Mudguard clearance...how much?

[slowmotion]

I would be very grateful for advice on how far off the outside of my tyre the inside of the guard should be. I went over the bars as a kid, and I will not bounce so well these days. I fitted full guards on the hybrid this afternoon after being splattered with smelly stuff yesterday.

The bike is a hybrid and has 700 x 25C tyres. The mudguards are SKS Chromoplastic P35s. I ride on roads, canal paths and in parks. Absolutely no "rock and stump" stuff, but I might meet the odd twig or conker, and who knows what?

I set it up with about 25mm ( an inch) between the outside of the tyre and the inside of the mudguard.

Will that be OK for my type of trips?

Thank-you.

 

[ColinJ]

I've only got a couple of mm clearance with my Crud Roadracers!   

Your mudguards have Secu-Clips so if something gets stuck in them, they should pull free rather than jamming up.

 

[Moodyman]

That's too much clearance.

The bigger the gap, the more likely that something large will be flicked up and get caught in. Good clearance should be less than 10mm so only wet leaves and small gritty pebbles get caught, but these will just get pushed out thw other side by the turning tyre.

 

[PpPete]

I also run 700 x 25C tyres and SKS Chromoplastic P35s.
Shortened the stays so that I have about 1/2" clearance. I've yet to have anything jam in them so that the Secu-Clips come into play.

 

[Crepello]

Surely the critical point to watch is the fork crown clearance? The Secu Clips may only be effective to that point. What happens if an object does get jammed between the tyre and crown?

As for clearance of less than 10mm, it really works both ways. If you've got close clearance, then any object similar to the size of the clearance (eg, large road chipping) can more easily ping pong all the way up. Think of what it's like cycling on a newly tarmaced road on a hot day.

My close clearance Dawes Audax (with P35 'gaurds) is much more susceptible to this sort of thing than my Cheviot, which has a good inch or so clearance AND it has P35 Blumels which I often use with 32mm tyres.

 

[e-rider]

secu clips should prevent anymore going over the bars.

as long as they don't rub, you have enough clearance.

 

[e-rider]

I've only got a couple of mm clearance with my Crud Roadracers!

Your mudguards have Secu-Clips so if something gets stuck in them, they should pull free rather than jamming up.

so what are those crud roadracers like? was thinking about getting some for my Focus Cayo for winter riding.

Recently tried Tortec (similar to SKS raceblades) and they were crap - rattled about and rubbed on tyres

 

[ColinJ]

so what are those crud roadracers like? was thinking about getting some for my Focus Cayo for winter riding.

Recently tried Tortec  (similar to SKS raceblades) and they were crap - rattled about and rubbed on tyres

I really like mine but I also know people who didn't get on with theirs because they couldn't stop them rubbing.

You should check that you have enough clearance for them before buying a pair - if you can slide a 5 mm Allen key between the tyres and brake callipers (and for the new Mk2s - also between the rear tyre and seat tube), you should have enough room. You must carefully follow the fitting instructions.

I've just written this detailed review for my blog.

 

[e-rider]

I really like mine but I also know people who didn't get on with theirs because they couldn't stop them rubbing.

You should check that you have enough clearance for them before buying a pair - if you can slide a 5 mm Allen key between the tyres and brake callipers (and for the new Mk2s - also between the rear tyre and seat tube), you should have enough room. You must carefully follow the fitting instructions.

I've just written this detailed review for my blog.

cheers, useful review - I'm now reaching for my 5mm

 

[slowmotion]

Thank-you for the advice. It seemed faintly counter-intuitive that a small gap would lead to fewer jams, but I see the logic. If you let less "strong stuff" in, it is less likely to result in a big braking force. I initially thought that a bigger clearance would let the "temporary guests" leave more easily.

I will take my wire-cutters to the stays shortly.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Crepello]

I don't know how some poster's can be so sure that just because they have Secu-clips fitted, it means that there is no risk of a wheel jamming; ie - at the fork crown?
It's a subject that can ultimately only be judged by expexience. So, what expexience is there of mudgaurd's jamming?

 

[slowmotion]

So, what expexience is there of mudgaurd's jamming?

I went over the bars aged nineteen, on the way back from a pub. The front guard jammed in the tyre, and I went into the tarmac. I just bounced. Fabulous! I woke up feeling a bit sore and stiff the next day, but nothing too bad at all. Several decades later, I think that I had better not attempt to pull off the same stunt.

 

[jimboalee]

I use SKS chromoplastic.

Shove the brake bridge fasteners up as far as possible. That gives about an inch of clearance ( 23mm tyres ).

What you don't want to do is set the clearance so close that if a piece of broken windscreen goes up underneath, it gets caught and shreds the tyre. A wide clearance will see the little glass cube fly out the front.

 

[SquareDaff]

I also run 700 x 25C tyres and SKS Chromoplastic P35s.
Shortened the stays so that I have about 1/2" clearance.

+1 on this. Had to shorten the stays to make the things "round". But that was due to the fixing points on my hybrid rather than bad design! Haven't had any jamming problems or "brown stripes" so it's a good job as far as I'm concerned!

 

[e-rider]

I really like mine but I also know people who didn't get on with theirs because they couldn't stop them rubbing.

You should check that you have enough clearance for them before buying a pair - if you can slide a 5 mm Allen key between the tyres and brake callipers (and for the new Mk2s - also between the rear tyre and seat tube), you should have enough room. You must carefully follow the fitting instructions.

I've just written this detailed review for my blog.

So, I could get the 5mm under the front brake caliper and just about under the rear brake bridge and caliper. A 6mm would fit between the tyre and seat tube.

front caliper 5.2mm
rear caliper 4.8mm
rear tyre/seat tube 6mm

sound like it should work?