Are mud guards a fashion faux par on a mountain bike?

I noticed at the weekend they were few and far between on a incredibly wet weekend.
Also Donks post on the Rowath thread:

OMG
Mortified
cannot believe it
wow.
a crud guard?
in this day and age?

I have always had one on my bike, am I a disgrace?

I have always had one on my bike, am I a disgrace?

I’ve got one on my bike too which NBT (who that post was aimed at) has seen me riding. It was a joke, I just forgot to put the 🙂

Crud guard and neoguard meant I didnt have to wear glasses in yesterdays monsoon conditions.

rear guards pretty much all look shit and don’t work.

Absolute necessity here in Glasgow. Other than 1 week in April, the trails are ALWAYS very muddy and wet. ‘Function’ over ‘form’ for me.

Thanks for making me feel better Donk. It did occur to me whilst out at the weekend that hardly anyone had mudguards preferring the clean lines of the bike and epic mud splatter look. I just like less mud on me.

Yes, front all the time, back when it’s muddy and my home made neo guard is going back on permanently soon as they just work so dam well.

Sod the way they look when it’s muddy, i prefer not to have mud in my eye, or grinding my arse (or wearing away shorts etc… stuff doesn’t last long otherwise in this lovely peak district grit!).

Can you see the mudguards when you riding? Does it bother you if you can?

Forget the idiots who would prefer to get back to nature by eating dog/sheep/cow poop & just get out and ride (within minimal splatter).

Always use them when conditions warrant it. Don’t care what it looks like. Rear guard obviously works a lot better on a ht, than a full sus although keep meaning to try one of those Zefal guards that fix to your chainstays rather than miles from the wheel on the seatpost.

Dont run guards and get no muddier than those I ride with that do, just wear waterproof shorts as they do too

Was riding all weekend without any form of mud-deflection-device. I got very muddy and wet, however, I looked proper gnar and cool and people were not spitting at me in the street. 😀

votchy, how do waterproof shorts help prevent water/mud/animal poo from the front wheel going in your eyes/mouth?

stumpy01 – Member

votchy, how do waterproof shorts help prevent water/mud/animal poo from the front wheel going in your eyes/mouth?

Crud guards are awful at that, too.

If it’s wet I ride with a F&R crud guard. Rear one also keeps the dropper post piston clean, so the seals will last longer….

IME
Fenders and neoguards/tube and ziptie are ace for preventing assorted crap getting in your eyes, still wear glasses but I reckon 95% of spray is prevented reaching your face.

Crud guards not as effective but make the difference between a wet arse and a full on hours long mud enema, even with water proof shorts.

you still end up covered in mud but your eyes and the more sensitive parts of your nether regions will get less attack from gritty water.

Northwind – who mentioned crud guards? The title used “etc” & the first line says “are mud guards a fashion faux pas….”

votchy made no mention of crud guards specifically, nor did I.
But, fwiw I agree with you to some extent. That’s why I got a Mucky Nutz fender bender thingy, although it’s a bit of a squeeze on my Reba. Ok on Fox though.

stumpy01 – Member

Northwind – who mentioned crud guards?

Me!

run a neoguard/homemade ziptie and tube all year but nothing else.

i figure that that type of mudguard is v effective at keeping you being able to see while being indestructable and not changing the look of the bike.

Although i dont like the look of mud guards i would put up with a rear one if i found one that worked. Previous experiance shows me that all of mine get destroyed after 3-6 months with snaped clamps, slipping clamps, etc etc. experiance also says that the downtube mounted crud guards do the sum total of bugger all!

Mrs R has this on her camber http://www.zefal.com/fr/garde-boue/124-no-mud.html.

I use a crudcather on the down tube and a neogaurd – perfect for keeping the mud off my Prescription Oakly Jawbones 🙂

Neoguard throws loads of crap straight at your fork seals – bad idea IMO. The best solution (which also looks ok incidentally) is that Mucky Nutz Fender Bender (or homemade version) IMO.

