[Closed] Road bike mudguards....what's good?

If you've got room to fit them then go with the SKS ones. Have used Raceblades, etc and none come close to reducing spray for either yourself or anyone else you are riding with.

I've got the ones everyone on here seems to hate - Crud Roadracer 2.
Never had any issues with them tbh.
Not on the Giant and now on the RT-58.
Spent 20mins watching their youtube vids and put them on.
60s and their back off for when its clean and dry (or for cleaning)

Is there anything better than the ubiquitous SKS Chromoplastics?

Not that I've found.

I don't want PDW ones (got them at the moment). Is there anything better than the ubiquitous SKS Chromoplastics?

The SKS guards are very good, but not easy to fit, and will probably crack eventually. For the retro look, Gilles Berthoud give even better coverage, and are no heavier despite being metal.

There is better than the SKS Chromoplastics - I offer the SKS longboard. Never ever get wet feet again from road spray

I have crud roadracers on one of my bikes. They're average, but they work

However the SKS ones I have on my gravel bike are very effective. I've ridden through so real grot and only my overshoes (and sometimes the bottom of my tights) get any overspray when its bad

35mm SKS Chromoplastics on my Arkose at the moment.
However, when I fit some larger tyres (currently running 28mm) I will buy 45mm Longboards.

SKS Guards are a bit fiddly to fit, but mine are pretty perfect now with no movement or rattling. (You need to cut the stainless wire stays to fit - and possibly bend them depending on your front brake/mount arrangement)

If you buy guards without a rubber mud flap you can make one out of a piece of old inner tube - this has made a big difference on my front guard.

I'd also suggest if you have to buy any bolts/washers/fittings, that you buy Stainless, as mild steel will rust away in no time.

I reckon the SKS Bluemels look better than the Chromoplastics.
No flap or reflector.
Bit less noticeable and a better shape.

If you have no taste, you can get them in matt black too.
🙂

After someone nicked my bikes, including a summer and winter roadie I decided to just have one road bike and fitted crud roadracer 2 guards to it.

So far they are brilliant, and I have been using them down some right crappy lanes in the dales.

I did read some bad reviews but if you spend time setting them up well they are great, no need to have 2 bikes now 🙂

My chromoplastics always crack- the end's dropped off teh rear one 🙁 But they're good while they last.

Radial make some nice aluminium ones. Two issues: they're much narrower than advertised (the "45mm" ones are 37mm and the "35mm" ones are a curiously impractical 29mm), and you'll be wanting to retrofit a flap to the front at least. But they're nice and stiff without being heavy, and they're good-looking (all-black guards are hard to come by). Adjustable stay positioning is a bonus, as is the bargain price. Caveat: I've only fitted mine, not used them yet.

Berthoud and Velo Orange are the obvious choices if you want a traditional style. Not used them, personally, but both seem pretty sturdy from what I've seen.

I've recently put some Blackburn Cloudbursts on the cross bike (as an experiment, so the key factors were being cheap and having movable stay mounting points). I was expecting them to be fairly awful but they've been sturdier than I was expecting. I think there are plenty better options for road use, though.

What're the chances; ordered some radial ones about an hour ago!

Had crud racers for a couple of years, they are good, take ten mins to set up but not hard.

Only issue i have is i forget that the rear guard is on there when wheeling the bike about upright.

I found the front Longboard was just too long, and the flap caught when bumping over kerbs or low steps. Eventually the guard snapped just below the stay bracket, but I overlapped the broken section a couple of inches, bolted it back on, and its been OK. I still have to pop the stays out when fitting the bike on a fork mounting carrier, or the guard fouls.
Other than that, I'd always go SKS.

Are these the radial ones people have been ordering?
https://www.radialcycles.co.uk/cycling-accessories/mudguards/radial-avert-pro-mudguards-1.html

Fractured two rear P35's. By contrast the Tortec reflectors have been flawless over several thousand miles. The SKS fittings are, however peerless and tend to be reused on all my mudguard-equipped bikes!

Might try the Radials next.

roadracers are bad.
raceblades are good.
other SKS ones are better but look bad or don't fit under the brake caliper.

Of what I've tried (SKS commuter ones, and a couple of other brands I can't remember, including some that fit to bikes without clearance), the SKS Chrommoplastics are comfortably the best. Obviously if you don't have the clearance, look elsewhere.

