The not bring able to attach guards and panniers to a road bike did concern me. I found a few threads on other forums suggesting it was possible using p-clips and some guards will apparently fit in the tightest of spaces.
True but at £500 a lot of bikes are designed with it in mind.
Agreed, and anything’s possible, but one more thing to have to figure out how to get them to fit Vs something with propper mounts and long drop brakes and decent clerances.
Put it this way, the raceblades on my winter road bike work acceptably well, they need tweekeing every so often, they rub a little bit, and they need aligning if I’m not fastidiously carefull whilst fixing a puncture. BUT I don’t even notice the Chromoplastics on my commuter are there. The difference being, commuting by bike is a faff already, the last thing you need is to add faff and discomfort unececeraly! A reliable bike, comfortable, thats nice and enjoyable to ride with guards.
Having access to a rigid MTB, a tourer/commuter, and a road bike with guards, the road bike is always my last option unless I actualy want to ride it (i.e never in Febuary!) .