Are crud road racer mud guards for road bikes anything decent?

[Rodderstrotter]

I had the same problem on the front. If you take the advice in the video, and wedge the mudguard overnight, it only seems to work for a short period of time, as it always seems to return to the original position eventually. I removed my front guard and carefully heated it with a heat gun, then bended. It took a few trial and error attempts, but all is fine now and hasn't rubbed on tyre since.

 

[Nocode]

I had the same problem on the front. If you take the advice in the video, and wedge the mudguard overnight, it only seems to work for a short period of time, as it always seems to return to the original position eventually. I removed my front guard and carefully heated it with a heat gun, then bended. It took a few trial and error attempts, but all is fine now and hasn't rubbed on tyre since.

All I need now is a heat gun! Either that or I risk burning-out my wife's hairdryer

However, a bit of tinkering this morning and the front guard seems better. It still rubs a bit (I think debris this time) but deffo seems better. I might have another tinker tonight to see if I can improve it even more - but I really do fear that even a sneeze would put them out of alignment. Fickle fickle things!

 

[Nocode]

Well, I'm hoping I've finally found the solution to prevent my front crudracer from rubbing... moving the parts (with the rubber bands) where the stays connect to the front forks higher has pushed the entire guard further away from the wheel. I think I had them too low before, so if like me your crudracers rub and you've been tinkering no end, try moving the parts that connect to the forks/frame higher up.

 

[gbs]

The crud road racers are vg, imo BUT be careful if for example, you take the front wheel and then lay the bike in the boot of yr car. The stays are then exposed and do not survive any stress.

 

[ColinJ]

The crud road racers are vg, imo BUT be careful if for example, you take the front wheel and then lay the bike in the boot of yr car. The stays are then exposed and do not survive any stress.

Good point! I have broken front and rear guards through my own carelessness. (Once when the strap of my bag caught in the front guard and once when I dropped the bike on the rear one when squeezing the bike through a narrow opening.)

The fragility of the guards is designed in. It is easy to make tough plastic - curtain tracks, for example - but you don't want tough plastic potentially getting caught up in your wheels and causing a crash!

 

[Nocode]

The fragility of the guards is designed in. It is easy to make tough plastic - curtain tracks, for example - but you don't want tough plastic potentially getting caught up in your wheels and causing a crash!

Yep, absolutely. There's a video (far from scientific, but quite practical) demonstrating the design of the crudracer stays to disconnect if something sizeable gets caught in the wheel.

 

[ColinJ]

I should have said the fragility of 'some parts' of the guards is designed in.

In case people think that this is a non-issue - I spoke to one cyclist who wouldn't ride with mudguards on his bike after a friend of his was killed when his front wheel locked up due to something jamming under the front guard.

 

[MattHB]

Don't forget. If you've not nearly cut at least 1 finger off with a wood saw you're not doing it properly!

 

[cyberknight]

get a car big enough so you don`t need to take the wheels off

 

[MattHB]

get a car big enough so you don`t need to take the wheels off

never take my bike in the car ride everywhere!

 

[cyberknight]

never take my bike in the car ride everywhere!

Unless its broke and needs a trip to the LBS or a sportive thats too far to ride to i do

 

[400bhp]

Good point! I have broken front and rear guards through my own carelessness. (Once when the strap of my bag caught in the front guard and once when I dropped the bike on the rear one when squeezing the bike through a narrow opening.)

The fragility of the guards is designed in. It is easy to make tough plastic - curtain tracks, for example - but you don't want tough plastic potentially getting caught up in your wheels and causing a crash!

Yeah, like a feckin leaf getting under the guard and breaking the holes that the cable ties go through.

 

[ColinJ]

Yeah, like a feckin leaf getting under the guard and breaking the holes that the cable ties go through.

A leaf!

I've heard of problems with twigs and acorns, but I find it hard to believe that a single leaf would do that! Are you sure that something else hadn't got in there too and then fallen out?