Mudguards wearing (and cracking) at stay bridge...

[DrSquirrel]

I have some SKS Bluemels on the fixed, and a few months ago I noticed that the bracket that holds it to the brake mount on the rear - was wearing through the material of the mudguard itself, leaving an indentation where it was (which slowly made the movement in this area increase).

I tightened this up... But noticed a crack at this point half way across, been trying to contact the reseller multiple times but nothing.


Today it gave up and the crack is a full break - luckily the mudguard didn't decide to jam itself in and just sat there rattling about (probably not the best idea that I continued riding it tbh).



Should this be considered a fault (and thus retailer dealing with) or its "my fault" ?

 

[cyberknight]

I have some SKS Bluemels on the fixed, and a few months ago I noticed that the bracket that holds it to the brake mount on the rear - was wearing through the material of the mudguard itself, leaving an indentation where it was (which slowly made the movement in this area increase).

I tightened this up... But noticed a crack at this point half way across, been trying to contact the reseller multiple times but nothing.


Today it gave up and the crack is a full break - luckily the mudguard didn't decide to jam itself in and just sat there rattling about (probably not the best idea that I continued riding it tbh).



Should this be considered a fault (and thus retailer dealing with) or its "my fault" ?

I doubt it, it would probably just come under wear and tear .

I recently got a replacement mudguard from crud as mine had worn all the way through.

 

[Ian H]

If the bridge bracket isn't firmly clamped to the guard, there will be vibration movement and wear. You need to use pliers or similar to really pinchthe tabs tightly around the edge of the guard. Alternatively, you can bore four holes in the guard and use a couple of cable ties in place of the bracket.

 

[DrSquirrel]

That was the problem, it apparently wasn't clamped tight enough - I used needle nose pliers to do just that. Seems the vibration opened them up just enough - first time I noticed I tightened them up even more, but no luck there.

Now I know the position - im going drill the bridge bracket and mount them properly - the clearance is very very close though so will be pushing it :/

 

[eldudino]

I've got/had a similar issue with my Blumels rear guard on my winter trainer/commuter. The metal clamp thing was making all sorts of noises, squeaking and scraping sounds, so I took it apart and saw that it was wearing through the plastic guard with the vibration.

To try and stop it happening in the future, I've put a layer of thin innertube under the metal clamp and clamped it up tight when re-fitting. Now there's no noise and no movement. Worth doing when fitting a replacement, which I may have to do next year - sooner than I'd like really, but I've learned my lesson for next time.

 

[DrSquirrel]

I thought about eletrical tape but it would just wear through again - any thickness of rubber will be too thick as I have only a few mm (pushing 1mm) between that clamp and the tyre

 

[eldudino]

I thought about eletrical tape but it would just wear through again - any thickness of rubber will be too thick as I have only a few mm (pushing 1mm) between that clamp and the tyre

What size tyre are you using? I suppose I've got plenty of room because I'm running 23's. I still used the thinnest innertube I could find in the shed though, a nice light 18-23c one.

 

[DrSquirrel]

ah innertube, I was just thinking of rubber shims and all that - an innertube sounds good, but would have to wait until another time - im going to bolt these ones together (space pending).

I have 18-25 guards running 25, I could run 23 but I would rather this have "hardier" tyres than the main road bike.

 

[eldudino]

You only need a very small patch to cover the extent of the metal clamp area of the bracket. It really has worked well and you'd probably get away with it with 25's as the clamp area is near the shoulder of the tyre. It's certainly something I'll be doing whenever I fit Blumels from now on.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

To try and stop it happening in the future, I've put a layer of thin innertube under the metal clamp and clamped it up tight when re-fitting. Now there's no noise and no movement. Worth doing when fitting a replacement, which I may have to do next year - sooner than I'd like really, but I've learned my lesson for next time.

A darned good idea.