Having had my first muddy ride of the Autumn/Winter today, my thoughts turned to mud ‘protection’.

What do people recommend for the front end to keep mud out of your face (not so worried about the back really)? Got a current generation Crud Catcher kicking around but like the more minimal look of the Bender Fender if it’s functional enough?

Other options?

slainte ❓ rob

Crud catcher and neoguard together work great!

Crudcatcher or Cycraguard on the back (not a fan of the latest Crudcatcher’s awful mount, though they work well once modified).

Shockboard on the front, or Bender Fender but tbh the Bender isn’t up to full on mud. You can complement it with a crudcatcher but it’s still not as good as a proper mudguard, so I figure why fit 2 in order to get worse results than you can get from one.

Tried a Neoguard on the front and that worked well, Crudcatcher on the down tube hit and miss, Crudcatcher on the rear more irritation than good as no matter how tight it was fastened it would rotate to the side letting the spray go up my back.
I have a Fender Bender fitted now and works nearly as well as the Neoguard but looks a lot tidier.

I’ve got a Fender Bender with a Crudcatcher and the Fender Bender works better than the neoguard did, also with the crudcatcher

was happy enough with just a neogurad

A mate I ride with has a bender fender, I have a neoguard and a crudcatcher. He gets less mud in the face than I do and less mud round the fork seals. Same frame and forks too.

I’ve got an sks shockblade on the front, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever bought for the bike 🙂

None, can’t stand them. Rattly, problematic, ineffectual. Just man up and ride on. IMO of course.

coffeeking – Member

None, can’t stand them. Rattly, problematic, ineffectual.

Good ones are none of the above tbh. Especially for the front, not sure of any way to “man up” about having eyes full of mud…

Made a front fender out of a large plastic milk carton.. Fits well, does a good job of stopping crap coming up into my eyes and cos my son drinks milk like it’s going out of business, I had an empty one lying around..
My bikes at work just now but can take a pic tonight if you like..

dont run any, they’re just something else to clog up with mud. all that extra weight an’ all

Crud Guard at the rear, cycraguard up front, and going to fit a MuckyNutz style shorty front mudguard made from a milk carton like althepal.

Don’t care what it looks like; helps prevent getting so covered in mud, shit etc and stuff in your face, eyes, nose and mouth.

surely i’m missing the point of mountain biking then. at one with nature etc…
mind to be fair, most of my rides are done from home so no muddy car to worry about 😳

I like mud in my face all part of the fun surely? they look crap too!

I like mud in my face all part of the fun surely? they look crap too!

on my wavelength then! 😆

mud in the eye fun, and “your look” an important factor when MTB-ing?
LOL 😀

SKS shockguard for a really good front mudguard, if your cack handed and break the mount, zipties do the job just as well.
For a better or more subtle look, a combination of crud catcher and neoguard work well – either is useless on their own (IMHO of course)
For the rear, if you have canti mounts then decathlons mudguard is the best I’ve used, and zefal have copied it but put more adaptable mounts to make fitting less restricted.
Crud catcher or SKS rear are all much of a muchness in the performance stakes otherwise IME.

I like mud in my face all part of the fun surely? they look crap too!

I’d rather my bike looks crap than get some animal shit in me eyes/nose/mouth, tbh.

Never had a problem with mudguards. Stange that some people are so vehemently opposed to them tbh.

Maybe they weren’t breast-fed as babies or something like that. Maybe they never felt they met their father’s approval.

Who knows. It’s a funny old world…

oh get you 😛

Bender fender is really good. Your legs will get muddy but it stop the stuff that hits you in the face which is what matters.

If you have a hardtail then most of the rear guards are good. I liked the old cycraguard because it was QR so you could move it with your saddle.
On a full suss you end up having to set them so far away from the wheel as to be of very little use.

I’ve just stuck a set of Topeak defender M3/M33 on, I really like the fact that the front one actually fits into the bottom of the headtube, means it moves with the direction of the wheel as opposed to being stuck to the frame.

They seem to be doing the job at the minute.

None at the minute but I have a downtube crud thing I might put on if it gets that bad. Mud in the eyes/on the goggles is annoying.

Don’t run guards but when it gets really muddy I often wear goggles and goretex shorts. Nothing to worry about then.

Neoguard & Cycraguard work really well for me. The Neoguard gives a nice buzz each time I max out the travel on my forks too. Never seen the point in rear mud guards as they do nothing to improve performance at all IMO.

Don’t like rear guards but they do save your shorts/saddles.

Currently running old style (2nd gen.) Crud front and rear.

Never felt the need for them. I always wear glasses to keep the mud out my eyes – I don’t mind it going elsewhere.

SKS Chromoplastic 35mm + mudflap

i wear a t shirt instead of me normal string vest

Big fat THE on the front of both my mtbs.

Presently got a proper old-skool Crud-Guard (with the stays) on the back of my hardtail and a Decathlon thing that mounts on the brake-bosses on my Kona.

DSC_0027 by ir_bandito, on Flickr

DSC_0093 by ir_bandito, on Flickr

Say what you like, but I’ve got a dry @ss and no sh!t on my face.

wear eye protection and keep me trap shut (you should try that elf!) to keep the crap out, only way i’d see them being effective is on a commuter and you had to wear the same clothes all day at work