Mudguard clearance...how much?

[ColinJ]

So, I could get the 5mm under the front brake caliper and just about under the rear brake bridge and caliper. A 6mm would fit between the tyre and seat tube.

front caliper 5.2mm
rear caliper 4.8mm
rear tyre/seat tube 6mm

sound like it should work?

That should be okay. As I wrote above, you just have to be very careful how you adjust the Roadracers.

You also have to accept that you will get grit rubbing under the guards from time to time. That problem is reduced if you make sure you clean under them regularly after rides otherwise they eventually silt up.

It was dry here yesterday and the guards were silent most of the time. Every now and then a tyre would pick up a fallen leaf and there would be a rustling sound for a few yards until it got spat out again. Obviously, if you got enough leaves in there one after another, they could start to become a problem.

As I said in my review, it's amazing that Crud have produced something that can fit into such a confined space, but that means that you don't have much clearance. I accept that there will be a bit of noise now and then, but it isn't there all the time - that would drive me loopy!

 

[e-rider]

That should be okay. As I wrote above, you just have to be very careful how you adjust the Roadracers.

You also have to accept that you will get grit rubbing under the guards from time to time. That problem is reduced if you make sure you clean under them regularly after rides otherwise they eventually silt up.

It was dry here yesterday and the guards were silent most of the time. Every now and then a tyre would pick up a fallen leaf and there would be a rustling sound for a few yards until it got spat out again. Obviously, if you got enough leaves in there one after another, they could start to become a problem.

As I said in my review, it's amazing that Crud have produced something that can fit into such a confined space, but that means that you don't have much clearance. I accept that there will be a bit of noise now and then, but it isn't there all the time - that would drive me loopy!

I'll let you know how I get on - just ordered some mkIIs for £21

if they dont fit or they rub too much I'll blame you!

 

[snailracer]

I'm not too convinced about “secu-clips”. If they “release” they seem just as likely to tangle up in the wheel or snag in a knobbly tyre as random road debris.

 

[vorsprung]

I really like mine but I also know people who didn't get on with theirs because they couldn't stop them rubbing.

You should check that you have enough clearance for them before buying a pair - if you can slide a 5 mm Allen key between the tyres and brake callipers (and for the new Mk2s - also between the rear tyre and seat tube), you should have enough room. You must carefully follow the fitting instructions.

I've just written this detailed review for my blog.

Words on my blog too

http://audaxing.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/crud-road-racer-mudguards/

 

[asterix]

That's too much clearance.

The bigger the gap, the more likely that something large will be flicked up and get caught in. Good clearance should be less than 10mm so only wet leaves and small gritty pebbles get caught, but these will just get pushed out thw other side by the turning tyre.

That's news to me, I have always liked a fair bit of clearance. On the front the clearance is least at the low end of the guard. On my tourer with 1.5" tyres I can get my hand between the tyre and mudguard.

All my bikes have had 'guards for years.

Mind you, if true then I could put bigger tyres on my audax bike.

 

[jimboalee]

This'll be about right.

What occurs to me, remembering when I fitted these, is I attached the guard to the bridge across the chainstays and carried the mudguard round concentrically. I did that also with my Dawes Giro 500.

Mudguards were fitted as standard to my BSA and Apollo County, and they follow concentric around the tyre from the bridge between the chainstays.

There's really no argument, the frame manufacturer has given you the guidelines for where the mudguard should be.

Fit the front guard to match.

 

[e-rider]

This'll be about right.

What occurs to me, remembering when I fitted these, is I attached the guard to the bridge across the chainstays and carried the mudguard round concentrically. I did that also with my Dawes Giro 500.

Mudguards were fitted as standard to my BSA and Apollo County, and they follow concentric around the tyre from the bridge between the chainstays.

There's really no argument, the frame manufacturer has given you the guidelines for where the mudguard should be.

Fit the front guard to match.

that looks like way more clearance than you need - doesn't do any harm though, but perhaps doesn't offer quite as much protection from road spray than if they were slightly lower.

 

[P.H]

There's no rules, sometimes the restrictions of clearances, frame design, fittings and tyre size dictate how you fit them.  But, water picked up off the road will fly off in several directions and a mudguard fitted so the edges  reach below the section of tyre that comes in contact with the road will be more affective than those that don't.   That's why they're curved like that, if they were designed to be fitted well clear of the tyre like jimboalee has them  they may as well be flat.

 

[andrew_s]

Water doesn't spray off the tyre sideways. The curved sides are so that water hitting the middle of the guard doesn't splash out from under, and are just as effective at doing that with a large clearance as small.

If you leave room, you don't have to adjust the guards when you change tyres.

 

[P.H]

Water doesn't spray off the tyre sideways. The curved sides are so that water hitting the middle of the guard doesn't splash out from under, and are just as effective at doing that with a large clearance as small.

If you leave room, you don't have to adjust the guards when you change tyres.

My experience differs.  If I use narrower tyres without lowering the guards there's a lot of dirty water sprayed onto the back panels of the panniers, I lower the mudguards, the panniers stay clean.


If this wasn't the case, mudguards that cleared the tyres would have all the advantages and no disadvantages, yet billions of mudguards are fitted close.

 

[slowmotion]

I never expected this to run so far, but am very grateful for all the input. Please keep it coming. Here is a post from "Show us your steel"..

https://www.cyclechat.net/

Those guards are closer than bark on a tree! Great bike.

 

[jimboalee]

that looks like way more clearance than you need - doesn't do any harm though, but perhaps doesn't offer quite as much protection from road spray than if they were slightly lower.

Those are 50mm mudguards round 27mm tyres. The front flap inside surface is textured deeply to kill the inertia of spray and reduce sidewards deflection. The rearmost point of the rear guard is behind the rear tyre so there is no overspray onto my back.

I know it looks weird. That said, I can get my fingers and a kitchen towel up underneath the mudguard to wipe off dead slugs.

 

[ColinJ]

Those are 50mm mudguards round 27mm tyres. The front flap inside surface is textured deeply to kill the inertia of spray and reduce sidewards deflection. The rearmost point of the rear guard is behind the rear tyre so there is no overspray onto my back.

Wouldn't that be momentum Jimbo?

 

[jimboalee]

Wouldn't that be momentum Jimbo?

Could be.

 

[2Loose]

I think there is between 1 and 2 mm between tyre and guard on my Defy pictured with 25mm tyres on it. Bike stays reasonably clean and although I would prefer to have the safety aspect of the snap on(off?) fixings of the SKS guards, these don't seem to pick up much crap at all (probably helps sweep detritus off of the tyre tbh)

As they fit to the brake\frame\fork attachment, they would should fit any bike with minimal clearance. I know the old Crud Race 1's couldn't fit the Defy, but these do...not sure if the 2nd revision of the Crud guards do, but in any case these look like an option for the clearance challenged.