[Closed] What CX bike with disks and a full mudguard option?

And the winner was.... My current defy 3 which has full guards. I've decided I won't actually do much CX so it's not worth the outlay. Instead I'm going to tart up the defy by treating it to some sale 105 levers, cranks and and mechs from Merlin.

Sorry to disappoint.

Lol, fanny!

ransos - Member
27 years, not happened to me yet. I do fit them properly of course!
It's a common failure mode. Are you seriously suggesting that this is because most people haven't fitted them properly

Been in the trade 11 years on and off since 1988, its not a common failure mode ime.

I have seen plenty snap due to poor fitting.

😀

I have full guards on my synapse. Fantastic bike.

Well if you've chosen to upgrade a bike you already have then hey, you'll save a few quid for sure.

Tell us what you are upgrading, we've put too much time and effort into this thread to let this one go 😆

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/norco-search-gnarrmac-bike-ordered?replies=9#post-7074921

Half price of a Specialized AWOL for the same group set.

Tell us what you are upgrading, we've put too much time and effort into this thread to let this one go

I have a Giant Defy 3 2013 with full guards which is used as my winter/bad weather/turbo bike already. This one http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2013.giant.defy.3.white.blue.black/11833/56804/.

It already has 105 calipers and a wheel upgrade on it, and I have a 105 crankset in the shed. So for the sum of £198 I'm changing the sora/square taper/FSA spec to:

105 Levers
105 Front/rear mech
105 HT2 BB
105 cassette
Deda Zero 100 Stem.

Not very exciting but good as a workhorse for the winter

Been in the trade 11 years on and off since 1988, its not a common failure mode ime.

I have seen plenty snap due to poor fitting.

I've seen quite a few crack, and 30 seconds on google tells me it's pretty common. The point where the steel bracket crimps onto the rear guard usually, and there are reports of SKS replacing them under warranty.

I also know how to fit them because a)I've worked in a bike shop and b) I'm capable of following simple instructions.

Back to mudguards now I'm back in from my ride Metal mudguards? Are you mad? What a din. And 'better in every way' but I note no details forthcoming...

I've been following this thread and I'm saddened that you've postponed the crossover to gravel core. 😀
I was planning on offering to show you some lovely cx friendly bits and bobs in herts etc. fairly winter friendly too..
Hoping to do the trail break/cx sportive things again this year,...I'll look out for bikebuoy...:-)

Well the reason I asked K, simple one.

Lots of folks followed this thread, if you've chosen to upgrade what you have some here might be interested in the mods..

I'll look out for you too senior j.. 😀

ransos - Member

Been in the trade 11 years on and off since 1988, its not a common failure mode ime.

I have seen plenty snap due to poor fitting.

I've seen quite a few crack, and 30 seconds on google tells me it's pretty common. The point where the steel bracket crimps onto the rear guard usually, and there are reports of SKS replacing them under warranty.

The ones I have seen snap/crack have been poorly fitted - due to stress at these points - because the installer hasn't followed the natural curve of the mudguard.

Buy mine.

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/genesis-croix-de-fer-5 ]The bike you need...[/url]

The ones I have seen snap/crack have been poorly fitted - due to stress at these points - because the installer hasn't followed the natural curve of the mudguard.

And I've seen one crack that did follow the natural curve of the guard. In any case, it's not always possible due to the position of the fixings on the frame - that doesn't make it poorly installed.

The stainless guards I use now are much better in that respect - they can be gently moulded to the frame shape without causing a stress point.

@Kryton. What's the clearances like on that Defy? Can it take a ~35mm CX type tyre? For me, that's the one major difference between the winter road bike and the faux CX brigade; you can actually get the right tyres on. The rest is mostly the same.

@Ransos. What religion do you practice? Mudguardery? You seem to getting all of a lather over your choice of guards. Well I'm convinced. Off to buy several new sets at ~£60 a pair due to your eloquence 🙂

39 quid for pdw at triton 😉

I worship the spaghetti monster btw

Both my front and back SKS mudguards failed in under 3 years of use (about 1 per week ride on average). I admit the roads I ride on a horrific but even so.

