Warning - mudguard based rant ahead......

Niffleman

I have just had a slightly frustrating experience so am full of rant. I am probably wrong about this, but here goes.....

I have a nice summer bike which has no facility to fit mudguards. That's fine, it's a summer bike and I use it when it is not raining and the roads are not wet. I also want a winter bike. I want something aluminium, fairly cheap and with the facility to fit full mudguards. I am not interested in the clip on type, I want to fit full coverage, permanent mudguards. I would have thought that this would be pretty easy to find. Lots of bikes from big name manufacturers have the fittings for mudguards but the clearances are very, very tight. I bought a Giant Content 1 on the basis that there are mudguard eyelets front and back and a set of SKS Bluemels. I have just spent some time trying to fit the mudguards. Yes, they fit, but only just. If you are going to put mudguard eyelets on a bike then put a decent amount of clearance between the tyre and the brake so I can fit them easily. Otherwise, don't put the eyelets on and I will know that I cannot fit mudguards. Is it just me?

Rant over.

joey54321

Did you ask what tyre clearance there was with mudguards before purchasing? Most brands give this. If I was looking at any sort of winter bike now though I would go disks and just sidestep the issue entirely. The problem comes from the caliper brakes that many road bikes come with.

svetty

Short drop rim brakes are generally marginal with fully fitted mudguards. Nowadays with disc brakes being readily available I'd be inclined to avoid buying a rim braked winter bike myself.

akh

I've resigned myself to the fact that discs are probably the way to go for a winter bike. What's even more annoying than the number of rim brake bikes with pointless mudguard mounts are the number of nice disc bikes with plenty of clearance and no mounts!! I swear some manufactures don't want to sell more bikes. The Canyon Endurace AL Disc would sell like crazy if they put mudguard mounts on it.

Niffleman

I agree with you. If you make a bike with discs it is likely to be interesting to people who are looking for something to use in winter. It costs no extra money to put some mudguard mounts on. Why wouldn't you?

Zendog1

Totally agree.

Be aware that if you pick up a lump of mud (quite common round here winter time) this can turn into a surprisingly effective third brake.

photonic69

When I bought my new bike in August my criteria was - must take 28mn tires with full proper mudguards and have disk brakes. It is a bike for commuting and Winter club rides. I looked at a lot of bikes and only a few met all my criteria. Also had to be less than £1000 and have at least Tiagra or 105 with hydro disk brakes.

Got a Felt VR30. Amazing bike.

cookeeemonster

I almost went for a contend only to find out that there isn’t proper clearance for the front guard beyond the fork...and that’s on the disc brake version. Damn weak from giant...

photonic69

CookeeeMonster wrote:

I almost went for a contend only to find out that there isn’t proper clearance for the front guard beyond the fork...and that’s on the disc brake version. Damn weak from giant...

I too looked at the Contend with disks and noticed the same issue hence I discounted it from my list.

sloppyschleckonds

Hardly a rant really was it, 2/10

First.Aspect

The rant seems to be that the mudguards fit, but are fiddly to install, the one time you have to install them.


I could say the same about bar tape.

photonic69

Zendog1 wrote:

Totally agree.

Be aware that if you pick up a lump of mud (quite common round here winter time) this can turn into a surprisingly effective third brake.

Back in the spring on some quiet country lanes that were scattered with mud from tractor activity I had to stop twice to completely remove rear wheel on my Giant (with Giant mudguards) to remove huge clags of mud that had quite literally stopped the wheel from turning! Hence my later quest for a proper Winter bike.

slowbike

My first road bike has the tightest of clearances for tyres - can only just get 25mm on - certainly no room for standard fixed mudguards - anyway, it doesn't have any mounting points for them ...
But - having got a second better road bike - this one got relegated to winter duties. Spent a few years with Crud Roadracer II's fitted - ok on just wet road, but get a bit of dirt and it clogged up fairly quickly. They've worn away (yes - worn through) and I wanted something better to replace them with - gone for the SKS raceblade longs - they use tangs underneath the brake calipers and can attach to the quick release - makes wheel change an issue, but at least they're fitted ok and a bit more clearance.

If I was buying a winter road bike now - it'd probably be a CX/Gravel/Adventure one with hydro discs and big clearance.

stueys

Caadx, c3/5, spesh allez (rim) - lots of options out there. Cyclecross bikes tend to be nice winter options with disc and loadsa clearance. Personally I run a c3, I had a caadx before. Both had discs, full guards fitted and I ran 28’s with lots of room to spare.

cycleclinic

Some tyres like contis come up tall but yes I agree it is s problem.

I'm lucky I have a traitor exile. With long drop (57mm brakes) I can fit a 28mm schwalbe one and have clearance just. So you need a frame that take long drop brakes.

Darius_Jedburgh

Ribble CGR has masses of space for full mudguards, big tyres and disc brakes.

kingrollo

My Giant Defy (Alu) takes giant specific guards - maybe you need giant specific ones for the contend.

They look a bit flimsy - but once on they do a damm good job.

keef66

When I was buying my first proper year-round road bike over a decade ago, one of the criteria was proper mudguards. It was a 50th birthday present to myself, and at 50 I was sure I never wanted to be spraying freezing filthy water down my @rse-crack.

Back then it was a choice between roadifying a CX bike with iffy cantilever brakes, or choosing a proper winter trainer with clearance / mounts for guards, necessitating long drop brakes. I chose the latter, a Racelight Tk, and it's been brilliant. Now my dedicated wet weather bike. Still only takes a max 25mm tyre with guards though.

These days with the proliferation of disc brakes and the invention of gravel and adventure bikes, there's so much more choice. But you still have to be careful to confirm which guards will fit, and with how large a tyre.

For a simple alu winter build with rim brakes the Racelight T3 is still a decent bet. Or for a slightly more sophisticated job, the 4S disc (which despite the name will also take long drop calipers if desired)

If you're wanting fatter tyres that these accommodate then you're likely heading for a disc braked gravel / adventure / cross bike. Or a do-it-all bike like a PX London Road or rge Ribble CGR already mentioned above

photonic69

I had a look at the Giant Contend with disks when i was recently looking at bikes. I rejected it on the basis that if I wanted to run 28's then the front fork clearance with mudguards wouldn't work - and that was with disk brakes.

Giant tend to run minimal clearances with brakes etc. I have a Giant Defy Aluxx too and used to run the Defy specific guards with 25mm tyres and there was hardly any room on the rear brake and it was forever getting jammed up with mud. It will now be my Summer-only bike with no guards.

mitchgixer6

Room on the Dolan Preffisio for short drop brakes, and clearance for 23mm tyres. Could maybe squeeze 25's in if you really wanted to (while also using guards). Personally I've ran 23's through the winter for years and never had a problem. I find the fashion for wider tyres these days just that. God I feel old now!!

I've been using mine for the past few months and I'm over the moon with it. Great frame.