Mudguards

Everybody blames me for everything anyway.

Each bike is going to have a different point at which the caliper bolt hole is in relation to the wheel mounts anyway, Mine is the reverse - plenty of clearance on the rear and little at the front.
Also tyre choice; My Michelin Pro-Race 3's 23mm sat bigger on the rim than the 27mm Vittoria's. Now the trend is towards bigger tyres with wider rims, bike manufacturers will have to accommodate them but for now, my C40 lives on and hopefully forever... Shouldn't have said that either.

ayjaycee wrote:

Pinno, My Allez (with mudguards) runs on 25 Continental GP 4 Seasons with Mavic Aksiums. I seem to recall reading here on BR that those Contis tend to inflate to closer to 28 but I've never been interested enough to measure them for myself. It does however mean that I could drop back to 23s if I started running into problems and that should leave plenty of room. That would also be your fault if I had to do it.

The brakes also make a big difference - as I think I mentioned elsewhere, I've tried both Shimano 105 5800 and Ultegra 6800 calipers. Plenty of space under the 105s but not enough in the Ultegras.

You are right about the Conti's being big. I reckon with 90psi in them, they are barely 2 mm less than the Vittoria 27's.
The problem with the 'up and under' of the clips underneath the caliper, is the amount of clearance it takes up which is totally dictated by the caliper bolt hole. Am I repeating myself?

I wonder if you could put a spacer on the skewer that effectively moves the wheel down by say... 2mm safely? I know that that would only work on the front forks but that 3mm would make a helluva difference. There's enough room on my front forks to do that. If the wheel came off, it would be my fault.

Alex99 wrote:

I've tried various options, and they're all rubbish. I had an idea to create an unholy alliance between a Raceblade XL and a SKS chromoplastic or similar. The problem is that Raceblades aren't good on the front as a lot of spray gets sent up into the wind then back onto your legs, bars etc...

I would use the SKS to cover from where the Raceblade ends, right down to the bottom bracket, and to go under the fork crown and brake on the front. Probably glue the two parts together (behind the rear brake and behind the fork crown). The result should be a full guard where the stays attach just like the Raceblade.

Go for it and send us some pics.

keef66 wrote:

My racelight Tk which is designed to take 25mm tyres and proper guards came a cropper a couple of weeks ago courtesy of the crap the tractors were leaving on the roads. 2 km uphill with the steadily louder SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH from the rear wheel and my legs and lungs bursting. Had a proper look when I got to the top and the scenery stopped spinning. Couldn't move the back wheel; the rear guard was packed with mud from end to end to end. Spent 15 minutes clearing it out with a selection of sticks from the adjacent hedge, and the remainder of the ride seeking out puddles in the hope it would wash out whatever was left. Haven't been down the same road since!

I try bunny hopping. I sometimes reach down and push the guard closer to the tyre which grinds the crud out. Maybe i should carry a chopstick in my back pocket just in case.Remember British Rail and the 'wrong type of leaf' debacle? I think that this year, it's the wrong type of mud.

BTW, I think the SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH is wholly incorrect. I think you'll find it is a SCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. It has this background noise that grates more than the sound of the washing machine starting up and filling. When your head stops spinning properly, I think you'll re-evaluate the sound.

Having adapted a 32mm recessed front calliper bolt and used it over the winter, I found that the bolt had become so seized, my alen key just kept spinning. I tried an oversized alen key and it turned until it would turn no more.
I took the front brake cable off and rotated the calliper to unscrew it completely, then used a bolt and a hammer to extract the damn nut.

Decided I would splash out and I opted for the 'Fender nuts'. They come in a pair, so | have a spare rear calliper nut because I no longer have the mangled guard that goes from the calliper to the BB as I ditched it.

They are smart, the only downside I can see is the gap between the guard and the fork.