Raceblades on my Specialized Secteur

darryl681

Hi,

It's that time of year when we need to get ready for winter riding. I have a Specialized Secteur road bike but it doesn't have mounting points for traditional mud guards. I have a pair of standard SKS Race Blades, but can't get them to fit my 25mm tyres without them rubbing, even if I set off with them in place the first speed bump I ride over or pot hole I can't avoid knocks them into a different position and they rub on my tyres

not sure if it's the 25mm tyres, or the shape of the fork(s) that stop them from fitting properly but the mudguard just doesn't follow the curve of the wheel, has anyone had similar problems? would I be better off with the Race Blade Long?

Thanks
Darryl

wishitwasallflat

I have a Secteur with 25 mm GP 4000 tyres and have used both Raceblade longs and Cruds with no problems. The Raceblades don't follow the curve of the tyre perfectly but they are no more than 10mm away at any point and work fine. I use the Raceblades in preference cause they feel more stable and secure but used Cruds without issue for a winter.

pinno

I have that problem on my Pinarello (click link) and they are 'Longs'. I ride 25mm tyres too. I had to do some bending of the 'L' brackets and put the ends (near the hub) on the limit of the mount with the alen key bolt to get them not to rub.
When I hit some cowsh1t, it doesn't half make a scraping noise - but you get used to it.

I think it all depends on the clearance you have between the caliper mounting point and the wheel, they vary a lot.

mlgt

I have the longs on my canyon endurance and I accidently kicked the front guard when clipping in after an emergency stop. This caused the front guard to somehow unclip and momentum of the wheel caused the guard to go under the front wheel. Glad that I wasn't moving as such else could have been quite nasty and went over the bars.

Since then, the guard is more rattly and not given me much confidence so I have removed it so far and wil have a look at it over the weekend when I clean up bike. But as others say the clearance varies for everyone. I think you need to find a balance of having too much clearance which causes more rattling or being closer which can rub against the back tyre when there is crap on them.

whoof

I run SKS raceblades with 25 mm Durano Plus tyres without any problems. They just need to be set a bit away from the tyres. You can bend the mudguard stays to achieve this.