Mudguards for 2019 Synapse

pastie
pastie Posts: 39
edited November 2018 in Road buying advice
Anybody got suggestions for proper guards for this? Raceblade longs fit back, but front eyelets are part way up forks & therefore not suitable. SKS chromoplastics? I'm not a fan of cruds or race blade pros.

Comments

  • figbat
    figbat Posts: 680
    M:Part Primoplastics?
    Cube Reaction GTC Pro 29 for the lumpy stuff
    Cannondale Synapse alloy with 'guards for the winter roads
    Fuji Altamira 2.7 for the summer roads
    Trek 830 Mountain Track frame turned into a gravel bike - for anywhere & everywhere
  • paulbnix
    paulbnix Posts: 631
    I have an earlier Synapse that was bought as end of line.

    It should of come with some natty orange mudguards but they were missing so the lbs fitted SKS mudguards.
    They are not the chromo plastic one - the material is different but they are the same shape.

    It looks like the lbs just shortened the stays on the front mudguard so they fitted the mount points. They used quite substantial allen bolts to attach the mudguards. I had to replace one of them with a much shallower bolt when I replaced the wheels.

    The mudguards are rock solid.
  • pastie
    pastie Posts: 39
    Thanks both, you think 35 or 45mm for 28mm tyres?
  • mercia_man
    mercia_man Posts: 1,431
    Putting mounting points part way up the fork is fairly common practice on high end touring bikes. You cut the stays to fit. Makes for stiffer and less rattly mounting of your mudguards. My custom Alves has such mounting points. I have found that 28mm tyres fit well with SKS Chromoplastic 35.
  • craigus89
    craigus89 Posts: 887
    As above the 35's should fit fine with 28's, though it may require some bodging. I'm currently in the middle of a multi-day project of fitting chromoplastics to my Giant Defy, which is requiring me to source some different bolts and hack/drill some of the frame/brake mounting brackets on the guards so that I have enough clearance in certain spots.

    Mudguards are the most frustrating and fiddly thing I've done to bikes, and I've built from scratch and restored a few vintage bikes, nothing has been this much of a pain.
  • Wiggles' Lifeline mudguards worked really well on my 2019 HM Synapse and look really good as well as being rattle free. Great value, matt finish and pretty easy to fit & adjust - just take your time. I swapped out the metal stays with some carbon rods I found online just to keep the weight down :D and added flaps to front and back. Very happy with the finished result.
  • pastie wrote:
    Anybody got suggestions for proper guards for this? Raceblade longs fit back, but front eyelets are part way up forks & therefore not suitable. SKS chromoplastics? I'm not a fan of cruds or race blade pros.

    Have you contacted cannondale? I was looking for some for my cube cross race and cube do some for that model/fit perfectly, I’m sure cannondale do the same
  • pastie
    pastie Posts: 39
    An update! After failing with raceblade longs (front guard didn't fit with high frame mounts) and SKS chromoplastics 35mm (not enough clearance under front fork, 45mm might have fit but I doubt it), I ordered SKS bluemels 42mm set on advice of LBS who I bought bike off. These fitted very well, after a bit of faffing. Not much clearance at front, but enough to get by. My frame was 2019 synapse 105 58cm with discs. Model is below
    https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sks ... -prod84326

    Wouldn't it be nice to have an online resource with bike models and compatible guards?
  • pastie wrote:
    I ordered SKS bluemels 42mm set on advice of LBS who I bought bike off. These fitted very well, after a bit of faffing.

    Did you have to trim the rear mudguard to fit it between the seat stays? Are you just letting the stays pinch it a bit? Or does it actually fit? I wanted to put 42s on my synapse but was pretty sure they were just that bit too wide when fitted with the removable stay bridge. Ended up with 35s which are fine but not the same level of coverage as a 42mm on a 28c tyre.

    Also what did you do about routing the front stays around the disc brake? I've done an ugly bend job and had to get rid of the emergency quick release mechanism. Hopefully that doesn't turn catastrophic!
    Custom Albannach Torragar [BUILD IN PROGRESS]
    2020 Ribble CGR SL
    2019 Vitus Vitesse Evo CRS Disc
  • pastie
    pastie Posts: 39
    edited November 2018
    Didn’t have to trim rear, fit fine. The front was tighter, I had to swap the quick release stays to the back wheel. The standard stays with metal loops fit ok round front the discs. With a bit of tweaking, both have sufficient clearance & seem solid.
  • mercia_man
    mercia_man Posts: 1,431
    A tip for getting maximum clearance under fork is to cut half moon pieces from guards where they meet forks. This means the guard edges are not squashed together towards tyre walls and the guard can move up away from the tyre.

    The plastic quick release mounts on front guards are important for safety. They stop you going over the bars if you pick up a stone or stick. Little point using them on the rear wheel.
  • Mercia Man wrote:
    A tip for getting maximum clearance under fork is to cut half moon pieces from guards where they meet forks. This means the guard edges are not squashed together towards tyre walls and the guard can move up away from the tyre.

    The plastic quick release mounts on front guards are important for safety. They stop you going over the bars if you pick up a stone or stick. Little point using them on the rear wheel.

    Thanks - cutouts were a consideration for me if I wanted to use wider guards that didn't fit through my seatstays. Same solution as you're talking about for the forks I think. May revisit if I give up on the current guards.

    That's exactly the crash I'm worried about without the QR mounts, but I couldn't find any other way to get the stays to fit around the disc brake. Would love to hear of a more clever solution if anyone has one!
    Custom Albannach Torragar [BUILD IN PROGRESS]
    2020 Ribble CGR SL
    2019 Vitus Vitesse Evo CRS Disc