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Looking to join some club rides and I'm told good etiquette requires some mud guards for when damp, which over winter it usually is.
Winter bike is a 2019 allez with mounts on stays and forks. I was looking at race blades but reports suggest they offer little protection to the rider behind which is the point of me getting them as I'm not too bothered about a wet ass.
Ideally want some that I can remove if dry or on solo rides as they look a bit shit. Tyres are 25mm if that makes a difference
Ta
Race blade longs, much better than race blades and easy to pop off
tbh in winter I'd get proper mudguards and leave them on for solo rides as it keeps the wet off your feet and behind
What's the advantages of a perm guard I over something like the race planes in the link?
Do the clip on one's move around and rub alot
The full length ones tend to stay in place better / not rub - if you do fit them then a decent mudflap front and rear helps keep the water off your feet / stops spray from the back.
Get full mudguards. Sks chromoplastics or sks bluemels. Fit a long flap to the rear one. Leave them on for winter.
You'll start to enjoy long rides without a wet arse/face, get the proper jobs, they slow you down by precisely **** all for your solo rides (and if I am wrong, extra training effect).
<div class="bbp-reply-author">tpbiker
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What’s the advantages of a perm guard I over something like the race planes in the link?
They stay exactly where you put 'em. Raceblades usually will too, til you lean something on the bike or chuck it in the boot or whatever. Permanent ones are also super easy to adjust.
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Cool, perm ones it is then. Cheers
I don't think it's "good etiquette" so much as common sense to use guards!
I wouldn't mess about with any of the "racer" pseudo guards. Get a proper set of bolt on full length guards as recommended above. No rattles or movement and they will do a much better job of keeping the crud off you.
You may want to check if full mudguards will fit on the allez, there may not be enough room under the calliper. Race blade longs don't wobble or move and are the same length as full guards but they will fit if there's no room under the brake calliper. I've had them on my commuter for a few years now good kit, nothing like the short race blades
Even if my bike had mounts after using the race blade longs I'd not bother fitting full guards myself. Easily the best adjustment of any I've used and on and off the bike in 30 seconds. It means I ride with them whenever it's wet and not when its dry. The season is irrelevant. Full guards are like setting your central heating by the calendar rather than the temperature. Different of course if you have a winter / wet weather bike then you might as well go for the very best coverage you can get and use permanent guards. If you do choose full guards though I'd still recommend a set of race blades for the wet days when the calendar has told you take your permanent guards off.
Raceblade longs are OK. But won't allow anything bigger than a 23mm tyre. If there's clearance in the brake calliper then the m:part guards are really good, like chromoplastics but even easier to fit/adjust.
Def check clearance, 25mm might be tight.
Full guards are like setting your central heating by the calendar rather than the temperature.
What's the disadvantage of using them in the dry again?
Look better?
0.3% faster on Strava?
Full guards are like setting your central heating by the calendar rather than the temperature.
Full guards are like central heating: there when you need it, even if you didn't expect to, and completely unobtrusive when you don't.
Clip-on guards are like having to drag in a small paraffin stove from the shed every time you think it's going to be inclement and then dragging it back out again when the sun comes out.
@OP: if you're riding in a group, you get bonus etiquette points for adding a good rear flap.
If clearances are tight then the Portland Designs Works Full Metal Fenders are very good.
I have long race blades that I use for exactly the OP’s purpose, and I find them excellent. They can move around, but as long as they’re set up properly in the first place, they are no problem at all.
Not only good etiquette on group rides but you’ll appreciate keeping drier on solo rides
Ideally want some that I can remove if dry or on solo rides as they look a bit shit.
Are you from the south by any chance? I was amazed when I moved down south at the mentality of riders down here out in all weathers on carbon rims and summer bikes without guards. Can only assume it was a 'look' thing. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that but to me riding around without guards in the winter, regardless of the weather, makes you look like a clueless newbie. The 'pro' look in the uk in the winter is a guarded hack bike and anyone who tells you different is a berk.
If you have the eyelets on frame/fork then I'd fit something like the Sks Bluemels, last bike I fitted sks commuter guards which worked well, the metal stays really help keep the guards sturdy and not move. I'm no fan of the "look" of mudguards, but sometimes you have to accept function over form, it's a LOT nicer than being covered in road crud during winter.
Current bike has no eyelets, and I just found out the hard way that the Crud Roadracer Mk3 will not fit under the brake Calipers, so looks like I'll try the Sks Raceblade.
Nothing is prefect as nothing is really long enough. Good old SKS/Blumels are as good as any. Then you get some damp course plastic and make a whopping great flap for both guards to keep the crap off your club mates and your own feet. As near as you can get to the road as possible ideally.
Around here the power line poles all have a strip of reflective plastic around the. It cuts with scissors (just) and makes wonderful mud flaps.
I have to disagree with those saying Raceblade Longs are okay.
