Fitting SKS Mudguards to CAADX 105 Disc (Picture heavy)

[Tenacious Sloth]

When I was trying to find out which mudguards would fit onto my CAADX Disc there didn't seem to be all that much information out there. So I thought I'd document my experiences fitting some SKS Chromoplastics.

First of all, these mudguards are excellent quality and contain nearly all of the fittings required for attachment to a CAADX Disc. I think they really suit the bike and are rock solid. Absolutely no rattles or shakes, even on the bumpiest roads.

There are lots of great videos on YouTube on how to fit SKS mudguards. I found this one to be the one of the best...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG_WZVS9SUY


Now for a few more detailed observations. Firstly, the plastic stay inserts actually fasten onto the thin metal brackets on the mudguards. Being a bloke, I failed to read the instructions before starting and spent ages faffing about trying to get the nuts on before realising this:

The fittings and brackets included with the mudguards are nearly everything you will need. In addition, I found that I needed a longer bolt for attaching the front mudguard angle bracket through the front fork mounting hole due to the thickness of the fork. I managed to source one from some bolts I had left over from a flat-pack table set.

I also bought a couple of 3/8 tap washers for mounting the rear mudguard to the rear bridge. I found that 2 rubber tap washers gave me perfect spacing for the mudguard around the wheel. You will need to drill a hole in the mudguard for this (fit the front mount first to ensure you drill the hole in correct place). You can't see it in the following image, but there is also a washer between the 2 tap washers to help firm everything up:

There is a washer and small nyloc lock nut (included in kit) under the mudguard - this leaves ample clearance above the tyre.

The main problem with fitting the rear mudguard to the CAADX is mounting the stays on left side so that they clear the disc brake caliper. I used the smaller of the 2 brackets provided in the kit for the forward rear`mudguard mount. I bent it into a right angle and mounted to the rear brake caliper mounting point:

With a little careful bending of the stay, this provides ample clearance from both the caliper arm and the spokes:

The left stays on the rear mudguard look like this:

For the front-most mounting on the rear mudguard, instead of using the supplied brackets (which I'd already bastardised for the right-hand stay mount), I just used one of the shorter bolts provided in the kit with a washer. I initially fitted a tap washer between the mudguard and the frame, but found this put the mudguard too close to the tyre, so just used one of the provided washers.

The front mudguard was really easy to fit, aside from needing a longer bolt for the top mount. None of the bolts provided in the kit were long enough. The plastic safety bits for the front stays can remain fitted with ample clearance to the spokes:

I've since ridden over 100 miles over some really awful roads with no problems at all. These are a great set of mudguards which are very solid and rattle free (I think the tap washers really help isolate vibration here). There also seems to be plenty of clearance everywhere. For info I have Schwalbe Marathon Plus 35C tyres fitted. If necessary, the guards could be fitted with a lot more clearance around the tyres.

Hope this helps someone.

Graham

 

[13 rider]

Top diying . were there holes in front forks already ?
Hope the flat pack table stays together with its missing bolts
Why do us men not read instructions ?

 

[Tenacious Sloth]

Top diying . were there holes in front forks already ?

Yes. Fortunately. I don't think my drilling skills would be up to that!

Also has some rear rack mounts - not sure if I'm going to fit one or not. They were obviously targeting the commuter market with this bike.

Graham.

P.S. Instructions are for wimps. If we read them every time then we wouldn't need women to tell us where we went wrong.

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks for that. I have SKS Longboards for my CAADX and have not fitted them yet. You have given me a few ideas which might be better than what I was going to do!

 

[outlash]

Longboards work just fine Colin, I use them on mine when it's on winter bike duty. FWIW, it's much easier to fix the metal bracket that attaches to the seat stay arch, bend it into position then thread the guard through.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Longboards work just fine Colin, I use them on mine when it's on winter bike duty. FWIW, it's much easier to fix the metal bracket that attaches to the seat stay arch, bend it into position then thread the guard through.

Yes, I did this on my PX thanks to a weird angle of bolt hole that isn't fully through the frame(underside)

Sks guards are brill

 

[mrandmrspoves]

I know that a lot of series roadies hate mudguards and feel that they ruin the sleek looks of their bicycles - but personally I think that a bicycle looks half dressed without them. I like the idea of using tap washers - will steal that!

 

[Gez73]

I use Longboards on two of my bikes and rate them highly. Can be difficult to mount first time but well worth the effort. Mine came with just enough parts so be careful where you set them up and try not lose any bits. Trimming the stays was the trickiest bit for me. Thread the stay through the mudguard bracket and tighten with nut and bolt and to the frame BEFORE attaching the stay end cap. The stay will almost certainly be too long so you need to measure and mark before trimming, this will require the end cap to be off the bracket. Cut and then rounded off at work using a grinder for a neat job and to prevent the cut stay tearing through the end cap. Useful to keep as much stay in the end cap as possible to allow for adjustment for Winter tyres etc. Gez

 

[ColinJ]

I will be fitting a rack as well as the Longboards. It won't attach easily to the mounting holes by the QR so I might use p-clips higher up the stays instead. At the top I might hang the rack from a seatpost-mounted clamp. I'll fit the Longboards first and then decide what to do.

I will post some photos of the bike once the job is finished.

 

[Gez73]

That's my setup. Went for a well placed bend in the stay to fit around the disc brakes. Didn't want to use the higher up mount on the fork in case I opted for front pannier rack. Rear stays mounted behind the rack, a Topeak Super Tourist rack, not disc specific as calipers within rear triangle

 

[radekone]

Glad I looked here, as I initially mounted the plastic stays in a wrong way. I've fixed them now and the the whole construction appears to be more rigid (maybe apart from the bottom part of the front mudguard, but it might be due to a smaller angle of the metal stays). Apparently the screws were okay and I was left with some extras.

I've taken slightly different approach how to handle the rear brake caliper. The photo is self explaining.

Attaching rear mudguard to the rear bridge was quite easy with the metal stay. The hardest bit was to thread the hole. A real nightmare.

If I was to do it again, I'd trim the stays a bit more, what would give me a bit more flexibility for adjustments. Otherwise, the Longboards look and perform great on my CaadX Tiagra.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Chaps what width of mudguards we using here, looking to buy something for my new cross bike ? Presume 35mm is too narrow albeit I do plan on putting 28s on at some point rather than the cross tyres.

 

[outlash]

I think mine are 35's, not 100% sure. I don't take it off road w/mudguards (Ass saver if it's really muddy and not racing) so there would be plenty of room for 28's or 32 slicks under mine.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Ive used 30mm cx tyres with my 35mm longboards, but I deliberately allowed clearance to allow the swap. Ok it's not a CAAD but close enough

 

[sussexslanter]

I'm attempting to fit longboards to my caadx 105 now, and hoping I'm not missing something really obvious. The top mount of the front mudguard has a hole at the rear of the front fork that seems to be in the perfect place. However, the thread within this hole is of a different size to the others. Is that normal?