29er mudguards (again). Anyone tried SKS 75U?

Bike change (monster-cross to 29+ rigid MTB) means I need to go to 65mm guards at least. Ideally with clearance for 29 x 2.4 (XC-type) tyres max

I’d prefer stays, ie not to zip-tie fat flappy things, and then saw these online. Not cheap tho.

Long shot maybe, but does anyone here have any experience of those over the Chromoplastic 65s?

I’ve got sks Blumell 65 which fit fine over 2.1 tyres.

I’d go with something zip tied and flappy off road though. Anything with full coverage like that will clog with mud at the first opportunity. Unless it’s just a commuter (in which case the 2.4″ tyre is probably the easier requirement to drop!).

^ thnks for that. It’s a multifunction bike – mostly commute, fitness, ATB/gravel-touring

Currently wearing Conti 2.2 Race Kings but I like balloon-tyres for comfort, not necessarily for mud. As always, seems I may need two types of mudguards and tyres for a do-it-all bike!

Ok – for purpose of thread/Q, let’s stay with the Conti 2.2s and backroads/towpaths/fireroads?

What we need is an update of the original 1994 crud race guard rear with the stays.

I like my mudhugger with extension on the rear of my 29er FS bike. Would work just as well on a hardtail but they are a bit bulky looking.

I had the 65mm Bluemels over WTB Ranger 2.8×27.5 and 2.4×27.5 X King, never got any overspray. Changed size to 29x 2.35 Big Apples, obviously the same as before.

I did get some spray on the downtube, about 3 inches above the BB, so maybe some flappage is in order for the commute…………………………………hang on a sec…… I retire next week, no more commuting 😁

I’ll preach about these again any day. Still rattle free after plenty of abuse. They are a bit weighty though.

I didn’t like the lack of full coverage on the SKS 75’s

Finally,rattle free full mudguards. Pletscher Aluminium Fenders R80

I didn’t like the lack of full coverage on the SKS 75’s

Thanks for that. To be clear were those the same ones in my OP? Where was the coverage lacking? Online reviews seem thin on the ground, have translated a few German review, very positive incl one who was happy with the 75Us up to 2.4?

€30 vs €130 is a big jump…

Pics like this below put me off. I wanted full coverage down to BB as I use my rigid for off road commuting so didn’t want to compromise. Also rattle free was a main priority as I then use it on singletrack as well. SKS although beefier than the blummels are still plastic with thin stays. I’m only assuming but I didn’t think they would fit my requirements.

Yeah the pletscher guards are silly expensive but I won’t ever need to buy another set. I think the rest of the bike will die before these things do 😂

As much as i like the look of these, the rear mudguards lack of coverage for the front mech would be a concern.

On its own, the front mudguard looks pretty handy:)

^^ Ah, totally agree re rear coverage now see that pic, thnks. What were SKS thinking?

I really do like the look of these mudguards. The squared profile reminiscent of a harley style motorbike.

Id happily buy a set if they included a wee extra mudguard for the suspension linkage or front mech.

Though, for a large volume manufacturer of bike accessories, sks seemed to be slightly behind the curve as regards new trends, especially wit his 29ers and 29+

Id happily buy a set if they included a wee extra mudguard for the suspension linkage or front mech.

They do a ‘long version’ which fits at the chainstay bridge, but I guess that’s even less help for a sus linkage , unless you are especially talented with a rotary tool/Phd in bodgery.

BTW these mudguards arrived yesterday (holy thread resurrection) and wrecked my evening. Looked great, quality. Nice thick stiff stays. Except coming to fit the front stay it became quickly apparent that the dice were loaded against such a venture. Too short by a mile. Contacted SKS for help and they got back quickly, stating that sorry but they expect me to purchase extra parts and here are our distributors yada yada.

Why market it as suitable for 29er:

Use: City / Trekking / Touring / MTB
Tyre size: 27,5″ – 29″
Tyre width: 65m

…and then make you purchase an extra stay? Captive market? Dirty pool. I’ve never before paid forty-odd quid for mudguards, let alone mudguards with unwritten small print requiring more faff and more cash to get them to do what they say they do. And then I’ll have a useless ‘spare’ stay.

Graargh….umble.
.

Pic. As you can see the newly-designed u-stays are thicker and have a shoulder to clear wide tyres. Not (at first glance and heft) like the other Bluemels then, with their boingy flappy silver stays. So far so good! But I’m here holding the too-short/useless front stay next to a rear stay that is now fitted on the front. No cigar. Not yet.

The Pletscher gaurds are still going strong but curiosity eventually got the better of me and I bought a set of the 75u long as the weight difference would be noticeable over the pletscher.

Instantly like you found the suggested front stay is too short! Bizarre..

I can’t be arsed faffing and swapping each one to see what works or I’ll be on all day…

Did you eventually get these set up?

After some quibbling back and forth with suppliers/manufacturers passing their buck between, asking me to purchase extra from supplier, supplier saying they don’t have access to that part, etc – I finally got a set of long stays in the post. By which time it was pretty much past the wet season. I went out one day in the floods and they kept me dry until the mud and water got so mad I was knee-deep on a farm track 🤣😂

They are now demounted and waiting for winter.

