SKS Chromoplastics road mudguards – Installation headache – help

Got a set of these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sks-chromoplastic-road-mudguard-set/

and I’m trying to fit them to a Trek frame/fork which has mudguard eyelets.

I’ve only worked on the front guard so far, thinking it would be the easier of the two, and have spent 4 hours swearing in the back room over the last 2 days. I can’t work out how to attach the guard to the fork crown. I have 105 brakes and on the back of the crown is what looks to be a threaded hole to which the brake is attached at the front. None of the bolts supplied with the kit (m4 I think) are big enough for this hole and I got the next size up today and they’re too big.

Any ideas?

Regrettably I can’t return the things as I’ve cut the stays to length (thinking that would be harder than bolting the thing to the frame!)

Apologies for unashamed road content!

That metal loop sticking up out the top of the guard needs to go between the brake caliper and the fork. You may need to bend/cut it to fit.

I had to cut the top off mine as it fouled the bottom of the headset cup.

All you need to to do is remove the brake from the fork and sandwich the guard between the two
Or you can get a new nut that will allow you fit a bolt as you have tried

The standard nut in the crown is not Ment to have a bolt screwed into the back of it as you have found

http://www.ison-distribution.com/english/product.php?part=BSIDSFN

Also, you dont use the bolts supplied, justuse the one thats already on your fork

There’s something sold by ProblemSolvers that’ll help you mount it the way you want. I’ll try and post a link when I’m on an proper computer.

Edit: orangeboy, that’s the one!

And I agree, fitting these guards is the worst bit of bicycle spannering Ive ever had to do

Great guards, but an utter pain in the gonads to fit.

This video might help:

Main bit of advice I can offer is buy a large selection of allen bolts and washers/spacers from your local fasteners.

and, they break quite quickly…

and, they break quite quickly…

Really? Got them on two bikes and they’ve been excellent.
Seem pretty indestructible – how have you broken them??

Haha, thanks for the replies. So this thing needs to go between brake and fork then? Instructions pic shows it behind the fork.

Don’t mind having to bend/cut it (well I do really!), I’ve already been filing it to fit behind so am resigned to the fact these need modding 👿

You are my mrs flap jack .. Never broken a set in 15 years my self and she destroys them . Says er foot catches it…

Fitting chromoplastics is like doing balljoints on a car – once you did it once and realise how rediculously easy it is if you understand the objective rather than need a step by step walk through instruction – youll wonder why folks pay to have them fitted!

SKS guards break when the temperature gets low in my experience; A ride in the -1 to +2 kind of temps plus a wee knock was enough to kill mine.

I tried fitting mine between brake and fork and it just wouldn’t go. Ended up using that fender bolt thing and mounting it on the back of the fork. Needed that and a bunch of washers too. Once on though it’s been great.

Edit: … coincidentally it was a Trek frame and fork that I was fitting.

Fitting SKS Chromoplastics is a bike spannering rite of passage. Like skinning your knuckles on a chain ring, fitting white bar tape with grubby hands or stripping a BB thread. Once you’ve done it wrong, you’ll do it right next time.

Once they’re on though, they should be rattle free (if you put nice bits of sticky backed foam betwixt guard and frame) and will keep your arse (and the fella behind you’s face) dry.

If you really fancy a challenge, stick them on something like a cross bike / super commuter with disc brakes. Nuclear physics level stuff.

A ride in the -1 to +2 kind of temps plus a wee knock was enough to kill mine.

Not mine. Commuted through last winter with mine.
Snow, ice and temperatures below -10°C.

Only a Rivendell mechanic would beeswax the mudguard bolts. 😀

always the rear, gets rattled to pieces. I’m of the ‘keeping the power on over pot-holes etc’ frame of mind and I weigh over 100kg, and I use narrow tyres pumped up v hard. It’s a testament to the strength of the Thorn frame that it’s entirely untroubled by this behaviour.

conversely, the ones on mrs flap_jack’s bike last forever.

If you really fancy a challenge, stick them on something like a cross bike / super commuter with disc brakes.

Admittedly I’ve only done the rear so far because I ran out of whisky.

Right I’m getting there now – removed the bolt from the back of the crown and you’re right, it is an allen bolt and not designed to accept a threaded bolt into it! With this removed, how do I get the brake off? It could well be seized on so I’ve applied some WD40. Have tried knocking it through gently but no success. Should it just slide out?

Both mine and mrs trs bikes are mudguarded and racked you just bend the stay to suit.

A ride in the -1 to +2 kind of temps plus a wee knock was enough to kill mine.

Never happened to any of mine with numerous pairs over the last 25 years.

Top tip for installing the front one or the back one for that matter. Remove the mudguard’s riveted on mount by carefully drilling the 2 alloy rivets out. Fit the guard with the stays and hold the guard in place under the fork. Then mark 2 pairs of dots either side of the fork crown on the guard. Remove guard and drill 4 small holes (4mm) through the guard on the marks. Then use 2 zip ties through the holes and over the fork crown. No need to mess with the brakes and it will be rock solid. Used that method for the last 8 years or so on all my winter bikes never a problem.

I’ve got a set arriving tomorrow for my Tripster fitted with a Tubus Airy rear rack and discs,

Thankfully i’ve fitted loads of them in the shop to a number of bikes, some with discs, some without, some with racks, some without and i’ve a workshop at home wi a small lathe where i can turn down some TI spacers to suit incase i need to space the mudguard fixing points out further….or i may just lose the rag completely and say “**** it” and put up wi a wet arse for the next 6 months.

