Mud guards

Morning all

looking for recommendations on mudguards. Looking for fitted ones that are neat. The bike is a hybrid with 700×42 tyres. Was looking bluemels but open to suggestions welcome.

I like the Kinesis Fendoffs, they have optional flaps as well by cutting them out of the header card.

A mate has the Kinesis ones, but if you really want quality, be prepared to pay – other sizes available:

Portland Design Works Full Metal Fenders – Road (30mm)

I bought a Job lot of Curana ‘C-lite’ guards that had clearly been taken off of boxed town bikes by a shop,  They’re slim/low profile but do just about cover a ~40mm tyre for both road and Gravel use (I think they might do wider options).

They’re also easy to trim and pop extra holes in to suit different bridges/boss setups, so I have my gravel bike guards shortened so it’s possible to put on the back wheel for moving about without clattering the rear guard, and to eliminate toe taps at the front.

I have a longer set on my commuter.

I like them, but bluemels probably are more robust, but I got the curana’s cheap (IIRC it was ~£20 for 10 pairs!) and specifically so I could hack them about for different bikes

Velo orange metal mudguards. Loads of sizes, widths, finishes. Great quality, excellent fittings, drillable/customisable, single stay design works well, great coverage. Pretty darn quiet when on too, and not that heavy. Fairly expensive, but good value for what you end up with, and they are durable too. Also, as a general point I look for round profile guards as they fit frames and forks better than square edges, and give you more room to play with clearance.

e.g. https://freshtripe.co.uk/velo-orange-700c-x-52mm-zeppelin-mudguards/

EDIT – Oh, and they look really nice too!

+1 @faustus.

Fully paid up member of the Velo-Orange club here, had them on pretty mich every road/gravel bike I’ve owned for years now. You get to spend one quiet evening in the garage tinkering away to fit them nicely, and then they just stay put, don’t rattle, and look good for years to come. Lots of nice finish options to suit your bike, black Zepplins are my personal favourites, and they represent reasonable value for their longevity.

I’ve never been disappointed with bluemels tbh. They look… mudguardey, I guess? Just sort of unattractive but correct and appropriate rather than eye-shocking. And they work really well. Pretty light, too. Only downside is they don’t last brilliantly, I always end up cracking the front mount on the rear guard but that might be partly an install issue on my bike. They are good, though, I think can beat em but only by spending quite a lot.

I moved on from Bluemels – and found that Bontrager are very much superior. They are stiffer, better mounting which is adjustable without cutting, and Just Work.

I’m also on a pair of SKS Edge AL. They are good, better than Bluemels, but still not as well mounted as the aforementioned Bontrager guards. They are a bit more wobbly as the fittings are too plasticy so seems to flex more.

SKS Bluemels 75 Style Mudguard on my MTB commuter with 50c tires for the last year 1500 miles.

Every time it rains or the ground is wet I’m glad I bought them.

Sks chromo plastic on a road bike with 25c tires for the last 8 years 3500 miles. Great, except when put in a car and they get bent just a little and are irritating to get back to straight.

Good, but not as much coverage as the blumenels.

I turned up to a roady club ride with a rack and mudguards on. Some bloke said ” that’s a very winter bike”. Rude I thought, then it drizzled and I had dry bum, unlike that bloke.

I don’t think any mudguards look awesome unless they are custom painted show jobs that will never get photoed after they have had one ride.

Also- excellent user name, I only got rid of my cove stiffee in 2017

I’ve had reasonable luck with the SKS Edge.

Just disappointed to be posting this in July

Cheap; bluemels wont disappoint. Spendy: PDW will impart pride in your mudguardiness. Have both on different bikes.

Velo Orange or similar are my preference for a road bike. I changed the stay fitting to a central loop-plate more like a Honjo for added foot clearance. They’re worth the money on a bike where the guards are part of the spec not a temporary thing. Only downside is the fact that metal guards are a potential risk on the front but on a road bike I’m ok with that. On the gravel bike I’d only use plastic guards but there aren’t many that have all the right features imo (I’ve made my own sets up from samples and spares)

I have P45s and Bluemels on other bikes and they’re ok. The P45s have been on a road bike about 13 years now, loads of miles. They do the job well and seem to be more UV resistant than some Taiwanese plastic guards I’ve used on the gravel bike.

My main complaints with Bluemels / SKSs and others like the Kinesis guards is that no gravel or city bike guard should use internal or under-guard stay fixings, they just collect crap and clog up faster. External wrap-around stays are a better way to do it. Blumels / SKS also use that plastic clip for the front for safety reasons but it doesn’t have much rigidity so the fronts flex side to side more than other stay systems.

Fitting tip if you’re cracking plastic guards – use 2 stays on the rear, use leather washers between frame and guard and run a hot hairdryer over them once fitted and allow to cool in place. They’ll thermo-set into a non-flexed position, a kind of stress-relief process. (yeah ok I’m a fender geek)

My bluemels used to last 12-18 months before going brittle.

I moved to pdw in 2015 and haven’t had to change guards since. – including packing bike in box and air travel  for some long tours.

Like James says if it’s mudguards part of the spec rather than a spurious add on for winter or bad conditions then the extra is worth it. A bit like dynamo lighting tbh.

That said I paid in the region of 60-70 quid from Charlie the bike monger . I believe they are 120 now….I’d have to think hard about that that seems excessive for mudguards.