Mudguards for road bike

Domane

Been doing without mudguards on my Trek Domane since I bought it 18 months ago as I think they take away from the bike. However the recent lousy wet weather and mucky wet spray up my back has changed my opinion somewhat. I've looked at the "ass saver" types and don't think they'd do much. Then I looked at Crud and SKS Raceblades which might to do a better job. However I'm a bit concerned that the fixings on the forks might slip causing the mudguards to hit the wheels and unpleasant things might happen, ie get caught in the spokes and I go off the bike (worst case scenario).

Any opinions on a good set of mudguards for a road bike, ie one of the two above or another option? Thanks

07Lapierre

Raceblades!

Or better still...a winter bike.

Something like this..

http://www.dolan-bikes.com/road/road-bikes/dolan-preffisio-aluminium-road-bike.html

bikedude

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/sks-raceblade-long-2-mudguards/rp-prod141522

Those are on the expensive side, but they are a good option if you don't have the frame mounts.

Have mine on the comuter for 1year and they are still ok.

triggermortis

I've had cruds and SKS on two bikes and both have good and bad points. The long SKS ones I had were a better guard as they were wider and rattled less. They also had a flap at the end of the front one which keeps your feet dry, but acts like a weather vane in windy conditions. The mounts are fiddly to set up and I had 2 break so I had to buy replacements. If you need to remove the wheel then the set up needs to rejigged when you refit as the mounts are on the axle.
The SKS ones are narrower but as long as you fit the little brush parts, are quite solid and there is a wider section that protects the front mech that might need trimming to get a good fit. The mounts sit on the stays with rubber bands and you should protect the frame as these will rub.
Overall I prefer the SKS ones

cython

I've had Cruds, and to be honest replaced them with Raceblades. The cruds I found very fiddly, and while the coverage they provided around the front mech was good, the stays were quite flexible, and on rough roads they spent a lot of time making contact with the tyres (admittedly I was running 24s, but I didn't really want to go smaller on that bike). I did note yesterday though that due to the rear guard not covering the front of the rear tyre, my legs got a lot of additional spray in the wet, but I mind that less than my back.

If you want just something for your back, I'd say the raceblades (or XLs of same depending on your tyre size) would provide more than enough cover, and the front does a decent job of keeping spray off your feet also. Raceblade longs would provide more cover again, but as noted they are pricy. If you want something to keep the bike cleaner as well, then you're looking at the cruds or the raceblade longs, in that order.

H.E. Pennypacker

bikedude wrote: »

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/sks-raceblade-long-2-mudguards/rp-prod141522

Those are on the expensive side, but they are a good option if you don't have the frame mounts.

Have mine on the comuter for 1year and they are still ok.

I've them as well and find them very good. I have an issue on one bike (Canyon AL SLX) where the caliper mounted brackets don't have enough clearance between the bracket and tyre when using 25mm GP4000S. They're grand on 23mm GP4000S and just about ok with 25MM 4 Seasons

jon1981

Be wary on the raceblades (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/sks-raceblade-mudguards/rp-prod25796 ). I have them , rear fits fine over a 23mm conti tyre. No amount of bending or flexing will get the front on. Just impossible. Bike is a Cube Attempt (now Peleton range).

darkvalley

I've the Trek Domane too and one of the reasons for going with it was that it comes with eyelets for mudguards.
I bought a set of PDW full metal fenders but could only get the front to fit with the bontrager 25mm tyre that came with the bike. There is plenty of clearance at the front and indeed I reckon it would work with a 28mm tyre.
The back however has almost no clearance. I also tried it with a rear SKS Olympic racer mudguard I have on another bike but no joy. Having searched the internet for a solution all I could find were people who could get mudguards to fit with 23mm tyres.
So I have gone with a BBB roadprotector on the rear for the moment. I've since changed to conti 4seasons tyres which I'm told run smaller than most so may try again with them if I ever get the energy and motivation to try the mudguard again

This works for me as I consider the front mudguard more important than the back as it keeps the water off my feet. Inelegant and expensive but effective!!
However a bit strange that Trek would design a bike that has mudguard eyelets but not capable of taking mudguards with the stock tyres.

jamesd

I'm thinking of getting these: http://www.oakhamcyclecentre.co.uk/pages/mudguards-bbb-slimguard-dfd-22

My winter bike is a felt f 95 with a rear 25 conti 4 season and I tried crude but no room, I've gone like the last poster with the clip on bbb rear, it's fine for protecting me but not nice on group cycles for the guy behind me.

I am wondering if I go with the guard above and fit it only from the rear brake back so not to for the front piece of the rear guard as I have no room for it to fit. Is it still too high for to protect the guy behind me ?

Domane

darkvalley wrote: »

I've the Trek Domane too and one of the reasons for going with it was that it comes with eyelets for mudguards.
I bought a set of PDW full metal fenders but could only get the front to fit with the bontrager 25mm tyre that came with the bike. There is plenty of clearance at the front and indeed I reckon it would work with a 28mm tyre.
The back however has almost no clearance. I also tried it with a rear SKS Olympic racer mudguard I have on another bike but no joy. Having searched the internet for a solution all I could find were people who could get mudguards to fit with 23mm tyres.
So I have gone with a BBB roadprotector on the rear for the moment. I've since changed to conti 4seasons tyres which I'm told run smaller than most so may try again with them if I ever get the energy and motivation to try the mudguard again

This works for me as I consider the front mudguard more important than the back as it keeps the water off my feet. Inelegant and expensive but effective!!
However a bit strange that Trek would design a bike that has mudguard eyelets but not capable of taking mudguards with the stock tyres.

Thanks to all for the replies and especially to my fellow Domane rider. Yes it's a bit stupid for Trek to provide eyelets for mudguards that won't fit with the standard tyres.

Wishbone Ash

triggermortis wrote: »

...The SKS ones are narrower but as long as you fit the little brush parts, are quite solid and there is a wider section that protects the front mech that might need trimming to get a good fit. The mounts sit on the stays with rubber bands and you should protect the frame as these will rub...

I think you intended to say Cruds not SKS there trigger.

CramCycle

bikedude wrote: »

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/sks-raceblade-long-2-mudguards/rp-prod141522

Those are on the expensive side, but they are a good option if you don't have the frame mounts.

Have mine on the comuter for 1year and they are still ok.

They are cheaper in most LBSs, I think CSS had them on sale for 40 over christmas, and I know I picked mine up for under 590 from Fitzcycles in Stillorgan.

jon1981 wrote: »

Be wary on the raceblades (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/sks-raceblade-mudguards/rp-prod25796 ). I have them , rear fits fine over a 23mm conti tyre. No amount of bending or flexing will get the front on. Just impossible. Bike is a Cube Attempt (now Peleton range).

I found no issues with the raceblades and they were easy peasy to fit, on one bike the fit wasn't great initially but I was able to adjust them easily enough where they grip the bike to fix this.

Seaswimmer

I usually use ordinary full length mudguards and a set of these.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/p-clips-rubber-coated-black-per-pair-prod24089/

No rattling or rubbing however once they are on or off its not that quick to shift them.

More a semi permanent solution.

I must say I find the range of all sorts of spares from SJS cycles very comprehensive. You can get almost anything..

hesker

So I splashed out on a set of the BBB slimguard.

http://bbbcycling.com/accessories/fenders/BFD-22

http://bbbcycling.com/videos/slimguard-fenders/

I have a road bike with fairly tight clearances.

I found them easy to fit except for the section just behind the seat tube. I managed to get it to fit by using a long recessed brake nut. If anyone wants the details shout and I'll add the detail here.

hesker

Double post