The rear guard is perfect. Love it. The front guard is necessarily* mounted too close to the tyre, and has minute yet annoying flex on the nose-end that catches my tyre when going over even small bumps.

*Can’t mount it any higher without cutting as my (Longitude) fork-shoulders are round/shallow-profiled, where the mudguards are square-profiled. It’s more a problem with two incompatible designs than any one design – so I can’t fault the forks or the guards here. Something to be aware of when speccing guards.

Don’t quite know what to do about it but a friend suggested epoxy-fixing a plastic rib along the top of the guard to reduce flex.

I can’t be arsed faffing and swapping each one to see what works or I’ll be on all day…

Yes it took me so long that I was laughing maniacally after a day. But depending on mood I’m either slow and sure like a glacier, or fast and furious like a ferret. YYMV

Here’s a few pics of the high ground tracks and woods that I thought would be drier yet still caught me out before it got really muddy. (My back was clean thanks SKS, but I slid out on my arse a few times descending Dorstone Hill

^that last pic somewhat shows the guard/fork profiles mismatch beneath the crown. You can’t see well on the pic – but the mudguard edge is only 3mm-5mm clearance either side from touching the fork legs at that height and cannot go usefully higher without cutting scoops out of the guard. I’ll try to reduce the flex first, before hacking. A smaller tyre would do it but that wasn’t why I chose such wide guards 🙄

(2.2 Conti Race Kings pictured)

Nice one cheers… But in conclusion… Sod that… I’ll stick them on eBay… Can’t be bothered to even try if it requires chasing extra bits and the dreaded flex….

To be honest I felt guilty when I remounted the front plestcher guard. Like I was about to cheat on them or something 😂

I’ve also got a longitude and noticed it was tight on the front with the sks.. Weird as the Plestcher is wider but fits better with more clearance and I’m using a 29×2.6 as well. I think it’s to do with the mounting bracket. I had to align and drill them where I wanted them rather than the fixed one on the sks…

Glad you got them working for you though 👍

Glad you got them working for you though 👍

Like I say, if they fit yr fork’s profile then you can get a sensible clearance so the small flex/bounce likely wouldn’t be an issue.

I’m happy to fettle it as realise not all bikes/forks etc are going to fit all mudguards straight out of the pack. For instance the chainstay bridge isn’t drilled on the Longitude, but I found a small, round plastic rear-light or reflector clamp (originally designed for seatstay) in my spares that was an exact fit for the bridge. It fastened both itself and the mudguard perfectly to the bridge using the same allen bolt. So it’s not been uphill struggle all of the way!

All the best whatever way you choose 👍🏼

I can’t picture how you’ve used the light bracket. I’ve got a 2015 longitude and came up this, which has been surprisingly effective.

I’ve shown you mine now you show me yours 😂

Ingenious! I did something similar with the SKS Bluemels I have up to 35c. (This is a Mk1 Longitude also)

As for the 75s, as you know they don’t have seatsay fixings, so it was just the chainstay bridge that I had to find a solution (without drilling).

Best I can do without refitting them is to knock up a sketch. A fortunate feature of the found clamp was a flat-face. This enables a flush-fit against the mudguard. See:

Argh. Went to the shed, as something about that diagram was bugging me,

Actually there is a steel bracket on the rear mudguard, can’t remember if I found it ispares or it was supplied with the pack. The pershitstance of memory

(embarrassedface)

Please ignore the above diagram (unless useful), it was confused with some other project, probably

Now here is what it actually is:

I got mixed up with your post before and thought you meant seatstay bridge. I couldn’t picture how you’d used the bracket up there 😂 my mistake…. That why I posted my invention above.

I used a p-clip for the chainstay bridge with some spacers and a long bolt to adjust it back

(I hate cleaning this bike. I think it looks cooler with a coating of filth😂)

I assumed the steel bracket that came with the 75u was for me to align and drill where needed. I had to do this with all of the brackets with the Plestchers do just thought these were the same.

Are you running the 75u rear with no seatstay support then? Does it not flap about a bit just being held at chainstay and rear stays?

If so you could use a p-clip for the chainstay bridge then use the metal bracket for a similar setup to mine on the seatstays by drilling and securing it. If your going to do that I used stainless M4 threaded rod and nuts going through the M5 frame mounts as M5 wouldn’t screw from one side to the other as the mounts aren’t welded parallel, it bound up! The nut and bolt holding the bracket to the threaded rod is a “normal” mudguard stay bolt that has a hole through it if that makes sense. This has been a solid setup for me…

These things

Thnks for tips survivor 👍🏼

Yes the rear worked out great with just the (double) stay and chainstay-bridge fixing points, seems sturdy, I didn’t notice it move even a little. That’s probably a benefit of the square profile and tension.

If it wasn’t co-fitted with a rear rack ‘covering’ it then I *might* be moved to put the extra fixing at the seatstay-mounts just for peace of mind. Saying that, I’d first have to try it ‘as is’. I like simple installs and it seems solid enough.