Can you fit mudguards to a carbon fork without mounts?

[rich05uk]

Hi,

I am looking at buying either the Trek 1.5 or 1.7 bike to use as an all year daily commuting bike to work (approx 50 miles round trip), I think I’ve decided on the 1.7 however I’ve just discovered the 1.7 doesn’t have a mount on the front fork to fit a mudguard, it seems very odd as the 1.5 model does and according to the specifications, it’s the same fork on the 1.7 as the 1.5 Trek bike?

As I will be using this every day and all year round I would like to fit mudguards (at least during the winter months), is this still possible without mounts on the front forks? I’ve read that you can’t use P clamps or any other kind of clamp on carbon as it can damage or at least weaken it such that it can suddenly fail?

Any advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks, Rich.

 

[ianrauk]

You can use race blades as all they use is a rubber band type mount

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/SKS_Race_Blade_Clip_On_Mudguard_Set/5300005894/

 

[Gary D]

Rich,
I would think you should be fine using p-clamps.

Carbon forks are probably one of the strongest parts on the bike - think of the forces they have to withstand

A couple of p-clamps aren't going to cause any damage unless you tighten them up with a 3 foot wrench

Just make sure you protect the fork with some tape or old inner tube to prevent scratching.

I take it you have checked there is enough clearance for mudguards? They are certainly different forks according to the Trek website pictures.

Gary.

 

[rich05uk]

I have checked with my local bike shop about clearance and they said all the Trek 1 Series bikes gave plenty of clearance to fit mud guards so fingers crossed this shouldn’t be a problem.

I thought it might help if a put a link to each bike here, if you hover your mouse over the pictures in the links it gives you a much closer look. You can hopefully easily see the front fork mounts on the 1.5 but not on the 1.7, according to the specs they are both the same fork.

Trek 1.5 Bike - http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/road/1_series/15

Trek 1.7 Bike - http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/road/1_series/17e/

 

[Bigtwin]

Relax - not an issue. Zip ties and bits of old innertube solve everything in the mounting world. Zip mine on when the rain starts, zip em off when it stops. So that's about 9 months of the year lately!

I have some chap plastic thin sized guards I got of eBay for about £5 - they must be on at least year 6 by now. Just drilled a couple of holes in them for the tie/frame interface, and the job's a goodun!

 

[nigelnorris]

I have checked with my local bike shop about clearance and they said all the Trek 1 Series bikes gave plenty of clearance to fit mud guards so fingers crossed this shouldn’t be a problem.[/quote]
I would recommend double check that, or at least get them to commit to being the ones who do the fitting if that's where you are buying the bike. I was looking at a Trek 1.5 for ages as a commuter, but just about every internet blog/review site/forum says that the mudguard fittings are cosmetic and pretty much useless in real life due to lack of clearance.

 

[e-rider]

+1; the clearance is very minimal indeed. I'd look at another bike if you want to fit mudguards.