SKS Race blades any good? (*cough* Roadbike)

Let’s face it, it’s never going to be dry and sunny ever, ever again, so I need more bits to attach to my bike to give me less reason to WussTFOut.

I know diddly-zip about road bike mudguards, and instead of looking up some informed opinions and reviews, I thought you lot might have some ideas. My bike doesn’t have any mounts, and I don’t want horrible,ugly, clattery things. £25 budget.

Do these things work well? do they turn the wet to dust? can I use them as cooking utensils in the summer??

cheers in advance 🙂

fiddly, cruds version is better..

Couldn’t disagree more, the Crud ones are toss, mine fell apart, I threw away the remains in the spring, they rattle and rub constantly too. V impressed with the Race Blades though, far better, and take 30 secs to fit, actually easier than the Cruds too IMO.

njee, I’ve had mine 2 winters now with no problems, but they have bought out a newer version, which my friends say are better…

I’m with njee, fitted crud ones to a customers bike then took them back off as I couldn’t let it go out with all the rubbing and flapping going on. Don’t know how they get away with selling stuff like that.

rear works fine, front too fiddly and didn’t stay put

Yes they work well and they’re proper mudguard shaped. The only bit not protected is by the front mech. And once on they’re solid, even if you have to remove a wheel.
Cruds don’t seem to last well with the club guys here, they seem to go horribly flexy and give me an epi if I ride behind someone with them.

Some mates have managed to fit full length Giant mudguards that are I think designed for Giant Defys.

The new crud ones give much better protection than race blades – the rear guard comes all the way round to the chain stays. And they’re a lot cheaper.

But I’m with njee too. Race blades are not remotely fiddly to fit and it takes seconds. Crud ones are a bit more work (and seem to not fit some bikes, though mine was fine) but more importantly they break far too easily. I went through 3 replacement crud blades in 18 months. Brilliant service from Crud replacing them (at less than their advertised stamp rate) but it’s still a bit pants.

Crud Roadracers are in a different league to Raceblades. For a start, they actually work as a mudguard. Any rubbing issues I’ve come across are as a result of people not reading, and following, the instructions properly.

I’ve got a set of raceblades, brand new, never been out the packaging (sold my road bike before I’d used them) – £20 posted? Email in profile.

Crud Roadracers are in a different league to Raceblades. For a start, they actually work as a mudguard.

Until you take the wheel out, when something snaps or moves. Or you knock them. Or you hit a rough patch of road. Good theory, but the early ones at least were just not tough enough. I broke 2 just popping the bike onto it’s back wheel to get it in the store at work.

Whilst I was slightly worried about Race Blades being shorter they provide perfectly good coverage, at least on par with the Cruds, I’ve ridden through 6″ puddles with no spray at all, and they don’t move. Good enough for me!

cheers for all the top info guys, didn’t know it was such a divisive subject 😆

are those in black or carbon wwaswas? if so I think I’ll have to take ’em. YGM

I have a pair of Crud Road Racer 2’s on my road bike and they are OK. They do wobble a bit and the brushes can rub sometimes, but they do work.

I have been told the the MK2 version is better than the original though, so maybe some peoples experience were of the original.

I do remember taking them out of the packet and thinking they looked really rubbish though. But they do seem to be doing the job.

Race blades provide reasonable protection to the rider. Dont use them on a roadie club run as you will be shouted at as they provide no protection to other riders.

Ridiculously easy to fit.

Make sure you put some tape or frame protector where they mount to the frame as I had some on a carbon bike and they wore through the paint.

Don’t worry, I’m not a proper club roadie type Margin! yet. just want to get the miles in without getting soaked, it can rain anytime up here in N Wales.

i think some people are missing the point with the crud guards, the brushes are supposed to rub!

full length Giant mudguards that are I think designed for Giant Defys

I had some of these on my Defy. They worked well at protecting me and people behind me but have a gap at the brake mount so didn’t stop the brakes getting filthy. They also require eyelet mounts, so no good for the OP. I would imagine they’d work on a multitude of bikes that have limited clearance around the brake though.

I would recommend proper full length mudguards every time, if you have clearance to fit them. If you don’t have mounts, you can use P-clips to attach them. All the other solutions are a bit of a temporary bodge. A proper set of guards with will keep you dry and will be rigid enough to take a bit of abuse and stay in place without rattling or rubbing.

too late, I’ve bought wwaswas’s race blades. Cheers Luke!

I replaced Race Blades with MK1 Cruds, and the Cruds are way better. Had the front extension break off but wasn’t really needed anyway. I always had trouble with the getting the race guards to stay aligned (and not start rubbing after a few miles), not sure whether wheel flex, frame flex or just the mounts slipping was the problem.

No worries Kev – glad someone’s going to use them – I’ve got too much stuff in the garage that’s probably never going on my bikes but I keep ‘just in case’…

Race blades are O.K. but bear a few things in mind. The rear one doesn’t stop crud getting over your front mech & rear brake. Make sure you put plenty of protection tape on your frame where they mount, although the mounts are rubber, the constant flexing will wear the paint off.They do tend to waggle fore & aft a bit on rough surfaces. There are 2 widths, the larger ones have an extra spray guard on the ends which is quite useful.

*IF* you have a close clearance bike then Crud Road are cool, but make sure you glue the extension bit together otherwise you will lose bits..

worth checking to see if you can get proper SKS full guards on – these are the best if you have clearance for them.

I’ve got a pair of the MkII Crud Roadracer guards and I’m pretty impressed.

Bit of a faff to fit and you really HAVE to follow the instructions, or the rear guard rubs.

However, once set up properly they work vey well – mine don’t rub at all now, I’ve not even fitted the bushes yet but will do so next time I clean the bike.

Managed to break the front getting the bike into the car, but recieved a replacement by post. Now, I just unscrew the stays before loading up – not a major hassle.

No good for tyres over 23mm though, which is a bit of a shame.