How much difference do mudguard mounts make?

[Gillstay]

Always mudguards, and mount make them safer and easy to set up. Why buy expensive components and then let all the road muck get into them. A nice chain guard needs to come back into fashion in my eyes.

If you lived in Europe I doubt you would have asked this question, which I always find interesting.

 

[fossyant]

Commuting - essential with mudguard and pannier mounts. Winter I use my CX bike with Race blade Longs - little fiddly to set up initially, but once done, you can whizz them on and off very quickly. - the CX bike has no mounts at all - which is a bit tricky bike packing (found an axel mount rack now).

 

[Velorum59]

These days I prefer frames without them as I dont like mudguards.

It was different when I was younger of course and commuted to work on my bike as I needed to keep my clothes as clean as possible. There days this is not a consideration and I live in practical quick drying outdoor wear (Mountain Warehouse mainly!) so getting wet doesnt bother me. My Carradice saddle bag save my posterior and leather Brooks saddle from the worst of the spray from the back wheel.

 

[Punkawallah]

"I think I'll leave the guards off, as I do love cleaning the bike" said no-one, ever

Just me, then? :x)

 

[T4tomo]

All things being equal between similar bikes, how much would you value a bike having mudguard mounts?

£86.43

 

[MichaelW2]

If you plan to fit mudguards for winter road riding, plan to use full length, chromoplastic, bolt-on models.
If you have a traditional front suspension hybrid bike, then almost nobody supplies a pair with bolt on rear and clip on front.
Planning to use a clip-on/velcro/elastic band/split mudguard for winter is madness, madness!!!

Fixing trad full length guards, I have used a small ziptie at the chainstay bridge, it is reliable and quiet.

 

[VinSumRox]

I have fitted Kinesis Fend Off mudguards to our road bikes, close fitting and no rattles, keep you and the bike clean , can't see the point in taking them off for a Scottish summer.

 

[Sea of vapours]

"I think I'll leave the guards off, as I do love cleaning the bike" said no-one, ever

Probably never in quite those terms, but bikes are vastly easier to clean, both quickly and well, when they're not encumbered with mudguards, which create all sorts of bits that retain dirt, and the mudguards themselves don't need cleaning when they've not been fitted.

Personally, I ride all year, and frequently, without mudguards and don't have a 'winter bike' either. I just rinse/clean the bike every time it's used (in wet weather or mucky roads that is). Admittedly, if I couldn't do that, or rode in groups, I'm sure I'd fit mudguards; same applies to commuting; but if those things don't apply then the overhead of rinsing the bike is very small, and I'm going to wash my cycling clothes every time anyway, so mudguards are just an overhead.

Edit: Oh! And I actually do like cleaning the bike!

 

[ColinJ]

I bodged a rear mudguard on my DIY 6-speed bike by zip-tying a length of scrap tyre onto its skinny rack...

 

[PaulSB]

I have fitted Kinesis Fend Off mudguards to our road bikes, close fitting and no rattles, keep you and the bike clean , can't see the point in taking them off for a Scottish summer.

I ride a Kinesis ATR V3 for gravel and winter. I use the Fend Offs, fantastic guards.

To answer the question if buying a bike that I know will have guards mounted then I would only consider a bike that would allow full length, metal, bolt on mudguards.