How much do mudguards slow you down ?

[Banjo]

I tend to leave them on year round .
I wonder if any scientific experiment has been done.

 

[I like Skol]

Some, maybe, probably fark all. Are you in a race?

 

[vickster]

Not as much as all that crap plastered up your back

 

[screenman]

The difference is plus or minus and a tad more depending on wind direction

 

[Drago]

I've often felt that full guards make a slight but noticeable difference.

 

[Dogtrousers]

It's a little known fact that mudguards actually speed you up.

The upper surface of the tyre travels forward at a speed of pi/2 times the bike's road speed. This results in additional drag which is negated by the faring effect of the mudguard. Tests show a small but significant decrease (between 2and 5%) in aerodynamic drag when mudguards are used.

The reason that professionals don't use them is because they are illegal. They were controversially banned by Henri Desgrange after the 1935 Tour de France, as he considered them "unmanly" and "fit only for the English and the Dutch". Attempts to reintroduce them have failed due to safety concerns around the mudguard stays.

Lance Armstrong used mudguards in all of his Tour de France wins, but everyone pretended not to notice. Phil Liggett still denies it and to this day claims that it is "impossible and inconceivable" that he could have done such a thing.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Did bonj not prove you don't actually need mudguards if you cycle fast enough?

 

[screenman]

Vernon was the expert on pi.

 

[palinurus]

Did bonj not prove you don't actually need mudguards if you cycle fast enough?

If your arse is moving fast enough how're the drops gonna catch up? stands to reason.

 

[Banjo]

Should have known better shouldn't I ......

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

If your arse is moving fast enough how're the drops gonna catch up? stands to reason.

I think that was the extent of the proof

 

[ianrauk]

My commuter has mudguards all year round. But only because I can't be arsed to take them off.

 

[mjr]

[QUOTE 4787227, member: 259"]Mine does too, but only because I can't be arsed to scrape all the mud off my arse.[/QUOTE]
Never mind that, what about the face of the guy behind?

 

[Dan B]

The full mudguards on my commuter probably account for less drag than the hub dynamo which is also attached all year round

 

[Welsh wheels]

It's a little known fact that mudguards actually speed you up.

The upper surface of the tyre travels forward at a speed of pi/2 times the bike's road speed. This results in additional drag which is negated by the faring effect of the mudguard. Tests show a small but significant decrease (between 2and 5%) in aerodynamic drag when mudguards are used.

The reason that professionals don't use them is because they are illegal. They were controversially banned by Henri Desgrange after the 1935 Tour de France, as he considered them "unmanly" and "fit only for the English and the Dutch". Attempts to reintroduce them have failed due to safety concerns around the mudguard stays.

Lance Armstrong used mudguards in all of his Tour de France wins, but everyone pretended not to notice. Phil Liggett still denies it and to this day claims that it is "impossible and inconceivable" that he could have done such a thing.