Spacers are for poofs

I’d read before that thermoplastics are a pain to fit but I fitted some today and it was a 30 minute job from new. Would have been quicker if I hadn’t of dropped one of the nuts and had to turn the garage upside down searching for it 👿

So trail rat?…..you’re a bender at heart? 😀

I’ll try that but i have an additional problem as i currently run 28mm Clement Strada Lgg road tyres on the Tripster as above, but i also occasionally run Clement X’Plor MSO 40mm tyres for off road duties and Clement X’Plor USH 35mm tyres for my usual mix of on road/off road explorations which may make the mudguard clearance issue rather tricky to circumvent, i’ve ordered the 45mm chromoplastics so i hope they’ll accommodate all tyre sizes otherwise i’ll bin the idea of running full mudguards.

I’d read before that thermoplastics are a pain to fit but I fitted some today and it was a 30 minute job from new.

Well clearly you’ve not done it right then! 😆

Somafunk – ti spacers on a Tripster ATR. It’s the right and proper thing to do 🙂

I actually had to fashion some extensions to the mudguard fixings on the rear on mine – and I’ve got the lovely, low pro TRP Spyre brakes on there, so it’s hardly like I had to splay the stays that much. Still – it all works a treat and there’s about 1250 miles of rattle free, dry arse riding so far.

Somafunk – have you seen http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/north-shore-billet-fender-mount/rp-prod51309:

Might save you a job and look quite tidy IMHO

Cheers oxymoron, they do look a neat solution and i’ll keep those in mind if it looks lie an easier fit using them. I’ll need to have a dry run wi my Ortelib panniers in place and see if it’s possible to fit the chromoplastics using the standard rear fixing points , as you can see the Airy rack clears the disc brake by no more than a rizla papers width as it is but i’ve got some 10mm dia ti rod so i may be able to machine a thin spacer or two.

The trick for front guards is to mount the front bracket immediately behind the brake so that the additional washers you will have removed keep the bracket from fouling the headset. Most pictures have this bracket behind the front fork, but that is only really possible with traditional nuts or Sheldon’s mudguard nut. Then as you tighten the rear hidden brake bolt, lift the mudguard up to increase clearance by a few mm. Fitted a set to a CAAD8 in about an hour yesterday. Be careful about angle of the mudguard as it passes under the fork bridge. Too shallow and it will rub behind the fork. Too steep and it will rub in front! Get it just right.

As for cutting the stays – get a very nice pair of cable cutters to do the job. So much easier than a hacksaw. But measure twice and cut once.

SKS guards break when the temperature gets low in my experience; A ride in the -1 to +2 kind of temps plus a wee knock was enough to kill mine.

Did it break at the rear bridge clamp? They all fail there eventually. My last pair managed two winters. I’m not convinced it is the cold, just the tension and vibration. My Tortec ones have lasted.

When they break, refitting is easy as the stays remain on the bike 😀

I managed to fit Chromoplastics to my Langster, and they’re well known for having naff all clearance.

It took a few extra holes and some cable ties but I got there.

If the OP cant fit mudguards I wouldnt suggest trying to do anything else mechanical to a bike !

Would have been quicker if I hadn’t of dropped one of the nuts and had to turn the garage upside down searching for it

+2 🙁

There is a home bodge to doing this. You need to run a tap through the sunken nut on the back of the brake calliper bolt. This removes the shoulder in the bolt but leaves the flat edges for tightening with an allen key. Fit the brake calliper as normal then use a cut down disc brake calliper bolt to mount the mudguard to the back of the sunken nut. I have done this on 2 Genesis Equilibriums and will be doing it to my new one as soon as my guards arrive.

SKS guards break when the temperature gets low in my experience; A ride in the -1 to +2 kind of temps plus a wee knock was enough to kill mine.

Not the experience I’ve had with 7 years off commuting all year round and only needed two sets of guards in that time. The front one broke at the fork mounting point after a couple of years. Coldest ride last year was -10 but regularly ride 20 mile each way commute in sub zero temps through winter.

I’ve found trimming the top dome off the plastic bit the stay slides through makes fitting a whole lot quicker and save a lot of trial and error. I then file the stay down so it’s flat and smooth. Makes it much easier to get the guard very close to the tyre.

“I’ve found trimming the top dome off the plastic bit the stay slides through makes fitting a whole lot quicker and save a lot of trial and error. I then file the stay down so it’s flat and smooth. Makes it much easier to get the guard very close to the tyre. “

i dont fit those plastic bits.

fit mudguard – get it close to tire – trim excess stay off with dremel.

Does anyone have a source for sensibly priced Sheldon nuts?

SJS want £15 for a pair. The also sell this kit:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/gilles-berthoud-gilles-berthoud-fixing-bracket-set-for-rear-fender-on-brake-bridge-prod28520/

Which looks like it contains one for £5. Has anyone tried it? Any other ideas?

I’ve found trimming the top dome off the plastic bit the stay slides through makes fitting a whole lot quicker and save a lot of trial and error.

Bah that definitely qualifies as cheating 😉

That loop on the top of the rear guard – I just used a couple of zip ties to fit that to the seat stay brace on my CAAD-X.
Rear was fine, but couldn’t stop the front from vibrating against the tyre when braking.
(so I used a different bike in the wet 🙂 )