Interested in the SKS longboards, and never tried Gilles Berthoud either. Maybe in a few years time...

Cracking on the chromoplastics tends to be from bashing about when wheeling/locking up the bike/changing a flat tyre. And yes they do take a little while to fit properly, but once they're set up they're quick and easy to remove/refit and they stay put well.

What's wrong with the PDW guards? I was considering ordering some...

brakes - Member

roadracers are bad.

What's wrong with roadracers? I've been using some after I broke my raceblades and they seem to be doing the job.

I've been useing some strong light metal guards this winter , the front is perfect but the rear seems determined to rattle over the bumps but Matt silver Finnish looks nice and coverage seems good. Going to try and add a second rear stay to fix the rattle.

PDW are great. Some people have no taste

What's wrong with roadracers?

I found them to be stupidly fragile and wouldn't last a winter.

Broken SKS IME are down to poor fitting, to some extent at least.

SKS road blades have been brilliant. Easy to adjust & lasted couple years now.

Had a set of SKS that fitted to frame/fork. But the attachment under rear brake kept snapping every month or so.
As most people comment - crud road racers are terrible.

Daffy - Member
What's wrong with the PDW guards? I was considering ordering some...

Nowt really, they're good. But they're shagged and I cba spending a fortune on new ones.

I would add yhat the customer service for SKS is amazing. I contacted them direct as I had lost a short section of a raceblade. They responded, packed and posted a replacement for free in a matter of hours.

Cracking on the chromoplastics tends to be from bashing about when wheeling/locking up the bike/changing a flat tyre

Not really. My Tortecs use exactly the same fittings in the same place. I don't lock the bike, and it's fixed wheel, so the wheel always comes out and goes in with a flat tyre on reverse dropouts.

Two rears fractured across at the rear brake bridge, that is not under tension. It is not coincidence and I've never had any other SKS mudguards brake on my other bikes, just the P35 chromoplastics. Commuters and Bluemels are made of more robust plastic like the Tortecs.

But they're shagged

how so?

curiosity mainly as I've only seen a few sets that have done mega mileage, they normally last very well but I have my suspicions about what the weakest link on them is...

I think the Bluemels are now made by SKS - seems to be the same stuff and fittings as the CP's, just a different shape.

I've always managed to break them before they snap, but the CP's do rot from the ends. once you've scraped them a few times.
Had a gold pair (OE on a Raleigh 🙂 ) that became very discoloured.

amedias - Member
But they're shagged
how so?

curiosity mainly as I've only seen a few sets that have done mega mileage, they normally last very well but I have my suspicions about what the weakest link on them is...

Had em for a few years now, they still function, but I had to butcher them a bit to get them on my current bike. Cut the front stays a bit too short, they don't fit round my front caliper hose very well due to the thick stays, one of the mud flaps is missing, the rear one is pretty bent, they aren't wide enough for my tyres. Don't think there are any weak links TBH; maybe the plastic bits at the end of the stays that you bolt them to the frame with.

Is there anything better than the ubiquitous SKS Chromoplastics?

Yes the PDW ones 🙂

I always used sks chromoplastics before in normal or longboard flavour. They offer great protection but as others have said they're not as robust as they used to be.

I found them to be stupidly fragile and wouldn't last a winter.

It was the fact that they start rubbing if it's windy...... or if you went over a bump...... or if you dared to ever touch, them that got me.

davidtaylforth said stuff

Cheers for that, just sounds like normal wear and tear then and similar to all the other sets I've seen.

maybe the plastic bits at the end of the stays that you bolt them to the frame with

You're spot on with that ^, I was wondering if that was what had given up with yours. At least you can buy new stays if needs be.

That appears to be the only 'weak' spot on PDWs, once they've popped a few times they tend to become a bit loose, and I've seen one example where the plastic has gone brittle and shattered, but that's a one-off so far.

The PDWs are better than the SKS offerings*, mainly due to the external stay mounting not causing internal bridges and water runout, but it is annoying that the PDWS are about 3-5mm narrower than they should be, and if they had a rolled edge like Berthounds/Honjos/Velo Orange for better water retention then they would probably be the perfect guards.

The OEM spec mudflaps also have an annoying step/ridge on the indside which causes side splash out when you hit a deeper puddle for the first time and scoop up a load of water, I've ditched the front OEM mudflap on mine and made a longer, flatter one that mounts flush on the inside, and also has side-wrap, it works a lot better.

