Giant Defy 2012 and Speedshield mudguards

[IBarrett]

Evening all.

I’ve been wrestling with these ruddy mudguards for days and before admitting defeat I thought the collective might help.

I have a 2012 Defy as my winter bike.
It had old original Giant mudguards on until one broke recently. They were a single piece, with a metal bracket in the middle which went under the Cali per bolt.
The new ones are 2 piece with a bridge over the caliper.

I can’t get the back mudguard to fit.
I’ve managed to get the long section on. But the little section between the caliper and seatpost tube won’t fit.

Now I have to admit I haven’t fitted the 20mm stainless tube that goes through the frame which the caliper attaches to - as it says on the stupid Ikea-esque pictures because it’s far too long and the caliper is then not under tension when tightened up.
And the original stainless tube isn’t threaded all the way through so I can’t screw into the back of it to attach the top of the little bit of mudguard.

Does anyone else have a Defy and Speedshield mudguards and can
A) understand what the hell I am wittering about
B) help me get this thing fitted before I tear it off and jump up and down on it.

Thanks

 

[Steve T]

I had the same issue with my Giant defy mudguards, I put a bit of rubber where the metal mudguard meets the frame and used a tie wrap ( zip tie) to fix it, 3 years later still going strong.