Their main problem is that each guard is two separate pieces, one that covers most of the wheel and affixes with stays as well as at the brake bridge / fork crown, and another piece that attaches only at the brake and protrudes forwards.
This part that protrudes forwards flaps around on anything but the smoothest roads and bounces off the tyre making a racket.
Full guards are much better. If your frame doesn't have mounts then use P-clips. If you're struggling to get the guard under the caliper then see if trimming the guard a bit will help.
I got SKS Longboard ones, they took a bit of time to fit, but I was very happy with them last winter, they kept the spay off my feet nicely and I think were friendly to those riding behind me.
Nothing worse than riding behind a club mate with poor guards on. I was new to the club last year, but I’ll be a bit more vocal this year about people on the club ride without guards or just using an Ass Saver.
Are you from the south by any chance? I was amazed when I moved down south at the mentality of riders down here out in all weathers on carbon rims and summer bikes without guards. Can only assume it was a ‘look’ thing. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that but to me riding around without guards in the winter, regardless of the weather, makes you look like a clueless newbie. The ‘pro’ look in the uk in the winter is a guarded hack bike and anyone who tells you different is a berk.
Nope I live in Scotland. I often ride in the wet without guards, because I'm not such a pussy that I'm bothered by a little rain water.. as you appear to be.
I keep my carbon rims for summer, but only because I can't afford to grind them to dust on wet roads. Perhaps all those 'berks' you to refer to can.
Or on the other hand, perhaps maybe their expensive bike is their only bike, so they have to take it out in all weather or not ride?
Thanks for your input on the thread though . Really insightful..
I'm not too bothered riding on a clean wet road without guards, but my 'road' bike also sees a lot of bridleway where it gets muddy as **** and maybe only 3 months of the years where it doesn't have standing water.
Even with fully mudguards on my feets and shins get covered in mud. It's seriously nasty.
I'd probably run full mudguards all year around even on a road bike now. I couldn't care less about being cool and having matching Team Sky kit and stuff.
I road ride with guards in winter so to avoid looking like I’ve just shat myself and to stay dry/look after my bike.
SKS Blumells do the job but new range models don’t need cutting.
because I’m not such a pussy that I’m bothered by a little rain water.. as you appear to be.
🙂
No, you are right. You are a real man and I'm a pussy. Only you are a real man who has to ask a bunch of strangers for help choosing mudguards and care so much about what he looks like he wants to remove them in case he looks like a pussy. I suspect you might be not all that 😉
Full guards are like setting your central heating by the calendar rather than the temperature
Where I live, you can't tell if it is going to rain by the calendar, and I have more interesting things to do than fitting and removing mudguards as the weather changes!
I'm definitely a pussy rather than a real man with a proper interest in bicycle aesthetics. When it is raining I always prefer not to ride along being sprayed by road water.
I often ride in the wet without guards
*Swoon*
I just fitted race blade longs to my bike and I too found out today that clip on front section of the mudguard that sits in front of the front brake vibrates and wobbles when I ride so I need a stiffer bracket to stop it vibrating or I will have to take it off. The rest of the guards seem to do a good job. I find these guards are a bit fiddly compared to traditional full mudguards but that is the compromise you make for being able to ride a light carbon bike in winter, without getting soaked.
How far down should the rear flap go to keep spray off another rider who is close behind? The one I just fitted goes about 3-4" below the rear wheel axle centreline.
I just completed a biblically wet 55 miles in the Peak District in the freezing cold. I had full length mudguards but also got soaking wet. Can someone confirm if I'm a pussy or a real man? I had waterproof (in name) gloves if that makes any difference.
Edit: Sks Chromoplastics BTW. They were fine but I got a bike shop to fit them for me and were likely a pain in the arse for someone.
that is the compromise you make for being able to ride a light carbon bike in winte
Without wishing to exacerbate my pussy moniker any more, but why is this such a positive? There is nothing to win in the winter. You can't loose a club ride. What you can do is get one over a clubmate by kicking their arse up a hill on your steel guarded winter hack with a rear pannier (because you also use it to train on your way to work). And if he kicks your arse you are depriving them of any feel good factor as you are on your clunker.
Seriously there is nothing sweeter than dragging your best bike out of wherever it has been hibernating and riding your first ride after a winter on a heavy hack. It's like you have gained another 20 watts and another gear. Such a confidence boost before the first race* of the season.
*Did I forget to mention this 'pussy' spent 15 years as a first and second cat roadie who knocked out 5000-6000 miles every winter preparing for the season ahead. My 'convert' user name came from my switch to mtb back in 2004. And still I'm getting schooled by some bloke who has yet to do his first club ride. It's embarrassing I tell you!
Quite apart from keeping yourself a bit drier with mudguards the most important part of the ‘etiquette’ is to have rear mudguards that don’t throw a load of wet shitty grit into the face of the clubmember riding behind you. Even ‘full’ mudguards often have to be extended a bit as they can still throw up crap at speed.