FNRttC: About

[Shadow]

Quote from the sticky:

'If you read the threads below you’ll not learn much about gear ratios – our combined wisdom on bicycles might be summed up as ‘mudguards are evil’. The Cobbetts of our time write about the joys of beer at breakfast, about the latest bargain in rail tickets, and, most of all, about friendship. It matters not whether you’re a whippet on full carbon or a complete duffer on a BSO; what matters is that you turn up with a smile on your face, and an inclination to make a friend.'


After last friday's fun run to the seaside, is it time for an amendment to this regulation? I recognise this is tantamount to FNRttC treason but feel under certain circumstances, allowances could be made. I was riding behind our esteemed leader down Lonesome Lane, thereby being sprayed by his rooster tail and my riding partner at the time reminded me of this and edged up to DZ to ask him something similar - I did catch the reply!
In the true spirit of FNRttC, my steed was 'guard-less. Result at Madeira was a wet and sore bum!!!

 

[dellzeqq]

we've held the ride up for 40 minutes while a mudguard gets disentangled from a tyre............

and, tbh, I do simply drop off the back when following someone in the rain, not least because I reckon I need a bit of distance because my rim brakes are not going to bite in the wet..........

 

[Aperitif]

You need a new saddle then, not mudguards. My bum was no wetter than the rest of me.
I therefore conclude that you are a Shadow of your former self.
Next case please nurse.

 

[Shadow]

You need a new saddle then, not mudguards. My bum was no wetter than the rest of me.
I therefore conclude that you are a Shadow of your former self.
Next case please nurse.

Will the pills help?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

'guards don't keep you dry.

'guards keep you and your bike, and the person behind you, clean.

here endeth the lesson.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Guards are for wimps ....

 

[User482]

'guards don't keep you dry.

'guards keep you and your bike, and the person behind you, clean.

here endeth the lesson.

They do if it has stopped raining, but the road is still wet.

The main purpose of 'guards, however, is to annoy Dell. For full effect, they should be fitted to a steel touring bike, along with an abundance of luggage. And a Brooks (though I draw the line at that).

 

[Tim Hall]

They do if it has stopped raining, but the road is still wet.

The main purpose of 'guards, however, is to annoy Dell. For full effect, they should be fitted to a steel touring bike, along with an abundance of luggage. And a Brooks (though I draw the line at that).

Whilst waiting for Our Beloved Leader to fettle his puncture into submission on the run into Brighton, it was noted that of the four people waiting (me, Adrian and Team Bamboo) all had Brooks saddles, as nature intended. It was a joyous moment.

All my bikes have mudguards.

 

[Aperitif]

They do if it has stopped raining, but the road is still wet.

The main purpose of 'guards, however, is to annoy Dell. For full effect, they should be fitted to a steel touring bike, along with an abundance of luggage. And a Brooks (though I draw the line at that).

No they don't - not if you have already been riding in rain, or failed to dry oneself after showering earlier that day, prior to mounting - or indeed, getting on the bike! However, I see a 'raison d'etre' for all those CTC labels / LCC thingies. No garde-boue - no sticker!

From my days as an FNR baby, I remember one rider who had a clanky mudguard which 'crossed the line' re: noise. I think it was secured loose under the crown of the forks so it meant taking the front wheel off, and the brakes wouldn't release enough to get the wheel out, and the wheel had a dynamo which didn't want to be unplugged... that sort of thing ticks some off, I imagine.

 

[srw]

I would no sooner spec a bike without mudguards than I would a bike without gears. But if they were intolerably noisy, or rubbing, I would have no hesitation in inviting someone to break, or cut, them off.

 

[dellzeqq]

the point about distance is critical, and it's something that, given that I'm usually at the front, I may not address as often as I should. As luck would have it we welcomed back Andrew A this month, who, some fifteen months ago, chipped an elbow when the person behind him didn't stop in time. The odd thing is that the more experienced the cyclist, the closer company he or she keeps to the cyclist to the left or in front. We've got, collectively, to be really sensible, particularly in the wet.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Agree about the distance thing, the trip to Brighton was mostly OK in light rain and spray (apart from the downhill run into town where I did wonder if I'd ever stop at the lights), but in the torrents on the way back I had some serious braking issues on occasions even on the flat, and that's with Koolstop Salmons fitted. It's a worthy warning.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Hub gears are fun too, especially in a horizontal dropout with a non-easy clip mudguard system and full rack scenario. Larks!

 

[srw]

Piece of cake on a Rohloff with an external connection. But I can sympathise with a TEC faced with a rusty 3-speed connector; or, worse, a clueless Bromptoneer.

 

[AKA Bob]

It is amazing how bikest some people can be about a certain small wheel bike. Though I was having similar feelings after a 4[sup]th[/sup] puncture near Framlington due to a side wall blow out on Sunday morning!