Mudguards... Form over Function

LeighM

Lets forget the utility they provide for a moment and focus purely on the cosmetic.

This is my first winter on my Madone and I don't have a "winter bike". From what I've seen, its impossible to fit a set of mudguards and not ruin the look of my bike.

Are there any mudgurds out there that don't look completely awful on a race oriented road bike?

And before you say "why does it matter what it looks like", It just does, OK. :roll: :oops:

dork_knight

Not sure that I would buy this myself;
http://road.cc/content/review/100575-ge ... cro-fender

cookeeemonster

LeighM wrote:

Lets forget the utility they provide for a moment and focus purely on the cosmetic.

This is my first winter on my Madone and I don't have a "winter bike". From what I've seen, its impossible to fit a set of mudguards and not ruin the look of my bike.

Are there any mudgurds out there that don't look completely awful on a race oriented road bike?

And before you say "why does it matter what it looks like", It just does, OK. :roll: :oops:

Portland Design Works Full metal fenders - dont be put off by the 'metal' bit - they weigh less than 500g for the normal road bike version. The dark grey may or may not go with your bike though.

It makes me laugh when I see people complain that they ruin the look of a bike while said bike is covered in road crap and their entire back + arse is also covered with what looks like, literally 'crap'

LeighM

CookeeeMonster wrote:

It makes me laugh when I see people complain that they ruin the look of a bike while said bike is covered in road crap and their entire back + ars* is also covered with what looks like, literally 'crap'

I don't mind me or the bike being covered in cr@p, it all washes off. Maybe that's because I started with MTB.

veronese68

LeighM wrote:

I don't mind me or the bike being covered in cr@p, it all washes off. Maybe that's because I started with MTB.

Don't fit mudguards then.

LeighM

Veronese68 wrote:

LeighM wrote:

I don't mind me or the bike being covered in cr@p, it all washes off. Maybe that's because I started with MTB.

Don't fit mudguards then.

Given the options available, I'm almost certainly not going to. I'll ride on my own in the wet and go out on club rides when it's dry.

foggymike

See you in March then

slowmart

I share your sentiment that mudguards aren't a good look after fitting my mudguards but that was balanced by a fairly clean bike and a dry backside after a five hour wet/dry ride on Sunday.

Bobbinogs

All mudguards look gash IMO, but the point is that winter riding is not about looking great but getting in some steady basemiles and preparing for the season ahead. There are some very decent riders who do winter rides with my club and you should see some of their bikes, almost laughable...laughable to the point where the beggars cruise effortlessly past on a big climb and you realise that just their wheel/mudguard combo are probably heavier than your bike but it doesn't seem to be holding them back.

Find a solution that works (plenty of threads but they all seem to boil down to Cruds or Raceblades/Longs) and stop being such a tart

cyclingfury

You could always try and get an old cheap clunker for the winter that you don't mind fitting mudguards to. That way you can keep your Madone for dry days. There are some great bargains popping up regularly on fleabay if you browse the site regularly.

mr_evil

It's subjective of course, but there are a few mudguards which I think look pretty good.

The first ones that springs to mind are the Gilles Berthoud carbon fibre mudguards. Perfect match for a carbon frame.

I have some "Woodguards" on my own bike. Like the Gilles Berthoud ones, they are flat, and so are almost invisible when viewed from the side.