Front rivets failed due to fatigue (fixed that), seatsay bracket failed probably fatigue (fixed that), rear guard cracked in half at seatstay bridge mount due to fretting (guards binned). Both guards installed correctly.

Google suggest all the above failure mechanisms are common. SKS might be fine on continental smooth roads but not great on UK pot hole ridden B roads.

Metal guards on my wifes Cube are a bit noisier when they pick up wee bits of gravel but not so loud as to be a issue.

My rear SKS Chromoplastic has "failed" at the middle/top stay but I've just fitted a wee bolt instead of the rivet. Should last another few thousand miles.

If you're using it more from road surely a racier CX bike like the TCX would be a better option that a tootlier Pinnacle with more relaxed riding position?

Surely the other way around? the Pinnacle is a road bike with concessions for pootling (slightly more relaxed, biger tyres and disk brakes). A CX bike would probably be much stiffer, but even more relaxed to allow it to handle off road?

Fwiw the ridley bb drop is 1cm less than the caadx. I am having this issue a bit as trying to decide on a cx bike for similar purposes but do have the short legs, long torso issue.

The BB height is a European Vs USA thing (Ridley Vs Cannondale in this case). European bikes traditionally have high BB's to allow riding over stuff like steps and sinking into the mud a lot. CX in the USA is often a lot dryer, more like a crit race on gravel and grass, so the bikes developed around that and handling and speed came first, clearance second.

Left field suggestion, Gnesis Fugio? Frames are £500 from some places, and I've seen them down to £299 sometimes, might squeeze a 105 groupset and some half decent wheels into the budget, then raid your parts bin for finishing kit?

Left field suggestion, Gnesis Fugio?

Erm...

[i]"No mudguard eyelets, no rack mounts just a clean, pure, fast quality steel CX frameset"[/i]

Kryton, just picked up on this thread and appreciate you're going to upgrade the Defy, but FWIW I have a 2014 Giant Defy 1 (with upgraded wheels) and a 2015 TCX SLR 1 as winter commuter/fun/mix it up type of ride bike (no racing).

I love both, but have different sizes (S in Defy and XS in TCX - I am a short *rse though).

I use Raceblade XLs on TCX (nothing on Defy) - I like being able to whip them on and off in a couple of minutes depending on the weather/forecast. They provide adequate coverage for me, but can be a bit rattly offroad - nothing I can't live with though. Just put them back on this week for the constant rain earlier this week in Leeds.

S

ransos - Member
And I've seen one crack that did follow the natural curve of the guard. In any case, it's not always possible due to the position of the fixings on the frame - that doesn't make it poorly installed.

1? That's all?

It's pretty much always possible unless the frame isn't right for the guards. The stays can be bent easily to make alignment perfect.

My guess is SKS failure appearing common is because there are probably MILLIONS of them out there. Just like a few bad Planet X transactions gets amplified on here.

I don't doubt you love your mudguards, and they may be great, let us now in a few years, nothing before then counts IMO.

I have been commuting on various bikes with SKS mudguards for 25 years.
The metal brackets that go behind the rear brake do fail and the mudguards also tend to split across at right angles. I get several years out of a set but the rears don't seem to last as long as the fronts.

Never bothered to claim on the warranty. Reckon I have had my monies worth over a few years.

Do not be tempted to get Race Guards by Crud. Worst cycling product ever, went in bin after 2 weeks.

SKS might be fine on continental smooth roads but not great on UK pot hole ridden B roads.

the Pinnacle is a road bike with concessions for pootling

doesn't force them out of the natural shape

Mine weren't fitted out of shape, but repeated vibrations (from my commute which is on some awful roads) caused fretting of the plastic and fatigue of the brackets and then they fail. There are some ways of reducing these problems, and I'll take them if I fit another pair

Front rivets failed due to fatigue (fixed that), seatsay bracket failed probably fatigue (fixed that), rear guard cracked in half at seatstay bridge mount due to fretting (guards binned). Both guards installed correctly.

