I have a Whyte Wessex that will fit the dedicated Whyte guards perfectly. Unfortunately, I can't find any and they're discontinued. I was recommended Bluemels 42s which would apparently need separate direct-mount adapters because the eyelets are halfway up the fork and seatstay.
All fine, but I'm reading that there are better mudguards, possibly including Kinesis Fend-offs and SKS Edge Als. These might also be easier to fit. If I expose my kids to the level of profanity that I was responsible for last time I threw tools around the garage fitting mudguards they might get taken away from me.
Also, the tart in me would prefer a matt finish and I can't find the Bluemels in matt. This might be the most important consideration.
Anybody have Edge/Als similar and have mounted them to a similar eyelet arrangement? Slightly but probably not terminally put off by the lack of quick release on the Fend-offs. Please don't recommend PDWs because I'm a teacher with a mortgage and a bike habit. I want to run 30 mm tyres.
Buy something that has the stay attachments on the outside of the guard, not the inside. Anything with stay attachments on the insides creates collection points for clag and leaves and cuts right down on how close to the tyre the guard gets. But for a 30mm road tyre it's probably less of an issue.
Truth is fitting guards well is a faff involving test fit, cut stays to close to length but left long, re-fit, check, maybe a final cut, fit, adjust etc. If you have eyelets part way up the leg you'll need to bend the stays so that the guard end of them meets the guard perpendicular, that combined with getting stay lengths right is more faff. But it's a job worth doing well or paying/bribing someone to do if for you.
Blumels are ok guards but the front QR plastic part means they never fit very rigidly and the rear sways a little. No reason to stick with the same front stays though and mounting them mid-fork means an obstruction won't pull the guard onto the tyre in the same way so the QR is less vital (still a good idea, the Velo Orange / Honjo style stay P-clips are the way to go).
Matt finish is just 30 mins with some fine grade wet+dry (yes I can be that much of a bike build faffer)
PDW Full Metal fenders in 45. Accept no substitute. Fractured too many SKS's to mention before I saw the light. Buy cheap, but three times in my case.
SKS Speedrockers. Enjoy the simplicity. (Must be simple as I managed and I'm the most cack-handed, ham-fisted, practical-job-illiterate, idiot this side of the galaxy.)
Thanks for the suggestions. PDWs are too expensive for me right now and I want to fit the guards via the eyelets rather than strap them on. Full coverage is important for me.
Any other ideas welcomed.
To be fair, my Bluemells didn't snap, but the P35's fracture at the rear seat stay clamp. Probably the alloy sandwich material. So I'd get those. And sand them with some 3M pads.
Bontrager No Cut Stays are another option that preserved the sanity and tools by not needing to cut the stays. They come wide. https://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/accessories-c11/mudguards-c146/ncs-700c-mudguards-p22287
Don’t mess about and just Buy/Save up for PDW Full Metal fenders - Money we’ll spent and you’ll wonder why you wasted your money on other makes 👍
So PDWs. I might have to choose a moment to approach HWMBO when she's in a good mood. Catch her at her weakest. If I can work in a "safety" angle I might have a shot.
Do people use generally PDWs with P-clip adapters or is there a solution to fitting them to rear-facing eyelets? Is it just a case of bending the stays?
I've had 10 years of road and winter training use from a set of P35s on my old Equilibrium, the Longboards on my town bike are getting on for that old too but see much less use. I think if you fit them so they aren't stressed out of shape to begin with and they don't flex much in use (leather washers are good for this) the only thing that deteriorates them is UV. Metal guards are more durable but the way they fold and potentially jam rather than shatter if something goes in the wheel bothers me. Still, I use Velo Orange alu guards on my road/audax bike, they're great.
<p style="text-align: left;">I fitted some Edge Als to a vitus substance SRS which had eyelets halfway up the inside of the fork. I had to cut the stays down with a hacksaw which was a bit of a pain but once done was fine. Bolt cutters would be easier but I didn't have any...</p>
I think if you fit them so they aren’t stressed out of shape to begin with and they don’t flex much in use
Not in my case, because whenever I snapped a set, the older Tortec ones went back on and never had an issue! the same Tortec's lasted four further years on Son1's fixed at Uni, and are sitting in the garage now waiting for another bike, alongside the two front P35's that have been decommissioned. The PDW's can rattle if not installed carefully, apply judicious stickers/tape at clamping points.
Finally got round to fitting some replacement SKS ones on my 26” skinnyish tyred commuter. A job I’d been putting off because it’s a bit of a faff, but pleased I finally got round to it.
It’s certainly not a quick job to do right but will be worth the effort soon enough!
I really like the kinesis fend offs. Have them on my Cascade. Had to make a bracket for the attachment at the fork crown due to the suspension corrected forks, but apart from that they were easy to fit. They're matt black too, will take up to 45 tyres.
I've no experience of the PDWs but have Edge AL56s and they're great. Much more robust than the likes of Chromoplastics etc. Rattle-free. PDWs would have to be utterly exceptional to be worth the extra.
Edge ALs tick the matt finish box too.
Sks edge Al. Just get on with it
Might have to be something other than PDW. You can't actually buy any in black in the UK as far as I can see. 🙁
As per the original question, can anybody help with fitting Edge Als to rear-facing mounting points halfway up the fork legs?