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I have an old on one 29er I use as my commuter but currently getting pretty filthy on my ride home.
I’ve got a rigid (surly krampus) fork.
What’s my best option?
How wide are your tyres?
Do you have a rear rack fitted?
I ran mudhugger rear and crud catcher xl at puffer and they were both exceptional. The mudhugger definitely seemed to be the rear guard of choice amongst the other riders.
Mudhugger on the rear has done the job for me. RRP on the front and I end up with splatter on my chest and below my knees but face stays clean.
If you mean actual long guards that keep your legs and feet dry too, then you can get SKS Bluemels 75 U's. They fit up to 65 mm tyres, or if bit less is enough, Gilles Berthoud stainless fenders are available in 60 mm width, which will be enough for a 2" tyre in most commuting conditions.
Have just fitted SKS U75 (long version) on my Mk1 Longitude (stock fork running 29ers with 2.2 Race Kings)
Very impressed with the rear guard and mounting hardware. Completely silent and sturdy. Front guard more challenging as these forks narrow quite steeply under the crown and the width of the mudguard necessitates keeping it low on the tyre or else touching the fork legs under the crown (unless happy making cutouts in guard). I have the front guard stay mounted mid-fork and there is just enough vibration in the rear of the guard to flex it and then catch tyre-buzz on front-lip of the guard. Bending the mounting bracket upwards at front of crown is helping. Maybe will epoxy a reinforcing strip of black plastic along the top of the guard. Am fairly convinced this issue is down to the shape of my fork and not the guard design. The rear is performing flawlessly.
Might be simpler to change your tyres for something in a 700x42 size.
Then you could fit these...
Another mudhugger vote - specially back end. For the front Crudcatcher and one of those neoprene jobs fro the forks works best.
Mudhuggers all the way!
You haven't experienced true joy til you've ridden through a big puddle with full guards.
Go long or go home.
My bike has an RRP xl on the front forks but had to put a crud catcher on the downtube as my front was getting covered in mud.
Back wheel is 27.5 and a Mudhugger works great. Never have to adjust it. It just works ace.
2 inch tyres and a rear rack in place.
Sounds like the sks u75 are what I need. I want the full dry foot and leg feeling 🙂
I brought up the rack thing because, should you require more coverage, you can fold these over the top of your rear mudguards and secure them to your rear rack with zip-ties:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F264495354270
Your u75's will be sufficient, but it's a handy bodge for those using a rear rack with other kinds of mudguards🤗
Sounds like the sks u75 are what I need.
If you do and want more coverage then be sure to get the ‘long’ version (1120mm rear) in order to reach the chainstay bridge. bike-discount.de seemed the best price iirc
Luckily I have three rear racks to choose from. The Alpkit one didn't want to play nicely with the U75 stays. I swapped it for a Tubus Disco. Better yet still used some gaffer tape where the guard stays were close to the rack stays. ymmv but be prepared to bend/cut/modify guard-stay/s if conflicting
I used the 65mm Bluemels on my 2018 Longitude to good effect, even on the OEM 27.5x2,8 tyres
Big fan of long 'proper' guards.
Big fan of Velo Orange 'fenders' that can be got in the UK (you'll have to google) but I think the widest 700c/29er they do is for 55mm tyres.
However, I've been experimenting with long guards on commuters and bikes that go into trains etc. I think there is some merit in trimming a bit off the length of the rear so if you reverse the bike into something (or drop it slightly when it's been hung vertically off a hook in trains and storage places that hold bikes vertically) it is the tyre not the guard that hits the solid thing. I've found a sweet spot in length that does this and still keeps me dry - the end of the mudguard finishing at about 10 O clock seems to work. Not as good for someone on your back wheel so not good for group riding but I think a benefit for a commuter or solo touring bike.
I had an SKS shockboard on a fargo fork for my El Mariachi, it was great for protecting mud splatter from the front, but it's not as good as proper full length mudguards for commuting protection