For absolute best coverage, water retention, stable fitting, and longevity the Berthound or Honjo guards are as good as they come, harder work to fit properly though, especially with close clearances.

The Velo Orange (honjo style copies) are a very good option too for coverage and water retention, longevity is good if fitted well too, and they do a big range of sizes, and I think they come in black now as well as polished silver.

Not tried any of the Radial ones myself, the stay mounting looks interesting, possibly sacrifices some clearance though, better for reducing bridging than SKS but I think you'll still get some water ejection at those mount points when it's very wet. Be interested to see how you get on with them long term.

*I still steer people to SKS or Tortec (Vavert do a good SKS copy too) if on a budget as for the money they are good, but they do have a few annoying issues and are very sensitive to being fitted properly, but then so are most guards....

brakes - Member

I found them to be stupidly fragile and wouldn't last a winter.

Hmmm, I found the opposite with mine, had sticks get stuck in them, bending them right back on themselves but they just pop back into shape with no damage.

Only problem I've had is the irritation of them rubbing occasionally (the noise, I don't actually think it puts any real resistance on the wheel).

bending them right back on themselves but they just pop back into shape with no damage

I found that the rubber nuts would disappear, the connectors between the guard and the stays/fork would catch on things and disconnect, when storing the bike you couldn't touch anything else with them or they'd knock out of alignment and rub.
The last set I bought wouldn't fit over a 25c tyre.
I had them on a frame with v. small gaps under the brake calipers and between the rear wheel and the seat tube.

Fitted the Radial ones this morning. Nice and wide, very easy to fit (in terms of mudguards; still took three hours inc. cigarette/coffee breaks). Haven't ridden them in the rain yet, but I reckon they'll be reet.

The barrel adjuster things are a superb idea and make straightening them up a piece of piss. Far easier than SKS or PDW which require tools.

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To be fair though, the rear one probably needs a longer mud flap if you're planning on riding in a group.

Was going to say they look a bit short! (at both ends)

Rear will keep your bum dry but I pity any one behind you! Front will keep most of it off your face but it's not long enough to stop any spray to your feet or drivetrain.

That's Radials off my list I'm afraid unless they do a longer version.

I find the SKS/Bluemels product range pretty baffling. It seems to be pretty much pot luck whether you get flaps and/or a reflector.

On my latest bike I went for matt black Bluemels for £19, and I'm pretty pleased with them. The seat stay mount is plastic, rather than the metal used on the chromoplastics I've had before. Hopefully this will prove less likely to break, and will be a bit kinder to the guards too.

With the flaps they're a reasonable length, but I've extended the rear by replacing the flap with the rear section of a crud road racer, which fits neatly and is very effective.

Have a look at Widget mudguards, some nice ones there. or BBB ones.

Oh also has anyone seen something like this?

[img] ?oh=d351d8b1fdfb881e10b7a811b4507950&oe=5747F920[/img]

Single part or as part of mudguard set,
it's for disc bikes with no brake bridge.

The barrel adjuster things are a superb idea and make straightening them up a piece of piss.

Was confused for a moment, but I take it you have the plastic ones rather than the aluminium ones (which I have, and which don't have barrel adjusters).

That's Radials off my list I'm afraid unless they do a longer version.

They are very short, and [url= https://www.radialcycles.co.uk/radial-avert-pro-mudguards-1.html ]the aluminium ones[/url] don't have any flaps at all. I've got [url= http://www.rainydaybiking.com/Stealth-Bike-Mud-Flap-p/610.htm ]a pair of Rainy Day Biking Flaps[/url] waiting to be attached to mine. They're enough to give pretty comprehensive coverage front and rear (though they don't seem anywhere near as reflective as the product photos would suggest), and the total cost still comes in well under PDWs. I'll try and stick up a picture once I've finally finished building this thing.

[b]pdw[/b] - Member
On my latest bike I went for matt black Bluemels for £19, and I'm pretty pleased with them.

You really should have gone for the pdw ones. 🙂

Was confused for a moment, but I take it you have the plastic ones rather than the aluminium ones (which I have, and which don't have barrel adjusters)

Yes, the plastic ones. I was tempted by the metal ones, but thought the plastic ones would be easier to fit since I've not got much clearance and being able to bend them a bit certainly helps!