No, no. You must have installed them incorrectly. It's not possible for them to fail otherwise, didn't you hear?

To be fair as a lifetime user of SKS who has never had any bother with them, I do like the look of both the guards suggested earlier in the thread. But at twice the price even discounted I'd kind of hope I would! Will defiantly consider when I next need to buy a pair, but that might be a while.

ransos - Member
No, no. You must have installed them incorrectly. It's not possible for them to fail otherwise, didn't you hear?

🙄 When have I said that? Give it up 🙄

I do like the look of both the guards suggested earlier in the thread

When have I said that? Give it up

Do you have shares in SKS or something? They're perfectly decent guards but there are better options for not much more money.

[i]1? That's all?[/i]

I've been using SKS chromoplastics for years on my commuter. In the past 2 years the quality has really deteriorated. They used to last years but now the metal fixing at the seat stay breaks, front guard cracks, rear guard cracks. I've been fitting them to the same bike for years and the difference is in the quality of the guards, not the fitting technique.

Switched to the pdw full metal guards now at £39 from triton, so much better than sks.

[i]If they came in matt black and the right size for one of my bikes I'd have a set.[/i]

Can't do anything about the size, but.....
[img] [/img]

I've had SKS guards go south on the rear brake bridge clamp and rivets fail. - Did I [s]fit[/s] install the rivets?

I swapped out a load of bits on my Arkose 4, including getting some Crosslight wheels which were noticeably lighter.

Oh and based on the crank rub so far and the 50 tooth ring being too big for off roading, I should have changed the chain set as well.

RE: SKS guards, arguments of whether they break or not aside (ime they do, they fatigue at fixing points and just plain crack through vibration) there are other better alternatives.

PDW and GB guards have external stay hoops as previously mentioned, this does give better water flow and consequently no drippage at the stay points like you get with SKS, you also don't get the crap buildup inside them at the points where the harware fixes like you do with SKS. They're also more liekly to clear discs at the front due to the single low stay rather than the pairs on SKS/Other plastics.

The stay adjustment and fixing on the PDW is much nicer too, just a grub screw to adjust and fix, OK you don't/shouldn't need to be adjusting the stays very often if at all but it's nicer and easier than the fiddly slide and bolt fixings of most guards.

The more rigid guard and thicker alu stay keeps them more rigid too so they are harder to knock out of line, and they rattle less too, most plastic guards flex and rattle to some degree, even when fitted correctly, and NEED paired stays due to that flexibility, but as a pluss they do shrug off bike rack tussles and things like that a bit better.

Not seeing any point in upgrading my SKS...

I wouldn't 'upgrade' either if I had existing working SKS guards (in fact I do have some on one bike), but when buying beacuse you don't have a set, or to replace a broken set I'd look elsewhere, PDW expecially are avaiable for about £10 - £15 more than Chromplastics and in my opinion well worth the extra, GB are superior again due to lovely rolled edges trapping even more water, but they are more of a faff to fit due to having to drill them.

SKS are still my default suggestion to people who ask about guards as they are pretty good value, and robust enough for most users, and compatibility/ease of fitment is good on most bikes, but there are better alternatives, and it's not just mudguard snobbery 🙂

Keep this thread going, Kryton might be back in a little while 😆

bikebouy

Keep this thread going, Kryton might be back in a little while

3 hours later and still no Kryton 😀

I'm not buying my way out of a couple of scratches....

Watching this thread for good suggestions

(Oh, and 100% of my SKS 'guards broke - taken to be vibration as it was around the highest point, between seat stay bridge and rear struts. Glued twice, binned when snapped the third time - structurally equivalent to a Dime bar. In contrast, 100% of the replacement Tortec are intact)

My Bike .
Its in the For Sale section of this forum , and on Ebay .
Cannondale CAADX Sram Rival , 2015 model . 8 months old .

Takes mudguards , and pretty much anything else you can throw at it .
great bike .

£1000

As it's not the for sale section here I'm free to say, that would apear to be very optimistic.

£550 posted, cash? 😀