Why no mudguards for road bikes

[bonj2]

A standard bike for leisure and commuting should come pre-fitted with mudguards, pannier carriers, lights etc. Only the ultra light racing machines should be without mudguards. We see a current trend where newbies and novices ride with with laiden rucksacks on their backs getting soaked to the skin looking like complete plonkers. I want to see some common sense returning to the world of cycling.

It's fairly trivial to factor out the need for panniers from your commuting requirements.

 

[Smokin Joe]

You might get rained on only twelve times during your annual commute, but the number of times you will be riding on wet roads will hit three figures during that time. Mudguards are not to stop what's comming down, but what's already there.

 

[bonj2]

tends to run into the gutter where I live. Has the technology of building roads with the centre higher than the edges not caught on in wales yet?

 

[Smokin Joe]

tends to run into the gutter where I live. Has the technology of building roads with the centre higher than the edges not caught on in wales yet?

You don't need standing water to get a spray up your back, you saucepan.

Just a wet surface.

 

[Madcyclist]

I'm also very pleased with the Pearson Touche i bought a couple of weeks ago fitted out with SKS guards and rack. I bought the bike for commuting and winter rides I couldn't stand the discomfort of a sweaty back and rucksack. Since riding the Touche my return commute is now anything from the standard 9.5 miles to 45 miles now that i no longer have to use the rucksack. Ironically I haven't been caught out in the rain since I got it.

The Touche is highly recommended, handles superbly and real pleasure to ride. My average commuting speed has raised by 1.5 mph over the Giant SCR I was riding.

 

[velocipede]

You will need mudguards for winter riding, but, would you put guards on a road bike? Would you put a roof rack on a Bentley continental?

Then again, would you put an Elephant on a Cervélo

A simple story should help focus one's mind. Cycling to work one morning, I passed a number of parked coaches. As I cleared the last coach, I went through a puddle. Unfortunately this was no ordinary puddle, it was a puddle produced by the coach emptying its onboard toilet onto the road!! OMG, the smell was horrendous - akin to facilities found at some Premiership grounds after final whistle x10. Fancy turning up to work covered in that - a wet arse and face, are you really that hard!?!

Luckily, I had my trusty SKS Mudguards on!! And yep, and they're staying on!!

Nuff said.

 

[bonj2]

Then again, would you put an Elephant on a Cervélo

A simple story should help focus one's mind. Cycling to work one morning, I passed a number of parked coaches. As I cleared the last coach, I went through a puddle. Unfortunately this was no ordinary puddle, it was a puddle produced by the coach emptying its onboard toilet onto the road!! OMG, the smell was horrendous - akin to facilities found at some Premiership grounds after final whistle x10. Fancy turning up to work covered in that - a wet arse and face, are you really that hard!?!

Luckily, I had my trusty SKS Mudguards on!! And yep, and they're staying on!!

Nuff said.

how low will buses stoop? rank.

 

[ColinJ]

[quote name='swee'pea99']I remember reading in one of Red Ken's missives designed to get the populace onto two wheels that if you commute every day of the year in London, you'll only get rained on I think it was 12 times.
[/QUOTE]
I read the same thing when I went to university in Manchester and that is one of the UK's wettest cities. I walked 2 km to uni and 2 km back twice a day Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays and once on Wednesday, 30 weeks a year for 3 years and I only got soaked a handful of times! I didn't even bother buying a proper rain coat. Ken was probably right.

 

[bonj2]

While riding home in the pouring rain I watched with some interest the bead of water formed around the middle of my front tyre, at the top of the revolution.

I keep telling you bonj, you're not riding fast enough.

no, on the contrary, i'm riding TOO fast. I get out of the way before the water has risen as high as me.

 

[tdr1nka]

Just to put the cat among the pidgeons for a mo.

Why don't I hear that mudguards are unnecessary on motorbikes and other vehicles as well?

 

[snorri]

You will need mudguards for winter riding,

Would it not be better for the Londoners to put the 'guards on at the end of May to give some protection through the wetter summer months:?:
http://www.visitlondon.com/weather/

 

[summerdays]

Last week I was doing the Coast to Coast with Mr Summerdays, and one day was very wet.... now he has a rack but no mud-guards, and reckons that the rack protects his back. Well it does at low speeds, but as his speed picked up, so stuff started hitting his back. OK the rack did protect him from the worst of it.

Then I also discovered that I had to hang back as I was starting to get covered... it got to the point where every downhill I had to go first.

That is my main gripe with people without mudguards ... you might not care what you look like but I don't want the stuff off your back wheel in my face.

 

[bonj2]

I've absolutely no idea why they're not necessary on motorbikes, I don't ride a motorbike or know anything about them so wouldn't really be able to comment.

 

[Danny]

This is what I love about CC. Someone can make innocent first post about mudguards and get 95 replies

 

[swee'pea99]

96