Why there are no whole carbon fiber mudguards?

stefano
stefano Posts: 254
edited November 2016 in Road buying advice
Hi, I am looking for carbon fiber mudguards for my road bike that would be sturdy and lightweight. So far, I can only find carbon fiber mudguards with steel stays. They are quite expensive (£120) and they are not lighter that the classic SKF Chromoplastic ones.

Have you seen any mudguards, made entirely with carbon fiber, included the stays?

Why they do not make whole carbon fiber mudguards?

Comments

  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,312
    Probably because you'd be the only one buying them... and complaining that they cost 300 pounds :-)
    left the forum March 2023
  • fat daddy
    fat daddy Posts: 2,605
    edited November 2016
    in my experience of mudguards ... no two bikes and wheel/tyre combo are the same ..... whenever attaching mudguards there is always a 3 day period of inventing new swear words and bending the metal arms trying to get the damn things not to rub.

    with a 100% carbon set, you would need to either make a set for every bike and rim combo out there .... OR come up with a very trick adjustment mechanism
  • meesterbond
    meesterbond Posts: 1,240
    And on those days when mudguards come into their own, lightness doesn't tend to feature very highly on the list of key requirements.

    Which reminds me, I really do need to fit the SKS guards I bought ages ago and have been putting off fitting for the very reasons fat daddy highlights above. One of my least favourite jobs.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Plastic is cheaper and easier to work with. There's no weight saving as you say so why would you?
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    meesterbond wrote:
    And on those days when mudguards come into their own, lightness doesn't tend to feature very highly on the list of key requirements.

    Which reminds me, I really do need to fit the SKS guards I bought ages ago and have been putting off fitting for the very reasons fat daddy highlights above. One of my least favourite jobs.

    LBS does mudguards fitting for a tenner. Well worth the swearing and hassle.
  • crankycrank
    crankycrank Posts: 1,830
    There was a short period of time a few years ago when some were offering CF mudguards, Giles Berthoud being one of them. Most were basically very thin strips without too much curvature around the width of the tyre. Word was that they were fairly brittle as well as being expensive and I have noticed that GB and at least one other mfr. no longer make them. I think the only way you'll get a more durable guard is to go with the heavier alu or stainless. You can find CF tubing and ends to make your own stays and mounting hardware for any of the plastic types available if you're desperate.

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