Too early for mudguards?

[Pat "5mph"]

@mikeymustard if you lived in Scotland you wouldn't dream of asking the question

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

. I wouldn't buy a bike that couldn't take mudguards, we live in the UK not California.

Nor would I. My 2 hybrids have mudguards (and racks), so does a 3-speed roadster and one of my MTB's. The ones that don't have them are in the process of being retrofitted with both, using a mixture of salvaged and new bits. Although I generally try to avoid riding bikes in wet weather, sometimes it can't be helped if it suddenly turns wet whilst out, and getting soaked plus a horrible muddy stripe up my back is NOT my idea of fun cycling. It also does the mechanicals of your bike no good whatsoever to blast it with filthy abrasive water. The more of it you can prevent getting on both rider and machine, the better it is for both!

 

[cyberknight]

My commuter has mudguards on it all year round. I think @ianrauk says his records show it rains more in summer than winter

Mine does too i even carry rain jacket,leggings and overshoes all year around just in case.

 

[Alan O]

My first wet ride since the hot days of summer was a week ago, and the mudguards are definitely going back on my tourer - the only reason they were off during the summer is that I was trying different tyres with different clearances.

Speaking of "Is August too early for...?" I've already seen my first "Christmas dinner bookings now open" signs.

 

[alicat]

All my bikes have mudguards. I live in a country in which it rains frequently and without warning. I value staying dry and keeping my bike clean with the least effort possible.

 

[biggs682]

All ways have at least one with guards fitted

 

[mcshroom]

My carbon bike is a pain to fit mudguards to but the others have them almost year round. The lack of mudguards actually stops me riding that bike as much as I would probably do otherwise.

If you are looking at buying new then black guards are far less conspicuous IMHO

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I think it's mostly a vanity thing. The more expensive a bike is, the less likely they are to be fitted with mudguards. How many mudguard-equipped carbon fibre road bikes do you see being ridden? Hardly any in my experience. Many manufacturers seem to deliberately design their road bikes so they are impossible to fit with either mudguards or comfortably wide tyres, despite the fact we live in a wet climate and have poor road surfaces. Not the right image.

 

[Slick]

I fitted my carbon steed with mud guards this morning.

 

[mikeymustard]

I think it's mostly a vanity thing.

In my case it certainly is a vanity thing - mostly! I don't like them: in most cases they're nasty, rattly things that make the bike look fugly; and, thanks to the ridiculous front arm travel on a 5800 derailleur, even with a large chunk nibbled out of the back guard it still fouls a touch. I wouldn't even entertain the idea of mudguards if I wasn't occasionally forced to ride in the wet stuff.

 

[Apollonius]

I do 4 to 5 thousand miles a year on carbon bikes and don't use mudguards.

 

[mikeymustard]

I do 4 to 5 thousand miles a year on carbon bikes and don't use mudguards.

Some clubs insist on them

 

[snorri]

Mudguards can be taken off?
It's bound to upset the aerodynamics.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Some clubs insist on them

Quite right too. Getting showered with dirty water off another rider's back wheel is not a pleasure. In fact I'd regard it as downright anti-social to ride with someone else without mudguards so the rear rider gets soaked with road spray.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Mudguards can be taken off?
It's bound to upset the aerodynamics.

Indeed it has been proven bikes without mudguards are slower.