forward as I'd imagined.

I tackled the fronts first as they looked easier, but the product description failed to mention you may need to hacksaw the supporting rods to length - so I'll need to go out today and pick up a hacksaw!

The rear wasn't as bad as I thought - got the wheel off and went about fitting but came across a problem at the section below (Bridge?) the threaded hole in my bike runs vertical not horizontal so unable to fit as intended. I've tried cable ties as you can see below but they don't lift and hold the mudguard as tight as I need.

Any thoughts on how I get around this? Should I drill a small hole horizontally and secure it as intended?



Any help appreciated.

Regards,
Brydo.

arlowood

The Chrome bracket in the pic is removable.

Just slide it off and drill a hole vertically up through the mudguard at the correct location then you can fit a suitably sized bolt and washer to fix it to the seat stay bridge. I'd advise a flat headed bolt to maintain as much tyre clearance as possible.

I had a similar problem fitting some SKS Bluemels but I my case it was a clearance issue where the bracket was too bulky. I just removed it and drilled a couple of holes in the mudguard and used cable ties. These worked fine for me.

You sometimes have to be a bit creative with mudguard fitting as the manufacturers seem to assume that all bike needing mudguards are sit-up-and-beg shoppers with loads of clearance and fixing options.

mercia_man

Do what arlowood says. Direct fitting is much better than using the bracket as brackets come loose with time and can rattle and eventually snap. Just make sure you make the hole in the mudguard in the right place. Most high quality touring bikes using V or cantilever brakes will have a threaded vertical hole on the bridge. Horizontal holes are for bikes with caliper brakes.

Ber Nard

That'd leave a huge gap above the tyre though, wouldn't it? Might be able to cobble something adjustable together using this:



http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/gilles-berth ... prod28520/

redvee

Do as others have mentioned about drilling a hole in the guard and using a bolt vertically, if you're worried about too large a gap try a couple of washers to bring the guard closer to the tyre.

mercia_man

The important thing is to get an even gap between tyre and mudguard all the way along. This bike looks to have clearance for pretty big tyres. I suspect the distance from seat stay bridge to tyre and chain stay bridge to tyre is the same to enable you to do this. If you want to bring mudguard closer to tyre you can use something as a spacer between the bridge and the mudguard - a bit of hollow tube or a nut, for example, that you can put your mounting screw through. Or a couple of thick washers.

As you would appear to have plenty of space between tyre and mudguard, an Allen screw with a washer would be fine to secure the mudguard to the bridge. That's what I use.

Brydo

Thanks for the responses, I'll find something I can use as a spacer and mount it without the bracket.

Coach H

If you can I would also extend the hole a bit and Loctite the fixing bolt in with it only lightly hand tight. The bracket allows some movement that allows the stresses of the guard moving over rough surfaces to be spread along the whole guard. Without this you are more likely to get the common SKS issue of cracks on the section of guard supported by the stays (which is why my rear SKS guard has been held together with Duck Tape for a number of years :oops: )