Mudguards or not?

[slowmotion]

I had splash guards on my hybrid for a year but took them off in July on the advice of Simon for a FNRttC. They have been off ever since. Oh dear. I'm not at all worried by the state of my jacket, but all manner of stuff is ending up in the mechanicals. I will fit the SKS guards that I bought five months ago very soon. Honest...I really will...

 

[As Easy As Riding A Bike]

Full mudguards will save you an awful lot of cleaning/maintenance time (as well as keeping you drier, obviously!).

I have Roadracers on my road bike, and the difference between those and the full guards on my commuter is huge.

The roadracers (good as they are) don't cover anything like enough of the rear wheel, and you get a load of road crud dumped onto your front derailleur area.

 

[dellzeqq]

Mudguards? Why not wear a mac, wellington boots and a sou'wester? Is this a cycling forum or a rainwear boutique? Toughen up there, chaps!

 

[zigzag]

i wouldn't even consider a bike that hasn't got clearances and eyelets for full mudguards. i've cycled in the rain with no mudguards once - and it was enough. for cycling every day in all kinds of weather mudguards are essential. full length are the best, and even better with mudflaps (but not if you are style conscious).

if i raced, i'd have a separate bike just for that, and wouldn't use it for commuting or training in any weather.

 

[slowmotion]

Mudguards? Why not wear a mac, wellington boots and a sou'wester? Is this a cycling forum or a rainwear boutique? Toughen up there, chaps!

Oh, but I do, when not given dodgy advice by those silly sporty types.

Mud in your eye (and everywhere else).

 

[g00se]

The Kona Honky Inc has clearance for full guards. Try some SKS Commuters.

For vanity's sake, the black ones are much the same colour as the 2011 Honky and can be mounted really close to the wheels. The supports are close together and the joint with the guard itself is less obvious that the Bluemels and and the Chromoplastics - especially if you cut them down to size when you've fitted them. So if you get the 'flapless' version, they're not that obvious, and tie in quite nicely. The raceblades always look a bit Heath Robinson to me.

This is an image I found of then on a road bike - but with flaps though:

 

[jimboalee]

Here's the commute bike.
Same rule applies. Front splash flap down to the tarmac.

Second rule. Make sure the rearmost tip of the rear mudguard is rearward of the most rearward extremity of the rear tyre. If it isn't, you'll get a wet back. This is because the velocity of the tyre is accelerating towards double that of the axle as it comes up round the back.

 

[gavintc]

In UK, I used mudguards in the winter on my commute bike and kept my good bike naked. Over here in Italy, the weather has not demanded guards yet as the rain is still warm. But, I will probably fit some in a month or so.

 

[User482]

Full guards on my commuter bike and when touring. The SKS ones work so well that they allow me to cycle in ordinary clothes, which is handy when popping down the shops. A wet muddy stripe up your jeans is not my idea of fun.

 

[byegad]

We live in a country that sees a fair amount of rain. I use full guards.


To me anyone who commutes without them is masochistic in the extreme.

 

[snailracer]

We live in a country that sees a fair amount of rain. I use full guards.


To me anyone who commutes without them is masochistic in the extreme.

Whenever I see a “minimalist” bike (no guards, no lights, no gears, etc.), I wonder if the rider:

1. Is a masochist

2. Doesn’t care

3. Has found another way to deal with the issues

4. Is mechanically inept

 

[clarion]

I like mudguards.

Having said that, I prefer RaceBlades on my commuter. They're very good at keeping me & the bike dry & clean, and are easy to remove for cleaning. Oh - and they don't rattle/rub/bend etc.

I'm pigged off with riders who have no guards at all in this kind of weather. There's a lot of us out there on the roads, and we all get affected by spray, so why not just do the Right Thing?

 

[Zippy]

It looks like this is academic now as my LBS only has raceblades to fit my bike. I prefer these if they do a decent job as they don't have to be tweaked to prevent rubbing like full guards do. I'll see how they go.

 

[jimboalee]

I fit mudguards to keep ME dry. If another cyclist is stupid enough to ride directly behind me, that's up to them.

 

[clarion]

Dunno where you ride, but on CS7, it's hard not to be behind someone else a lot of the time, even if you're coming up to overtake.