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We are all (most of us) enjoying some respite from the incessant rain of recent times and the cold snap has meant that a lot of the mud is also currently frozen much of the time.
This unfortunately is unlikely to last, so who dons mudguards and who braves it and tests Persils 30 degree wash claims to the limit?
I wish i didn't use guards as they do look crap, though i hate the wet ass feeling so I run them.
So who does and who doesn't?
Guards all winter.
Why do they look crap? Why do a Santa Cruz do Heckler in orange!
I use them, couldn't care less how they look once I'm riding.
To pick a wet soggy ass and filthy stripe up your back, over your bike not looking quite as good is mad IMO.
Guard here for the rear wheel.
It isn't just about dirt, in this cold weather the last thing you want is a wet bum.
full length guards on my road bike and crud catchers on MTB all winter and all last summer !
Mudguards front and back here, olus the years best discovery, one of those neoguard neoprene fork brace to crown things. So simple but very good. No more crap flicked up into your face by the front wheel.
second Rich's comments above
Rickmeister they are fantastic, i agree, no more spray in the face, don't know why i did not get one sooner!
Guards for me also, agree that in the cold last think you want is to be wet.
Just curious as none of the guys I ride with, bar a front crud catcher here and there use guards, was starting to think I was a bit of a jey....
But appears I am normal and they are the wierd ones 😀
its not a fashion parade. Mudguards all the way.
I don't bother. Getting wet and muddy is all part of it isn't it? Anyway, proper winter clothes keep me warm and dry. It's just never occurred to me to buy mudguards.
From riding with others who do use mudguards, they don't seem to work very well. They still seem to get wet and muddy. Guards aren't going to keep you dry from the stuff falling from the sky either.
Guards aren't perfect but they do stop a the stream of water that flys off your wheel aimed at your bum.
I hate guards. Not sure why, but i just do. So no i don't have them, as Gingerflash said, all part of the fun!
"the stream of water that flys off your wheel aimed at your bum."
Funny thing is, i rarely notice that. It might be because I wear quite thick water-repellent tights and bibshorts underneath as well, so my backside is quite well protected.
What Gingerflash said. They make it more faff to clean your bike too.
Decent guards do work. I like to go into pubs during and after rides - its nice not to have mud all over you when you do this. Makes cleaning the bike easier as it is not so dirty.
IMO riding without guards is just daft - why be wetter and muddier than you need to be.
I'm with GF. Plus I never found guards that worked properly (you only have to get a bit of mud on you and they're pointless anyway). In for a penny, in for a pound 'n' all that. I also found that its more satisfying cleaning loads of gunk off rather than just a spattering, when you've been slogging for hours due to the soggyness.
All the people I know with rear mudgaurds seem to ride with them 'dressed' to the left or right so 90% of the time they do **** all other than give the owners something to straighten up when they stop.
Get the right winter/wet clobber on then you won't need one.
So there!
Without getting muddy is ace proper clothing stops you getting cold and wet not guards.
I never ride off-road with mudguards - never seen the point really
All the people I know with rear mudgaurds seem to ride with them 'dressed' to the left or right so 90% of the time they do **** all other than give the owners something to straighten up when they stop
I tend to move them to one side for them 😉
Have just gone back to no guards to see if getting a wet arse on my commute is really that bad. I can cope getting wet in the summer but at this time of year it can become a bit of a drag, No guards makes it easier to clean the bike.
Ain't half the fun getting covered in mud?
Riding in mud is great, only if I need to look civilised at work will I use mudguards. Or carry spare clothes.