I have a Marsh guard, good thing and a bit bigger than the mucky nutz one.

I prefer the looks of my bike without, but when it’s this wet, I prefer to ride with 🙂

I have a crud catcher on the front and a substantial post mounted thing on the back. Crud thing is close to useless but does have a enough impact for me not to bother taking it off. The rear makes a big difference but it is still damage limitation, one major drawback of the rear is that if it gets knocked at a funny angle and you don’t notice you look like a right nob with it sticking out 45 degrees.

I keep moving my mate’s crud catcher, he still hasn’t figured it’s me after months of it

I have a crud catcher on the front and a substantial post mounted thing on the back. Crud thing is close to useless

Supplement the front crud guard with a neoguard if you not willing to use a proper front mudguard like a SKS shockboard. Neither IME work well separately, but both together they are almost as good as a shockboard (but don’t look as in-your-face)

Shockboard looks better than a crudcatcher IMO, definately better than the RRP. Unfortunately the mountings are terrible but once you add a couple of cable ties, all good.

Inner tube/pissflap/neoguardesque thing here to keep the crap out of my eyes. Couldn’t care less about the rest of it. Waterproof (ha!) shorts if it’s properly wet.

I’ve done the rear crudguard thing in the past. They don’t stay put, they break, they don’t actually work that well even when they’re straight, and on top of all that, they look crap too.

The old 3-bolt crudcatcher could be relied on to stay in place, if fitted right, and was pretty effective. Then they launched the single-bolt one, which works OK once fitted right- unfortunately fitting it right needed a lathe and a soldering iron. (maybe they finally work now, the original revised version which was definately going to fix all the problems, definately didn’t)

Shame, as the blade is great but the mount is hopeless.

The Cycraguard one is OK but ugly and very fiddly.

Couldn’t care less whether my “rig” looks sufficiently “rad” – if it’s wet and muddy (which it usually is) the crudcatchers (front and rear) are on.

But then, I ride with three chainrings and flat pedals so I don’t suppose I count as a “proper” mountain biker…

Couldn’t care less whether my “rig” looks sufficiently “rad” – if it’s wet and muddy (which it usually is) the crudcatchers (front and rear) are on.

But then, I ride with three chainrings and flat pedals so I don’t suppose I count as a “proper” mountain biker…

I thought only proper mountain bikers rode flats?!

Cycraguards front and back plus a Mucky Nuts Fender Bender for me but then my drivetrain is 3×8 so people on folding bikes laugh at me.

I ride with cruds and muds as I live in the great Cheshire Sponge. Even in baking sun, it’s still muddy and wet.

I quite like the look of them.

I have the Zefal No Mud rear fender that stumpy & redfordrider mention. Its by far the best rear fended that I have ever used.

Its not as convenient to install and remove as the ones that clamp to the seatpost, but I can mount it to the seatstays on my full suspension bike in a minute or two. It mounts close to the tire, unlike the seatpost mounted ones that have to stick up at a 45 degree angle.

I just wear clear glasses and deal with a muddy bum. But then I have a 5 and can’t afford to attach anything that would make it look even more ridiculous.

Mudguards? Who’s looking at mudguards with views like this.

does anyone know who makes a rear guard which attaches to the v brake bosses?
I don’t have v brake bosses but figured I can do something with p clips and blu tack.

Full sus 29er and a fully inserted reverb are making rear guard fitting a bit more challenging than it used to be.

does anyone know who makes a rear guard which attaches to the v brake bosses?

Decathlon do

I don’t have v brake bosses but figured I can do something with p clips and blu tack.

You can get guards which attach to seatstays – the zefal one as above, and I think madison do one?

Zefal one looks perfect, cheers

Couldn’t care less whether my “rig” looks sufficiently “rad” – if it’s wet and muddy (which it usually is) the crudcatchers (front and rear) are on.

But then, I ride with three chainrings and flat pedals so I don’t suppose I count as a “proper” mountain biker… +1
Mine have been on all year, as this summer has been so wet and muddy.